Career and Employment Service - how you as a parent can help with course and career choice

Introduction

Two quotes may serve as a good place at which to start this section -

"Parents were invented to make children happy by giving them something to ignore". (Ogden Nash) - and, on on a more serious note - "Our job as parents is to help young people come to know their unique strengths and individual selves well enough to choose the right paths to move forward into becoming the competent adults they desire". (Heather Carpenter).

Massey's career advisers won’t tell your son or daughter what to study or what to choose as a career. They can, however, try to help them to explore the factors which influence these choices. However, you as a parent could well be the single biggest influence on their decisions. It is likely that your support, guidance, and information are more valued than you imagine.

Tips for helping

As well as encouraging your son or daughter to make use of the support available to them from the university, it’s useful to remember that:

Making decisions about career and study can be difficult and scary for young people. Often it is easier to say "I am going to study …" rather than "I don’t know" when asked about the future. It is often very hard to change these plans and many poor decisions can be based on panic rather than planning.
You can help them with their planning and thinking by listening to their early thoughts - even if they appear unrealistic and inappropriate.
It pays to engage in enquiry rather than criticism or direction. Rather than judging decisions as good or bad, engage in conversations about "why". Help them to explore what it is that the find attractive and appealing about the fields of interest to them. What might be less appealing? Where could they find additional information? In what ways do they feel that they have the skills and qualities necessary? What are these skills and qualities and what activities have they engaged in previously which demonstrate their strengths, skills and interests?
Many of their thoughts are just that - thoughts and ideas - rather than definite plans, so don’t be distressed if they appear unrealistic.
It is your child’s future that is being discussed and they need to be passionate about that rather than about what you think they should value and be attracted to. If you give them space to express their thoughts they are less likely to feel that they need to follow clearly unsuitable directions.
You are not expected to be the expert on careers and university - permit others to take that role but join with your son or daughter to seek out appropriate help and information. By doing so they are more likely to use you as a sounding board in the future. Be a collaborator rather than an expert.
Specific end goals are seldom necessary. Many university courses do not lead to specific careers but the variety of options start to become clear along the way. Don’t panic if they are not clear about the eventual outcome. Indeed, it is now common to change employers - and possibly careers - a number of times in a working life. Employers commonly do not require specific qualifications and the reality of the modern marketplace demands much greater adaptability and flexibility than even ten years ago.
It is good to give them scope to dream and to explore and experiment. Sometimes there really is no substitute for the opportunity to experience or imagine possibilities.

Who can help with course choice, or with changing course?

Students are very often unsure that they’ve made the ‘right’ choice(s) of subject - and of the papers that make up the qualification. The links that follow are to sources of help with this decision:

Student Liaison Advisers - if your child is thinking of studying at Massey this team can help them to plan their course of study.

Colleges at Massey - if your child is enrolled/already a student at Massey. Even if they are not enrolled this is a good place from which to seek initial information.

CareersNZ - a nationwide provider of independent career information, advice and guidance.

Additionally us, Massey’s Career and Employment Service - the services that we provide on each campus (as well as for Massey's distance students and those unable to come onto campus) can assist individuals to explore what it might be that they are looking for from their time at university or what sorts of work might be attractive to them. In particular, we would recommend that you look specifically at the ‘what might my career options be?' section of the career and employment services website as this addresses issues to consider in career choice and offers links to tools for generating career options.

These sources of help can be accessed at any stage before and during your child’s time at university. They can help with information and advice on qualifications offered; the structure of these qualifications; entry requirements; likely study loads; methods of assessment and related matters .

What else might be important?

Your son or daughter may well find that they enjoy everything about their course and their time at university. For many students though, there are occasions when things go less well. Again help is available - from sources that include:

Student Health and Counselling Services - who provide high quality professional counselling and primary health care for all Massey students to assist them achieve their academic potential as well as to maintain their general health and wellness, and to realise their full potential.

Counselling resources on the web (CROW) - detailed information on a wide range on topics about which students often request information or assistance. If you are looking for help with a particular problem you may find the leaflets published on these pages useful.

Online writing and learning link (OWLL) - this is Massey's gateway to a wide range of study and writing resources. All students, whether internal or extramural, undergraduate or postgraduate, native English speaking or ESOL, can access these pages to develop their academic skills.

Other student support services - from chaplaincy to disability services; support for international students to accommodation there are services to help.

Massey's Centres for Teaching and Learning - these are housed on each of Massey University‘s main campuses and assist students to meet their learning needs and achieve academic excellence

What else can I do?

Career ‘success’ means different things to different people but a good ‘fit’ is where a person’s study or career closely connects with their interests; skills; personality and values. When you get the opportunity, take time to explore the following resources:

Your child's career planning - how you as a parent can help

Influences on a young person's career decisions

Where next?

To help your daughter or son to find work we encourage you to refer them to:

Massey University CareerHub - where Massey students and graduates can access graduate, vacation, international and degree- related jobs (p/t & temporary), work experience and employment scholarships. Also, information on upcoming career-related events that include employer recruitment presentations, careers fairs, industry networking events and employment preparation workshops.

Other vacancy sources - for details of some of the sources of advertised vacancies in New Zealand and abroad.

Student Job Search - a free service for students seeking work while they study.

To help your daughter or son to explore skills sought, and how to develop them, see:

Skills employers want - what do employers want in a job candidate?

Developing career skills - things that can be done while at university to develop the skills typically sought by employers.

What do I have to offer to employers? - examples of the skills to be illustrated in a CV or in an interview situation.

To help your daughter or son explore some subject-related career options see:

Options with my subject - A tertiary qualification will enhance his or her career, whatever they choose to do. Furthermore, "people choose people not papers". Subject of study will be only one element in their career choice and will be only one factor in whether or not an employer recruits them. Also important to both will be their skills; experience; interests and personality.

To help your daughter or son look at extracurricular activities see:

Massey University’s Student Associations and Societies - for information on clubs and societies.

The Step Up Programme - For students on the Manawatu campus the Step Up Programme provides the opportunity to gain formal recognition for involvement in a range of extra curricular activities.

To help your daughter or son explore all of these topics in more depth see: