Companies cave into helicopter parents

Posted May 7th 2007 10:40AM by Jonathan Berr
Filed under: Other Issues, General Electric (GE), Employees, Mutual Funds, Merrill Lynch (MER)

When I graduated college, the idea of having my parents negotiate a job offer for me would have sent shivers down my spine. Apparently, this current generation has no such qualms.

They call them "helicopter parents," and according to the Philadelphia Inquirer, they are annoying some of the biggest names in corporate America including General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE), Merrill Lynch & Co. (NYSE: MER) and The Vanguard Group.

What's even more shocking is that the hiring managers are ACCOMMODATING these overbearing people. They are taking a page from the U.S. Army, which now targets its advertising to prospective recruits. The world has certainly changed since I graduated college in 1991 and not for the better.

If I were a hiring manager, I would immediately revoke any job offer for those who had their mom or dad act as their agent. That is ridiculous.

If you are unable to speak for yourself when you graduate college, something has gone terribly wrong. Do today's twenty-somethings expect mom and dad to fight all of their workplace battles for them? When does it stop? This isn't healthy for either parent or child.

Helicopter parents are the types of people who would wrap their children in bubble wrap to protect them from all of life's disappointments. They make sure that no kid gets cut from a sports team and that everyone gets a trophy. These days, there are no winners and losers.

Unfortunately, life doesn't work that way.

Tags: children, ge, helicopter parents, HelicopterParents, job market, JobMarket, mer, parents, vanguard

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

5-07-2007 @ 10:52AM

travis said...

here is a phone call between a parent and a recruiter

http://www.searchjerk.com/cgi-bin/smartsearch/smartsearch.cgi?keywords=jobs

5-07-2007 @ 12:39PM

Holben in Denver said...

I build and sell homes. I've had this same thing happen with buyers. A (not so young) couple shows up to look at a home, and the next thing here's a mommy and daddy to negotiate the contract, closing, look over an inspector's shoulder (I actually had one Dad attempt to go up on the roof; something I put a stop to, and was rebuked for by him), and are the ones who call me for after move in questions. You haven't lived until you've had a mother call and complain that the paint doesn't match something she put in the kids home, and expects me to repaint the room!! I don't wanna know who wipes the kids bottoms! I could go on and on....