4 ms·

Please don’t bring your parents to work with you

9 points by rg81 13y ago

joejohnson 13y ago
I'm skeptical that this is a real phenomenon. Maybe it happened in a few highly publicized cases, but I have never heard of anything like this.
- rg81 13y ago
  Yeah. It's definitely rare, but companies are starting to trend towards a more parent centered workplace. I think most companies doing these types of things now are early adopters of an upcoming trend.
  - cweaver 13y ago
    parent centered workplace? Surely, you jest.
TamDenholm 13y ago
If i was interviewing someone and they brought their parent to the interview, (assuming they are legally an adult) i'd immediate ask them to leave, because they're clearly unfit to deal with the world. Sometimes you just gotta stand on your own two feet, and your first job interview is one of those times.
- cweaver 13y ago
  Bingo. Someone like that simply couldn't be taken seriously.
timw6n 13y ago
American HNers, is this really a thing in the US? As a so-called "millenial" in the UK, I just can't imagine myself, or any of my peers, actually bringing parents into job interviews. Surely there's something wrong if, after 4 years of college, people are so unprepared to stand on their own two feet.
- cweaver 13y ago
  US resident here. I have never heard of this before.
- cleverjake 13y ago
  I have never heard of it either, nor could I imagine anyone I know doing it. I have heard of people doing it with their first rental, never a job though.
  - coffeeyesplease 13y ago
    Yeah but first rental its completely different. You are the client. You are paying for something, a second opinion might come handy or maybe your dad is there to help paint the walls afterwards. A job interview its about you, you and you. Who you are and what you can do. I can't believe this is a thing :)
zura 13y ago
Funny, but it might be helpful for things like salary negotiations.
- pavel_lishin 13y ago
  It would certainly help the interviewer reject the interviewee. "Sorry, I can't afford to pay two salaries. Oh, your parents won't be coming to work along with you? Then why are they here, now?"
  - zura 13y ago
    It might be a good filter for the other side as well - one most likely won't want to work for the "company" which can't afford to pay two salaries.
a3n 13y ago
I've never seen or heard of this 1st or 2nd hand. I've heard of hearing about it, but only in blog posts. I'm sure it's been done, but I doubt if it's a thing. If it happened to me ... I don't know. I guess I'd let it play out, out of fascination and curiosity. You never know when you might learn something.
RougeFemme 13y ago
Several years ago, I remember reading - in a number of articles - that some companies were actually changing their interviewing and on-boarding procedures to accommodate parents. I couldn't believe it and hoped it was a satirical take on the American "helicopter parents". But after reading a number of articles and anecdotes, I had to accept that it was true. And that these were companies I'd never want to work for. I'm so glad that the pendulum never swung all the way over and is, in fact, swinging back away from that. I recently read of a hiring a manager who rescinded a job offer after the candidate's mother called to inquire seating arrangements and benefits.
tzs 13y ago
NPR had a good story, "Helicopter Parents Hover in the Workplace", back in early 2012, about parents thrusting themselves into their adult children's work lives by doing things like applying for jobs for the child, calling the employer to ask for raises for the child, and coming to interviews with the child [1]. [1] http://www.npr.org/2012/02/06/146464665/helicopter-parents-hover-in-the-workplace http://www.npr.org/2012/02/06/146464665/helicopter-parents-h...

9 points by rg81 13y ago

I'm skeptical that this is a real phenomenon. Maybe it happened in a few highly publicized cases, but I have never heard of anything like this.

rg81 13y ago
Yeah. It's definitely rare, but companies are starting to trend towards a more parent centered workplace. I think most companies doing these types of things now are early adopters of an upcoming trend.
- cweaver 13y ago
  parent centered workplace? Surely, you jest.

TamDenholm 13y ago

If i was interviewing someone and they brought their parent to the interview, (assuming they are legally an adult) i'd immediate ask them to leave, because they're clearly unfit to deal with the world. Sometimes you just gotta stand on your own two feet, and your first job interview is one of those times.

cweaver 13y ago
Bingo. Someone like that simply couldn't be taken seriously.

timw6n 13y ago

American HNers, is this really a thing in the US? As a so-called "millenial" in the UK, I just can't imagine myself, or any of my peers, actually bringing parents into job interviews. Surely there's something wrong if, after 4 years of college, people are so unprepared to stand on their own two feet.

cweaver 13y ago
US resident here. I have never heard of this before.
cleverjake 13y ago
I have never heard of it either, nor could I imagine anyone I know doing it. I have heard of people doing it with their first rental, never a job though.
- coffeeyesplease 13y ago
  Yeah but first rental its completely different. You are the client. You are paying for something, a second opinion might come handy or maybe your dad is there to help paint the walls afterwards. A job interview its about you, you and you. Who you are and what you can do. I can't believe this is a thing :)

zura 13y ago

Funny, but it might be helpful for things like salary negotiations.

pavel_lishin 13y ago
It would certainly help the interviewer reject the interviewee. "Sorry, I can't afford to pay two salaries. Oh, your parents won't be coming to work along with you? Then why are they here, now?"
- zura 13y ago
  It might be a good filter for the other side as well - one most likely won't want to work for the "company" which can't afford to pay two salaries.

a3n 13y ago

I've never seen or heard of this 1st or 2nd hand. I've heard of hearing about it, but only in blog posts. I'm sure it's been done, but I doubt if it's a thing. If it happened to me ... I don't know. I guess I'd let it play out, out of fascination and curiosity. You never know when you might learn something.

RougeFemme 13y ago

Several years ago, I remember reading - in a number of articles - that some companies were actually changing their interviewing and on-boarding procedures to accommodate parents. I couldn't believe it and hoped it was a satirical take on the American "helicopter parents". But after reading a number of articles and anecdotes, I had to accept that it was true. And that these were companies I'd never want to work for. I'm so glad that the pendulum never swung all the way over and is, in fact, swinging back away from that. I recently read of a hiring a manager who rescinded a job offer after the candidate's mother called to inquire seating arrangements and benefits.

tzs 13y ago

NPR had a good story, "Helicopter Parents Hover in the Workplace", back in early 2012, about parents thrusting themselves into their adult children's work lives by doing things like applying for jobs for the child, calling the employer to ask for raises for the child, and coming to interviews with the child [1]. [1] http://www.npr.org/2012/02/06/146464665/helicopter-parents-hover-in-the-workplace http://www.npr.org/2012/02/06/146464665/helicopter-parents-h...