Rhiannon: Many kids are graduating, and that means moving back home. While this is a huge transition for the graduate, it’s also not easy on the parents.
Ken Jeddings, the author of Higher Education is here to show us some tips for those parents whose kids are returning to the nest as well as those anxious grads who are searching for their passion.
Welcome.
Ken: Thank you.
Rhiannon: Yeah, this is a very important topic right now. I have to tell you, I personally, my mom practically had to kick me out. I love moving back home. But I know a lot of kids don’t. What advice do you have for them?
Ken: Well of course it’s stressful, because you're back in your twin bed and you have like N’Sync or Justin Timberlake posters on the wall. And you start to feel like, my God, I'm 17 again. And the thing to remember is that it’s a really smart move. I mean, it’s a good way with no rental, unlimited rent. Get out there. And that understanding they have to sort of meet your parents halfway, because they're, in their strange way, they're going back in time too.
Rhiannon: It’s got to be really tough for them. Having those kids come back, and as you mention, being an adult now. Not that teenager they remembered.
Ken: I think it’s important for parents to remember that sometimes they don’t have all the answers. I mean, most people discover what they want to as they try them, hit or miss. So if a young person is saying to the parent, what should I do? And the young person doesn’t know, it’s very hard for the parents to tell you what to do. And there are good and bad ways to do it. So for example, if a parent says, you know you're good in chemistry, you're good in biology, and you're really good when grandpa was sick. So maybe you should be a doctor. That’s like A plus. But if a parent, on the other hand, is saying, I wish I had been like a banker so maybe you'd be a banker. Well that’s not going to work. Parents want you to be successful, and if you do something you're not good at, you're not going to be successful. It’s something you don’t want to do.
Rhiannon: So with kids, lot of them just graduating have no idea what they want to do. What advice do you have for them?
Ken: Well you know, when I speak around the country, that’s one of the most important thing. The advice is really have to try something. Because what young people think is, I'm going to get stuck doing the wrong thing for the rest of my life. So I can't do anything, they hold their breath. And the first three chapters of the book is really about different ways that people freeze and get paralyzed. And how you have to try things, because skills get transferred. You can be in one thing it can lead to something entirely different.
Rhiannon: So step outside your box. So if they go in a job interview for something they didn’t even major or have never done before, what do you suggest?
Ken: Well for example, let's say you majored in psychology, and I hear this a lot. People say to me, I didn’t major in it so I can't interview in it. But, okay, so you majored in psychology and you're interviewing advertising. Psychology and advertising have a lot in common, I mean, they're both about, you can say to that employer, in psychology it’s about how people think. And advertising is catering to peoples thoughts. We have to remember that a job interview is also like a blind date. They're really looking at you to see, do I want to spend 40 hours a week with this person?
Rhiannon: So be confident. Okay, thank you so much, Ken.
For lots of other great tips for parents and new grads on coping with the post graduation syndrome, pick up a copy of Higher Education, it is available now.
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