When Chrissy McLarty gets ready for a job interview, she makes sure she has a professional outfit, her resume — and her mom.
According to the Wall Street Journal, a new trend has been catching on among millennials where they seek to keep their parents as involved as possible in the job process, even bringing them into their interviews.
The 22-year-old UF alumna has been on the job hunt, and her mother is never far behind.
“I’ve been to three of them now where we go to the interviews on Friday, and then we’ll make a little weekend of it in whatever city,” she said.
McLarty said her mother calls herself McLarty’s “little entourage” because she helps her do her hair and makeup in preparation for the interview.
“It helps with the traveling,” she said. ‘I don’t have to make the big decisions, so I’m oriented and focused on what needs to be done, which is getting the job.”
But McLarty isn’t the only Gator who has parents involved in her career, said Bianka Valbrun, an 18-year-old business administration sophomore and employee at the Career Resource Center. She said she’s had about five parents call her this semester looking for resources for their children.
“A lot of the time, I’ve had parents say that their kids are lazy, so they called for them,” Valbrun said.
Ellen Aschenbrener, manager of How Do You Roll? sushi, said in her 20 years of interviewing, she’s never seen a candidate bring their parents.
“A grown person has no reason to be bringing in their parents,” she said.
Megan Buttell, a 23-year-old UF finance and management graduate student, said she’s heard from several employers that one of their greatest turnoffs is when a candidate brings in his or her parents.
She said it’s unprofessional and displays immaturity from the applicant.
“It’s your career, your job. You’re a big kid,” Buttell said. “You’re supposed to be able to handle this yourself.”
A version of this story ran on page 4 on 9/26/2013 under the headline "Parents are newest secret weapon for millennials’ interviews"
