Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Flip

1 2 3

Original poster

To think parents shouldnt apply for jobs on behalf of their kids....

61 replies

Hannah4banana · 12/01/2017 17:32

I voluntarily started and run a Facebook page that helps people find local vacancies and employers also post there too. We hit over 40k members this month and I love reading the success stories , it's really worthwhile. The number of mum's mainly that apply on behalf of their kids is mental! Is it just me or should you be encouraging your teenagers to get out and find a wee job for themselves.
Earlier today a mum tagged her daughter in a job advert and the daughter replied with "send my cv" to her mum!
If I was actually recruiting for any of the jobs that would be an instant cv in the bin.
I worked from when I was 15 and always approached local businesses with my crap wee c.v and talked to the manager myself. Always shows initiative. One other guy asked in a pm if his mum could attend an interview for him ? Wtf!

OP posts:

ILikeThatSong123 · 12/01/2017 18:31

My phone is playing up. I didn't mean to post so soon. When I graduated from uni I intended to take a break and rest few months. That was my plan and was announcing this to everyone if they ask about my plans. The day after I graduated my darling dad saw a vacancy on my field, advertised the vacancies pages of a major paper, in the morning, he phoned up on my behalf and asked for an appointment for an interview. He managed to get the appointment on that very day. He woke me up and i told him i don't want a job intrrview a day after graduation and that he should leave me alone. He said to me just because i apply doesnt mean i will get the job. I should go for the sole purpose of getting used to interview techniques and that I could sleep more after the interview. Made sense. 10 am I had the first interview. They invited me the next day to have an other interview with my department manager. The main person whom I would be reporting to. After that first interview I couldn't back down and went through the motions with the second interview etc and was offered my first ever job the next Monday. It was a joke between management that my dad found the job for me but not in a nasty way. I was wide eyed young thing wanting to do well. I miss my darling dad. He always wanted me to be quietly ambitious and astute. His dreams for me. I think I did well.

SauvignonBlanche · 12/01/2017 19:57

OMG What are the chances of that?
I was just catching up on this thread and the phone rang, it was DS telling me that he's got an interview on Saturday!!

He told me when he was home for Christmas that he'd applied for a job at the climbing centre his University climbing club uses.

Please could the power of MN send him positive vibes for Saturday?

This would be great for him!

freelancescientist · 12/01/2017 20:02

I was part of the team running an open day for a postgraduate training scheme and one of the candidates brought her mum who sat in the presentations and asked questions too. Very bizarre.

Floggingmolly · 12/01/2017 20:07

Oh, brilliant Sauvignon! I'll cross everything I've got two of

RebeccatheOld · 12/01/2017 20:14

My mother once applied for a job for me without telling me when I was 16. The first I heard of it was when I received a letter saying: 'we would have preferred you to contact us yourself'. I felt so embarrassed. AND I had a job anyway!

Heychickadee · 12/01/2017 20:15

My mum rang up somewhere to ask about a job advert on my behalf and emailed them my CV without telling me. I know she was trying to help but I was so embarrassed as I would've rang them myself if she had told me about the job, instead of it looking like my mummy needed to do it for me needless to say I never even got an interview!

SauvignonBlanche · 12/01/2017 20:17

Thank you molly.

I've found out when the interview is and am busy googling climbing centres in his city so I can turn up and explain to the panel why he should get the job.

ILikeThatSong123 · 12/01/2017 20:17

SauvignonBlanche he shown initiative to get his own interview. He'll do well. Best of luck to him.

PidgeyfinderGeneral · 12/01/2017 20:22

You would be surprised. I once worked as a recruitment agent and I had more parents than I would have expected applying for jobs and even trying to attend interviews on behalf of their kids, mostly teens but one in his 20s.

I always told them that I needed to see an application from the person who was going to be doing the job, and no, the parent couldn't do the interview for their 19yo DS.

midcenturymodern · 12/01/2017 20:28

My Mum asked about a job in a charity shop for me when I was standing right there. I was about 30 . I was on mat leave and could have gone back to work if I was hard up for things to do.

Friends dd works in McDonalds and friend is always trying to get her somewhere 'classier' so apply for random jobs for her. The dd likes Mcdonalds and the shifts are really good for her (she's doing A-levels)

SinglePringle · 12/01/2017 20:32

I am old. Well, old-ish. I was instructed to get a Saturday job around the age of 14 (appreciate times is different now) as my dear old mum was sick of me wanting new 'stuff' for the sake of it. 'Use your own money & get a Saturday job' was her refrain. So I did. Went into a shop, asked and repeated until a shop said Yes. Them were the days. No parental involvement. She'd sometimes tell me if she'd seen an ad in a window but that was that. She once brought home an application form for a place she knew I'd enjoy working but that was the sum of her involvement (she'd have made allowances for SEN though if applicable).

The idea of her securing me a job would have been outrageous to her. 'Get out there and do it yourself. Every interview makes you better equipped for interviews'. Good lesson. I've worked and been independent ever since.

Bloody knackered, mind!

Sparklingbrook · 12/01/2017 20:41

I think sometimes it comes from parental frustration. They want their teens to get jobs, but the teens don't seem to want to help themselves. the parents feel like they are doing something towards it. it's not right but I sort of understand.

DS1 (17) has had a weekend job for 18 months. He used the 'scattergun' approach and emailed all the small businesses he could think of just to ask if they were recruiting. One just happened to be but hadn't done anything about it yet. So he got in that way.

MrTumblesbitch · 12/01/2017 20:51

One of my new starters Dad used to call me every Friday to see how his son had got on at work that week (son was 21) I said each time I wasn't able to speak to him, and that I would feed back directly to his son if it was needed. I ignored his calls, then after 6 weeks I answered a call from the mum by accident, who said seeing as her son was doing so well she felt it was time he had a pay rise.

Her son was mortified as I had to take him into a meeting and say it wasn't appropriate and to make his bat shit crazy parents stop ringing me He left about 3 weeks later to work directly in his dads business. Poor bugger!

SauvignonBlanche · 14/01/2017 12:17

The interview's today, I'd better get a move on if I'm going to get there in time to tell them how wonderful he is.

MiniEggAddiction · 14/01/2017 12:40

YANBU. I remember being scared to go in and enquire about jobs when I was a teenager, I think it's fine for a parent to encourage their kid but actually going and doing it yourself is part of the experience. When they start the job they're going to have to show some basic initiative anyway, if they can't manage it when applying it's likely you're going to be holding their hand through every simple task.

Aeroflotgirl · 14/01/2017 12:41

Good luck to your son Sauvignon, I hope he gets the position. Oh god MrTumble, the poor poor boy, helicopter parenting at its worse . Some parents really do their children no favours, and do not prepare them for adult life with this stupid behaviour.

SauvignonBlanche · 14/01/2017 12:45

Thanks Aeroflotgirl, I know he won't be late for the interview, he's so clock orientated!

He said he'll call me afterwards.

Aeroflotgirl · 14/01/2017 13:29

Aww that's great sauvignon , I think I will helicopter more with dd because of her SN, if she did not, I would not bother.

Trifleorbust · 14/01/2017 13:43

One other guy asked in a pm if his mum could attend an interview for him ? Wtf!

Just nearly choked on this one

Cloeycat · 14/01/2017 16:19

I once conducted a casual interview at a trade show where the applicants dad and uncle sat in on the interview. Between them they didn't let the boy answer a single question and in the end I couldn't offer him a job despite having met the kid before and encouraging him to come along to interview as I thought he would be quite good. I did try to catch him before he left the building to explain I would give him another chance at interview if he told his family to back off but unfortunately never saw him again.

ShowMePotatoSalad · 14/01/2017 16:22

My mum found a job for me (without me knowing) but I had to attend the interview myself (obviously). Imagine if you said yes to his mum coming to the interview?!

SauvignonBlanche · 14/01/2017 16:42

That's sad Cloeycat some people just have idea when to STFU.

DS seemed quite happy after his interview, (though that means nothing as he struggles with interpreting social situations), I cracked and phoned him as I couldn't wait any longer to hear how he got on.

He says he'll hear next week so please carry on keeping your fingers crossed.

Aeroflotgirl · 14/01/2017 16:45

Good luck to your son Sauvignon I hope he gets the job.

YerDaSellsAvon · 14/01/2017 17:12

My mum found me a job (well an interview). I was utterly miserable at the ultra low paying yet very hard job I had. I had no chance to job hunt and would come home from work in tears. I came home from work one night and she said she'd arranged an interview for me (she told them I'd asked her to). When I was getting ready for work the next day they rang me and asked if I could interview that day (Thursday) so I rang in sick for the first time ever (seriously they put the fear of God into you if you considered it and we would turn up for work in no fit state. My boss was shamed by a customer for making me work when I had a severe cold. He sent me home reluctantly 🙄). Anyway I went and nailed the interview. I not only got a new job thanks to my mum I got a few days rest and the opportunity to get myself sorted for my new job. My mum was a well liked regular so they didn't mind that she approached them. Plus it was a lovely little place to work. I'm grateful that my mum was proactive in getting me to change the one thing that was causing me the most stress. She hasn't needed to do it since.

YerDaSellsAvon · 14/01/2017 17:14

Btw I was 19. Still living at home. I was also able to give my mum more "housekeeping". :o

Flip

1 2 3

Swipe left for the next trending thread