ARLINGTON, Va. (7News) — Driven by anxiety and frustration with a soft job market, Gen Z job seekers are relying on support from a source close to home: their parents.

According to a recent survey from the online platform ResumeTemplates.com, parental involvement in both the job search and early career path of the 18-to-23-year-olds polled is surprisingly high.

"I think they're trying to be helpful, but unfortunately, it's a little too much in some cases," said Juliet Toothacre, Chief Career Strategist for ResumeTemplates.com.

In January, the company polled 1,000 Gen-Zers who'd searched for jobs within the past two years. Among the findings:

• 75% of Gen-Zers admitted a parent had submitted a job application for them

• 51% said a parent sat in on multiple job interviews.

• 67% said a parent had repeatedly spoken with a manager.

"The interviewing statistics that we got really blew me away, because I felt like it was a high number of parents that were way too involved in the interview process," Toothacre told 7News.

The survey also found Gen Z men were more likely than women to involve a parent in a career path decision or workplace activity.

A recent report from the National Association of Colleges and Employers found that more than half of employers rate the job market for this year's college seniors as either fair or poor, the highest levels since the pandemic year of 2020-21.

Uncertainty and anxiety in a weak job market may be driving the level of parental involvement, Toothacre said.

At last week's University of Maryland job fair, 85 different employers were on hand to meet face-to-face with the more than 3,000 students who'd registered to attend, according to a school spokesperson.

Ethan Fontenot, a senior majoring in economics, told 7News the job market is bleak.

"It's pretty difficult. I mean, that's why everyone's here, I guess," Fontenot said.

Fontenot said he's sent out hundreds of resumes weekly and has yet to find a promising lead.

"I had an interview the other week where I thought it was going be a real person, but it was just an AI chatbot talking to me," Fontenot said.

Alesya Kolosey, a University of Maryland senior majoring in English, said AI-driven algorithms have been scanning her résumés and discounting her experience.

"So, I get a lot of declining emails, a lot of people who don't even bother to reach out again," Kolosey said.

Allynn Powell, Director of the University of Maryland Career Center, said "people are hiring," but added, "what might be the case is they're hiring in smaller numbers."

"We want to equip parents and families holistically with information on how to support their students but really encourage students in their own development to figure out the tools, the steps, and kind of move in the direction of being autonomous as they go about that job search," Powell said with respect to the degree of parental involvement with this generation of job seekers.

Christina Mitchell, a Talent Acquisition Specialist for MedStar Health, said the company is looking to fill 700 jobs.

"I wouldn't necessarily apply for your child or call for your child, give them the independence to be able to do that themselves," Mitchell said, adding that she's personally experienced parents reaching out on behalf of their children.

Not every Gen Z job seeker is overly dependent on support from home.

Kolosey, the daughter of Ukrainian immigrants, said she has several friends whose parents send emails and resumes, parents who "are very involved in job searches."

Kolosey said she's had to navigate her job search on her own.

"I think being more independent, and kind of having a voice and talking to people is better because, when you're working a job, you're the one working there, not your parents," Kolosey said.

Graduate student Emma McNamara agreed. McNamara, a business management major as an undergraduate student, said she's gotten some help from her mom with networking but is otherwise conducting her own job search.

"I think we're hardworking. I think that we are dedicated and that we want to be innovative and really driven. That's how I would describe our generation," McNamara said.

"Gen Z is smart. I think they're more scrappy than people give them credit for," Toothacre said. "They need to understand how to communicate professionally and, if they fail at that, it's okay. It's okay if they get fired. It's okay if they have to have hard conversations. These are the years to do that and parents need to allow that."

WJLA

Survey finds Gen Z leaning heavily on parents to navigate...

Driven by anxiety and frustration with a soft job market, Gen Z job seekers are relying on support from a source close to home: their parents.According to a rec

• 51% said a parent sat in on multiple job interviews.

  LMAO!!

How is this allowed?

15 minutes ago, TeamThiem said:

• 51% said a parent sat in on multiple job interviews.

  LMAO!!

How is this allowed?

If it’s over Zoom, how can you prevent that? They don’t have to be in view of the camera.

I would rather die than ever involve my parents in any aspect of my career, and I say this as a geriatric Gen Z'er lol…… idk what happened as the years went on, but if I was an employer, I would be HOWLING if someone brought in their PARENT for a job interview. Needless to say it would be an automatic no. 💀

The kids are not alright indeed

• 67% said a parent had repeatedly spoken with a manager.

Not the Italification of the US

The job market is bad right now but there's clearly a major cultural problem, too. COVID and technology have really damaged everyone's social skills but none moreso than the generation who was forming their social skills while glued to an iPad 12 hours a day. I genuinely think we will look back on social media/phones like cigarettes.

Eh, I'm of two minds about this. I agree with the above posts in some ways but I also love that we're going back to a more familial way of life. The tribe gathers around and helps eachother with ****.

When you think about it, moving out at 18 and being hyper-independent in every facet of your life and doing/buying everything on your own was super unnatural for all of human history up until the 20th century. It was essentially because capitalism realized that if everyone had to buy housing and all the hardware, furniture, appliances, etc. for themselves, instead of sharing within the circle, they would profit a lot more.

Not living with family in general is a modern phenomenon. And now, because of the cost of living and other factors, we're seeing a shift back towards a more communal/collectivistic way of life.

Edited March 9Mar 9 by Capris Groove

There's nothing wrong with asking someone with significantly more work experience than you to read through a job application you've written. I think I stopped asking my parents for input around my mid 20s, mainly because I realised at that point I knew more about what I was writing than they did.

Bringing them along to an interview or getting them to speak on your behalf is crazy though.