The Helicopter Phenomenon:
Working with Your Candidate’s Parents
By: Christine Hirsch

Has the following happened to you? A candidate’s parent rings you on the phone. He or she tells you that they’d like to follow-up on the interview you just had with young Sarah or Billy. Yes -- you read correctly -- the candidate’s parent. As many of today’s recruiters are discovering, parent involvement is moving into the professional sphere. In an effort to hire the best, companies are starting to reach out to parents as well. Are you prepared for the call?

Dubbed “helicopter parents,” many of today’s parents have very close ties to their children – ties that extend well beyond family matters. Modern technologies like email, instant messenger, and cell phones enable close contact, allowing parents to receive real-time updates on events in their children’s lives. According to Wikipedia, a helicopter parent can be described as follows:

A helicopter parent is a term for a person who pays extremely close attention to his or her child or children, particularly at educational institutions. They rush to prevent any harm from befalling them or letting them learn from their own mistakes, sometimes even contrary to the children's wishes. They are so named because, like a helicopter, they hover closely overhead, rarely out of reach whether their children need them or not.

Read the full article at the following link:
http://www.recruitersworld.com/articles/rw/christine/helicopter.asp

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