Career conversations – A guide for parents

It is widely recognised that parents have the most influence when it comes to their children’s post-school decisions. Unfortunately, some parents aren’t confident offering their children advice about career options and many rely on outdated perceptions about jobs and careers when they do talk to their children about their post-school plans. Given the impact of increasing globalisation and the pace of technological change on the types of new jobs being created, it is no wonder that many parents feel out of their depth when it comes to having career conversations with their children.

So, what steps can parents take to provide the necessary guidance needed for their children to make informed choices about their lives after school? Skillset offers the following advice:

Start talking about jobs and work

Even if you don’t feel comfortable about offering advice about post-school options, all of us can talk about jobs or the work that people do. These discussions can start taking place as early as primary school. As a first step, try the following:

• Explaining to your child your own job/career and the pathways you took during your working life
• When you see or meet people undertaking jobs, asking your child whether they would like this kind of work? And what would be the best and worst parts of each job?
• Encouraging your child to talk to family members and friends about the jobs that they do. What kind of work do they perform? What skills do they need to do this job?

These conversations will help children understand the breadth of jobs available and can get them thinking about whether a particular job would be of interest to them. In particular, this may help you and your child recognise the skills needed to undertake different roles.

Try different activities

Another way of getting your children thinking about jobs they might be interested in and future careers is to get them performing different activities, and therefore using and developing different skills. They (and you as a parent) can then begin to understand what activities they enjoy doing and what skills they have and/or need to build on. After all, it is only through performing activities ourselves can we really learn what works for us or not. Consequently, try these:

• Asking your child to assist you with different activities around the house e.g. cooking, working in the garden
• Urging your child to participate in school or community activities e.g. joining a club at school, helping out at a school event
• If they are old enough, supporting your child to find a part time job or to volunteer for a charity/cause.

Do some career research

Once you have had some initial discussions about jobs and work your child might like to do (or not do) it is worth doing more in-depth research. The following websites provide valuable information about job types/careers and career decision-making:

• My Future Career – This website funded by state and territory governments across Australia provides a range of resources to help students, parents and carers explore career pathways and tools which can help with decisions about careers.
• YourCareer – The National Careers Institute website provides information and resources about career planning and management.
• Good Careers Guide – This website includes a searchable database of more than 400 job descriptions so users can understand what tasks each job does, the personal requirements needed for each job and the types of courses that can be undertaken to upskill or qualify for specific jobs.

Speak to a careers adviser

Organising a session with a qualified careers adviser or careers counsellor can be another valuable step in assisting children in their teens understand their post-school options. A careers adviser can help with exploring education and career options. Specifically, they can:

• Evaluate your child’s interests and abilities
• Provide useful careers information/resources
• Pinpoint learning and training/work opportunities
• Help your child make decisions which will suit their individual circumstances.