Surviving the Transition from College to Career: A Guide for Parents and Graduates

[Ed. note: This belongs to our series of posts featuring tips for recent grads from LinkedIn users. Robb Pardee is a leadership and career coach focused on developing next generation leaders.  His company Strategic Leadership Coach offers coaching and training services to organizations and individuals to maximize their potential.]

Graduation is an exciting time overflowing with dreams and aspirations.  Here are a few suggestions to make this transition as smooth as possible for both the graduates and the parents:

1. Manage expectations - Schedule a purposeful conversation to discuss everyone's expectations regarding the career search. Take advantage of this time to get everything out on the table in terms of needs and desires.

2. Acknowledge emotions - The graduate may be experiencing fears of failure or sadness about leaving college friends behind. Parents may be uneasy about moving closer to an empty nest.  It is okay to grieve your losses even as you celebrate the opportunities.

3.  Develop healthy boundaries - The graduate is moving to a new level of responsibility in their lives and it is essential for a shift to take place in the parent / child relationship.  Behaving as a responsible independent adult starts at home but bears fruit in the workplace.

4.  Learn the skill of job searching - Parents can offer support and input, but need to avoid undermining or enabling the job search. Respect the boundaries and allow the graduate to take responsibility for the search and doing the real work.

5. Utilize resources – Reduce your anxiety by engaging support from college career centers, alumni associations, and web resources. If you still need additional support seek out a qualified career coach or counselor.

Enjoy this time in your life and remember that as big as this feels your decisions are not set in stone.

Check out the rest of of our posts featuring tips for graduating students here