Someone going by the name "HR Mom" made an intriguing Facebook post that talks
about how woefully underprepared kids are to enter the workforce. Drawing on her
experience as an HR professional, she has distilled a number of broad skills
into small tasks which she assigns to her two kids. The objective is simple: to
build in them those basic workforce skills so many lack when entering the market.
A lot of parents claim they give their kids devices so they can develop and keep
their technology skills sharp. If we are not intentional about directing HOW they
use this technology, they are likely to leave our homes with virtually ZERO actual
marketable computer skills.
I'm an HR Director and my team hires entry-level employees on a daily basis...
We hire so many young 20's who are downright addicted to their phones yet don't
know the absolute basics of using technology and struggle with making and receiving
phone calls. The anxiety levels these "kids" (new hires) face when they encounter
even small amounts of conflict or gray areas on a customer call can be debilitating
for so many of them.
As the Mom of a teenaged son, I thought I’d share some practical ways to prepare
your kids for real-life use of technology needed for "adulting."
1) Have them conduct basic internet research for you...
Examples: Have them research the best way to kill weeds or find the cheapest price
for fence replacement, etc. Have them find the cheapest rental car and hotel for
your vacation. Talk to them about how reservations and insurance work and HAVE THEM
CALL to reserve it. Let them fumble and make mistakes on the call while you're there
to coach and encourage them. If they mess up, who cares? They need to practice while
the stakes are low.
2) Have them call to pay any medical bills that come in. Show them where to find Date
of Service and Invoice #. Sit with them and coach and encourage them through the call.
Tell them what they did right/wrong and watch their confidence grow.
3) Have them call tech support any time something in the home goes down - internet,
cable, water, A/C, etc. Let them walk through the steps for internet to come back on.
This prevents your kids frantically texting you from college asking what to do.
4) Have them call to schedule their own haircuts, doctor and dentist appointments, and
dog grooming appointments. Again, if they sound dumb or forget to say something or ask
something, who cares? If they learned something, it was a success!
Her list continues. I'm a big fan. At the close, HR Mom claims "My boys (15 and 11)
can confidently navigate self-checkout, withdraw cash from an ATM, pump gas, make phone
calls with confidence, order groceries, manage an Excel "budget", order an Uber."
I love this idea, and am working to figure out how we can apply these lessons
with kiddo in an effective and positive way. For us, I figure ordering dinner
would be a terrific start: we'll coach her through it until she gets the hang of
it, and eventually it'll become a task she can own.
Find "HR Mom" on Facebook.