WSJ: Helicopter Parents Go to Work

I cannot believe there are parents out there that would do this. What are they thinking!! If a parent of a job candidate ever called on their behalf, I would recind the offer immediately. It's insane! How can a child be expected to perform their duties for a given job if they cannot even interview/negotiate for the job without the help of their parents? Absolutely nuts...

Helicopter Parents Go to Work
Moms And Dads Are Now Hovering at the Office
The Wall Street Journal 03/16/2006
Author: Sue Shellenbarger
(Copyright (c) 2006, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)
In interviews with a job candidate last year, Deborah D'Attilio, a recruiting manager in San Francisco for Enterprise Rent-A-Car, was surprised when the young woman brought a companion: Her dad.

Saying "he was interested in learning about the work environment," the father sat in the lobby during the interview, Ms. D'Attilio says. Ms. D'Attilio didn't hold it against the candidate and wound up hiring the young woman.

Helicopter parents are going to work. From Vanguard Group and St. Paul Travelers to General Electric and Boeing, managers are getting phone calls from parents asking them to hire their 20-something kids. Candidates are stalling on job offers to consult with their parents. Parents are calling hiring managers to protest pay packages and try to renegotiate, employers say.

"It's unbelievable to me that a parent of a 22-year-old is calling on their behalf," says Allison Keeton, director of college relations for St. Paul Travelers. After taking many calls from parents "telling us how great their children are, how great they'd be for a specific job," she's started calling this generation "the kamikaze parents -- the ones that already mowed down the guidance and admissions offices" and now are moving into the workplace.

Like most employers, Ms. Keeton handles such encounters diplomatically, keeping job negotiations confidential without offending parents. Some employers, however, are also adapting to the trend by altering some parts of the hiring process, sending parents copies of offer letters or including them in recruiting sessions.

Strong parent-child relationships can be a lifelong asset, of course. But there's evidence young adults don't always appreciate all the hovering. And parents who cross the line between mentoring and meddling risk hampering young adults' ability to develop self-reliance.

General Electric made an offer to one recruit last fall, only to get a call the next day from the recruit's mother trying to negotiate an increase in pay, says Steve Canale, manager of recruiting and staffing services. GE didn't rescind the offer, but "we didn't give in to Mom" either, Mr. Canale says. Rich Hartnett, director, global staffing, for Boeing, says one hiring manager was very surprised when a recruit brought his mom right into the interview. Enterprise's Ms. D'Attilio says the mother of another recruit joined a phone call between her and a candidate and began grilling Ms. D'Attilio about benefits.

Business