LinkedIn Bring in Your Parents Day: An initiative to help your parents finally understand what it is you do [VIDEO]

Have your parents ever asked you to explain in simple terms what it is you do at work each day? Do you ever overhear your mom or dad explaining to one of their friends what your job is and get the impression they are making it up as they go along?

The world of work is changing rapidly and many jobs of today didn’t exist even 10 years ago. While our parents are proud of us no matter what we do, they would be even prouder if they better understood our careers.

Today I’m thrilled to announce LinkedIn Bring In Your Parents Day, a global initiative designed to help bridge the gap between parents and their professional children. On November 7th, we’re inviting the parents of employees to our offices around the globe to learn about what their children do each day. We’re reaching out to companies large and small worldwide to encourage them to do the same.

When I heard we were launching this program, I knew it was something unique. Not only are we helping expand personal bonds, but we’re also expanding the network of parents that will have an enhanced relationship with our company.

LinkedIn Bring In Your Parents Day can be as big or as small as you like - and while we call it a ‘day’, we’d actually recommend it take place for a few hours - perhaps towards the end of the working day, we’ve got recommendations on getting the day up and running on the dedicated website.

If you’re curious what careers most stump parents, our global research revealed some interesting insights:

  • UI Designer, Actuary and Data Scientist are the Top 3 Most Misunderstood jobs
  • 35% of parents we surveyed confessed that they are not completely familiar with what their child does for a living
  • 59% of parents want to know more about what their child does for work
  • 50% of parents say they could be of benefit to their offspring by having a better understanding of their career

We recently ran a trial of Bring in Your Parents Day in our Dublin office, where over 100 parents came in to learn more about our company to see first-hand what their children do each day. The results were overwhelmingly positive and you can see some of the wonderful reactions from parents in the video below. One mother remarked that she had no idea how valued her daughter was at work and it made her proud. I’m especially grateful to hear this kind of feedback and think it’s invaluable in helping our employees transform themselves and their communities.


We’d love professionals and parents worldwide to take part in LinkedIn Bring in Your Parents Day and you can visit linkedinbringinyourparents.com for more information on how you or your employer can get involved and what’s in it for you. As you participate in the day, I’d like to hear about your experiences and the feedback you receive from your parents or children.