Whatever your child’s age, there are things you can be doing to help lay the foundations for a successful future career and ensure they have a fulfilling working life. It starts with helping them develop the skills they need to confidently go out into the world of work as well as giving them opportunities to explore their interests. Here a private girls’ school in Hertfordshire outlines the various ways you can help prepare your child for their future career.
Foster their interests
Your child is more likely to have a career doing something they enjoy if they’re given opportunities to explore their interests throughout childhood. That way they’ll learn what they enjoy doing and what they’re good at, two key elements of a successful and satisfying career. Try to get them involved in different extra-curricular activities so they get the chance to try things out; even if they decide something’s not for them, at least they would have given it a go. Figuring out what we enjoy in life is sometimes an ongoing process, so the best thing you can do is encourage your child to try different things on their path to working out what really interests them.
Teach resilience
Being able to bounce back from setbacks and approach challenges with optimism will help set your child up for their future career, whatever they end up doing. They’ll no doubt face many challenges in their working life, but being resilient will help them overcome hurdles and grasp new opportunities with confidence. You can teach resilience by demonstrating it yourself; try to adopt a positive outlook on life, even in the face of disappointment, and make sure your child sees you face obstacles with an optimistic attitude. Point out the learning opportunities inherent in adversity so your child naturally approaches life with a growth mindset – this will help them navigate working life more smoothly and feel confident to take on new challenges.
Be supportive
You might have some idea of what you’d like your child’s career to be or a particular path you envisage them taking, but it’s important they don’t feel too much pressure from you to do what you want. They should feel confident to pursue a route that suits them and their interests and skills, and not be forced to do something they don’t enjoy or aren’t very good at. The best support you can give them is to help them find their natural talents and passions, and then give them chances to explore and develop them. The world of work is always changing and your child might end up pursuing a career that hasn’t even been invented yet! Of course you can impart advice based on your own experience, but try to be as open-minded and supportive as possible, and let them forge their own path through life.
Explore options
In terms of what you can do on a practical level to support your child, try to offer them opportunities to speak to people in different careers and perhaps even shadow them so they can get first-hand experience of what’s involved. The reality of certain roles can often be different to what we imagine; your child might be looking at a particular career through rose-tinted glasses based on what they’ve seen in a film or TV programme, so actually seeing what’s involved up close will give them a more realistic view of it. They might be able to volunteer or shadow a family member for a day or two; even just talking to people in certain roles will provide a good insight into what the job involves on a day to day basis.
