Dutch parents stop giving career advice en masse as soon as their children start working. Only 12% give their child work-related advice after they have started their first job. While more than 2 in 5 employees indicate that they would have liked more help during their career. This is apparent from a worldwide survey by LinkedIn, prior to the international Bring in Your Parents day, which is being organized by the professional network for the third time this year. On November 5, companies in 17 countries will open their doors to their employees.
During school time, parents are still very involved. Two-thirds say they help them choose the right subjects at school and three-quarters say they help them choose a suitable further education. Another two-thirds advise their child on which jobs he or she should apply for.
One in ten parents does not give well-intentioned advice because their child does not ask for it. 15% say nothing because they are afraid to offend or irritate their child and 69% of parents believe that their child should be able to make their own adult choices. Two thirds of Dutch parents describe themselves as a 'Lighthouse Parent', a beacon for advice without too much interference.
But the Lighthouse Parent role only works if working children actively ask their parents for advice. Only 5% have consulted their parents about a work-related issue in the last six months. For a quarter this was more than ten years ago and one third of Dutch employees have never asked their parents for career advice. The main reason for this is that more than half of employees have insufficient confidence that their parents know what their job entails.
