How to help your son or daughter find a job after university

The most useful thing you can do is support your son or daughter without taking over. Keep conversations calm and occasional, help with practical things such as a quiet space, mock interview practice and fair introductions to people you know, and encourage them to use their university careers service, which many universities offer to graduates after they leave. Never write or send applications for them: employers want to see your graduate’s own skills, and they are the one who will have to show them at interview.

What helps and what backfires?#

Graduates are under real pressure. In the Prospects Early Careers Survey 2026, a survey of 4,990 students, graduates and others carried out in January and February 2026, getting a job was the biggest challenge of the past year for people who graduated in 2025, named by 56%. Keeping motivated was the most common challenge across all respondents.

The same survey points to what tends to help. Careers professionals are repeatedly rated among the three most helpful sources of careers advice, and 72% of respondents who had spoken to industry professionals felt certain about their career plans, compared with 56% of those who had not. That doesn’t prove the conversations caused the certainty, but it supports what careers services advise: expert help and real conversations with people in work are worth encouraging.

For the bigger picture, including how competitive the market is and when graduate schemes open, see our guide to the graduate job market for parents.

Should you ever apply for jobs on their behalf?#

No. Applications, online tests and interviews exist to show an employer what your son or daughter can do. The Civil Service, for example, tells candidates that an application “should represent your skills and personal experiences accurately and authentically”. It asks them to confirm that the information is true and accurate, tells them not to use AI to complete ability tests such as numerical tests, and says it may reject applications where AI is used inappropriately. A parent writing the answers creates the same problem, and the gap tends to show at interview.

Help in ways that leave the work with them:

• read a draft and give one or two comments, rather than rewriting it
• talk through which jobs suit them before they apply
• help them set up a simple tracker of deadlines, applications and replies
• never call, email or message an employer or recruiter about their application

How do you start the conversation?#

Choose a calm moment, not straight after a rejection or in front of the rest of the family. Mind’s advice on helping someone who is stressed fits well here: be gentle when you raise it, stay non-judgemental, and listen.

Questions that open things up:

• “How’s the search going, honestly?”
• “What’s been the hardest part?”
• “Is there anything I could do that would help, or anything I’m doing that doesn’t?”

Then agree how you’ll keep in touch about it, for example a 20-minute catch-up once a week, so the job search doesn’t come up at every meal. Try not to compare them with friends who already have jobs. As Student Minds puts it: “Your career will last for decades, this is just the beginning.”

If you’re not sure where they’re stuck, the free Parents’ Check asks ten plain-English questions about their search and gives a short report on where they may be stuck and what usually helps. You could also share our guide for graduates on what to do if you have no job after graduation.

What practical help can you give?#

A quiet space and time. Video interviews and online tests need a quiet room, a reliable connection and no interruptions. Keep the house quiet at interview times, lend a laptop if theirs is unreliable, and help with travel costs to in-person interviews if you can.

A routine that isn’t all job hunting. Encourage set hours for the search, with time for exercise, friends and sleep around them. Some respondents to the Prospects survey said that tailoring applications to each employer and networking before applying had helped, so a few careful applications a week can be a better aim than dozens of rushed ones.

Mock interview practice. Prospects recommends doing at least one mock interview before the real thing, and says the university careers service can help. It also suggests practising answers with someone you trust and recording yourself. You can be that person:

• take questions from the job description, such as “Tell me about a time you worked in a team”
• ask for a specific example: what they did, and what happened as a result
• give one thing that went well and one thing to improve
• keep it to 20 or 30 minutes, and let them choose when

Introductions through your network, done fairly. Friends, colleagues and neighbours who work in a field your graduate is interested in can offer something no website can: an honest picture of the work. To do this fairly:

• ask your contact first whether they’d be happy to have a short conversation
• let your graduate get in touch, prepare their own questions and say thank you
• ask for advice and insight, not a job
• expect them to apply through the normal process like everyone else
• don’t pressure your contact or offer anything in return

What does the university careers service offer graduates?#

Often more than graduates realise. At the University of Bristol, for example, graduates can use the Careers Service for up to three years after finishing their studies, wherever they live. That includes online or in-person appointments with an adviser, graduate vacancies and careers events. Undergraduates who normally live in the UK also get extra support in the 12 months after graduating, including feedback on job applications, interview coaching and conversations with alumni.

Other universities offer different packages, so search for your graduate’s university and “careers support for graduates”. Student Minds notes that careers services may support graduates for up to three years. Many students leave it late: in the Prospects survey, 28% of those who hadn’t used their careers service said they planned to use it later, when applying for jobs.

Should they pay rent or help at home?#

Living at home after university is common. In 2025, 28.7% of adults aged 20 to 34 in the UK lived with their parents, up from 25.4% in 2015, according to the ONS. The figure was 34.9% for young men and 22.3% for young women.

Whether your graduate pays rent or board, and how much they do around the house, is a family decision with no single right answer. It’s worth agreeing it openly and early, rather than letting it build up:

• what they’ll contribute now, in money, time or jobs around the house
• how that will change once they start earning
• what a normal weekday looks like while they’re job hunting

If money is part of the conversation, the government-backed MoneyHelper service has a free budget planner they can use to work out what they can afford.

A part-time or temporary job can help too, with money, routine and confidence. Student Minds suggests that securing work for now, while they keep looking for a graduate job, can be a sensible short-term step.

How can you tell if they’re struggling?#

Rejection is hard, and silence can be harder. Respondents to the Prospects survey described the emotional impact of repeated rejections and of applications that never got a reply, and 37% said taking care of their mental health had been one of their biggest challenges of the past year.

The NHS says a low mood can make people feel sad, anxious or frustrated, low in confidence and tired, or cause problems sleeping. It advises seeing a GP if low mood lasts more than two weeks, and says people aged 18 or over can usually refer themselves to NHS talking therapies without going through a GP.

If you’re worried:

• raise it gently and listen, without trying to fix everything at once. Mind suggests you could help them contact their GP, or go with them to an appointment
• point them to Student Minds, which has advice on graduate job hunting and looking after yourself
• look after yourself too. Mind notes that if someone around you is very stressed, you might feel stressed too

If you think they’re at risk or can’t keep themselves safe, get urgent help: call 999 or go to A&E if a life is at risk, or call NHS 111 and choose the mental health option. Samaritans is available on 116 123 if they need someone to talk to.

When can paid help make sense?#

Start with the free options, beginning with their university careers service. Paid coaching can make sense once they’ve used those and want more one-to-one time, specialist knowledge of a particular field, or structure over several weeks. It’s their search, so it should be their decision too.

Before you pay anyone, get the full price, what’s included and the refund terms in writing, and walk away from anyone who promises a job. Our guide Is a career coach worth it? sets out the other free services, including changes to adult careers advice in England from October 2026, and explains how to check a coach and what to ask.