Failure to Launch

Failure to launch is a concept that everyone seems to know, made famous by the movie of the same name.  In all seriousness, failure to launch happens, and it’s really sad for both the young adult and the parent.

Both young adult and family system must be adjusted to establish an optimal environment for a successful career launch for the young adult.  Parents patiently waiting and saying nothing, hoping “someday” the kid will get off the couch, only breeds anger and resentment.  Yelling and nagging is even worse.  There is more a parent can do.  In fact, there are actually several steps a parent can take to help assist the young adult.  Depending on the situation, here are some strategies we use in my practice:

1.  Share your story.  Let’s be honest, you struggled too.  Reassure them they’re not alone – what do I tell first time job seekers?  “The first job search is the worst!”   It’s true!

2.  Connect them with friends that will share their stories too.  Your friends struggled too and not everyone is the go-getter than you are.  Outgoing folks need different strategies like networking, cold calling and sending resumes out.  But your friends who are on the shyer side probably had a door opened for them.  Expose your young adult to these types of stories to see if there are any aha moments that come.

3.  Help them with LinkedIn.  I cannot tell you how much young adults underestimate the power of LinkedIn.  ‘Nuff said.

4.  Professional introductions, if they’re ready.  Don’t start introducing your young adult to clients and colleagues until the young adult has BOTH confidence in themselves AND confidence in their abilities to perform well at an entry level job.  Usually once a young adult finds a career path they are excited about, their confidence in themselves and their abilities skyrockets.  THAT’S when you make the introductions.

5.  Be patient, and get help.

Good luck with your young adult.  Failure to launch is simply a lack of knowledge of self, knowledge of work, and putting all the pieces in place at the right time.  Then, with a little luck, a job happens.

Julie LaCroix, M.A.,  has a private practice in Newport Beach, CA,  which serves adults of all ages looking for help with how they got “stuck” in their careers.  Maybe it’s the wrong job, maybe it’s the wrong field altogether.  Or maybe you just don’t know what else is out there.  Her practice is designed to help you, wherever you are in your career journey. She earned a B.A. in Psychology from UCI and an M.A. in Educational Clinical Counseling from Azusa Pacific University.  Email Julie at www.julielacroix.com.