As a parent, it’s hard to know how to help your child when they’re looking for work after university. You want to offer advice, but often they don’t want to hear it. They may be spending long periods in their bedroom, feeling demoralised by a lack of responses and you may be feeling worried, helpless or unsure what to do next.
Many parents find themselves asking the same questions:
- How do I support my child without taking over?
- Should I encourage them to take any job to gain experience, or wait for something they’ll enjoy?
- What if they don’t know what they want to do?
This article brings together experiences from parents who’ve supported graduates, alongside insights from careers professionals, to offer reassurance and practical suggestions for how you can help.
Show your child you really understand the Reality of Graduate Job Hunting Today
Emma, a mother of two recent graduates, describes what she’s seen:
“As a parent of two recent graduates, I’ve seen firsthand how demanding today’s application process can be. The time and care they put into every opportunity - sometimes spending up to eight hours tailoring a single application - has genuinely impressed me.
They’ve tackled timed assessments, essays, videos and other tasks with real determination and resilience, long before even reaching a first interview.
While the lack of responses can be disheartening, I’ve also watched them develop an incredible level of perseverance, adaptability and confidence and have felt real pride as a parent.”
Often, listening, acknowledging how demanding the process is and reassuring your child that their feelings are understandable and offering to support them in whatever way they’d prefer can be a good place to start.
Realise there’s no ‘right’ way to offer support
Caroline and Tom have supported six children through university and beyond. They explain how they used different approaches with each child, because their needs were different:
“I think all parents can do is offer encouragement and support. It often takes time for your child to decide what they want to do.”
Some of their children benefited from very hands-on help. Caroline describes calling into local shops to ask about vacancies, or actively searching for vacancies on their child’s behalf. For one daughter who wanted to work in the charity sector this meant helping her find a paid hostel job that offered free accommodation, alongside her unpaid placement with Oxfam in the head office.
For other children, this type of hands-on approach would have been completely unhelpful.
“With D, this wouldn’t have helped. She wanted to be a midwife at one stage, and I didn’t encourage her because of my own experiences. Now she does lots of different things, she’s very creative and enjoys tattooing. Like Frank Sinatra said - you have few regrets doing it your own way.”
Emma describes the approach her and her husband took with their daughters:
“I didn't get particularly involved with their job search other than in reading/talking through their applications occasionally, explaining what some things meant, spotting roles and passing them on, and generally just ensuring that they were being looked after, and had everything they needed.”
“I paid for transport to interviews when they had no income, bought them an interview outfit each, checked in on how they were feeling and tried to cheer them up when things went wrong. My husband was able to offer more technical support to one of our children as he worked in a related field, which helped - though that’s not always possible.”
“I also used my contacts in the case of my other child, although it was just as a job was mentioned in passing - I didn't put out a message on LinkedIn asking someone to employ her, although I have seen this happen once or twice!”
Figuring out what they want to do can take a while - encourage any activities:
Several of Caroline and Tom’s children took short-term or unrelated work while figuring out their next steps including:
- Working in shops like Wilko or Boots
- Bar work
- Care home roles
- Nannying
“There ARE jobs out there, and even if it’s not what you want to do long term, it’s all experience that counts on a CV. A looks back fondly on his time in Wilko as a zero-pressure job.”
“Doing anything - volunteering or helping with animals or travelling help with developing skills and count as experience.”
For parents, supporting your child with whatever they decide to do is key to helping them find their own path.
Caroline and Tom talk about one of their daughters who attended lots of assessment centres for graduate schemes, but couldn’t find the job she wanted. She later applied for the JET Programme, spent time in Japan and realised she wanted to go into teaching.
Consider encouraging your child to access professional support:
Even the most supportive parent can’t replace independent, professional careers guidance. University careers services are often underused by graduates, yet most of them offer support for at least 12 months after graduation - and many for much longer.
Typical support includes:
- One-to-one guidance appointments
- CV, cover letter and application feedback
- Mock interviews and assessment centre preparation
- Specialist support for graduates with disabilities, neurodiversity or mental health difficulties
- Help for international graduates
- Access to internships, employer networks and graduate schemes
- Entrepreneurship and self-employment advice
As a parent, you can help by:
- Finding out what support their university offers
- Encouraging (and reminding) them to register as a graduate or alumnus
- Suggesting useful careers resources such as I don't know what I want to do? (The University of Manchester) or Don't Know What Job to Do? Start Here | Bright Network and in some cases looking through these together when they feel stuck or overwhelmed
Update your own knowledge of the graduate labour market and ensure you’re encouraging them to do the right things:
Emma says: “I would advise that applicants try to talk to someone who works in the area they are interested in. It can be worth making contact with people on LinkedIn, particularly if the role is more unusual/obscure, as they are often willing to give people some advice!”
Chris Webb (RCDP, Career Consultant), suggests encouraging your child to be “curious and open-minded when exploring opportunities”.
Chris says:
“There's no doubt that it has been a tough jobs market in the UK over the past year (although there was only a 7% fall in graduate vacancies nationally in 2025, contrary to some of the more negative reports in the media) and in times like this, it can be beneficial to adopt a more flexible and open-minded approach to jobseeking, starting with how you look for opportunities.”
“While it's often typical for new graduates to focus on looking at graduate schemes with large, well-known businesses via websites like Target Jobs and Bright Network, these opportunities only make up a small percentage of the overall jobs market, with many graduates each year moving into roles with SMEs (small or medium-sized companies) and other organisations that may not be as visible in terms of their marketing or presence on popular jobs boards.”
“By expanding the opportunities graduates might consider (whether that is flexibility in geographical location, the size of company to work for or even where to look for roles - many graduates ignore specialist industry jobs sites, recruitment agencies and LinkedIn to their detriment), they can subsequently increase the number of opportunities to apply for - for example, an Engineering graduate might look at roles with equipment manufacturers and suppliers as well as engineering firms, an English graduate with an interest in Publishing might consider taking an administrative position within a publishing firm as a stepping stone to working in this industry, and a Tech graduate might explore hybrid roles where they could live in their region but commute occasionally to a location that is further away.”
Above all: Feeling supported matters most
Perhaps the most consistent message from parents who’ve been through this is:
“All parents can do is offer encouragement and support.”
Being there for your child - whether this means helping practically, offering encouragement when they’re struggling, or helping them access professional support - will make a real difference.
Good luck - if you would like to find out more about support on offer through Morrisby, go here!
