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This section is about your child's or partner's story and what you can do to support them through their career decision making process.

Points to consider

As a parent or a partner it is natural for you to want the very best career opportunities for the person that you care about. To serve as a support network it is important to remain objective and remain sensitive to the following:

  • Pushiness vs. encouragement
  • Telling vs. listening
  • Opening options vs. closing options
  • What you believe to be in their best interest vs. what they believe to be in their best interest
  • Your goals vs. their goals
  • Past labour market trends vs. current labour market trends

What can I do to help?

The decision making process can be very stressful for your child or partner and knowing how to help can be a difficult task for any parent or partner. Generally, a good place to start is to consider what you found useful and helpful when you were making a similar decision.

Reflect on your own experiences

The exercise below will help you consider how you are trying to help at present, reflect on what the process was like for you when you had to make a similar decision, and it will encourage you to use this information to generate some ideas on how you can best support your child or partner.

Encourage self exploration

One of the most critical points to consider when making choices is self awareness . Encouraging your child or partner to actively explore their personality, interests, values, and other key influences will help them make course and career choices that are suited to them.

A good place for your child or partner to begin exploring their story is to engage in some activities by following the link below.