Want your child to get the job she or he wants?

Listen in to Family First this Friday! Make Your Child’s Job Interview a Success. Go to this link to hear the show live or to hear or download the recording any time later:

http://www.voiceamerica.com/episode/56895/make-your-childs-job-interview-a-success

How can young people better prepare themselves for interviewing for jobs in this challenging market? As a society we urge our children to stay in school and get their degree so they can land a good job and become productive citizens. But in this market, finishing school is no guarantee of a job. Can your child prepare for job interviews in a way that will help him or her to really communicate his or her most valuable talents? What do employers look for in new hirees and how can our young applicants show in their interview that they are ready to do the job? My guest Joel Quass is a nationally recognized expert on this topic with years of experience interviewing applicants and now years helping others to get hired. Joel has interviewed over 1,000 people and uses that knowledge to teach people the keys to getting hired. Joel Quass will share on Family First how young people can discover their own personal assets and make them shine on their resumes and in interviews.

Simply go to:
http://www.voiceamerica.com/episode/56895/make-your-childs-job-interview-a-success

Joel Quass is the author of Good Management Is Not Firefighting, How to manage using what you already know. He speaks on management topics including customer service, stress in the workplace and hiring practices. Joel provides (gratis) Workshops for unemployed workers through the NJ Department of Labor One Stop-Career Center in Toms River, NJ. Joel's career in management began over 35 years ago. He has owned five businesses, including Quassword Cards, "The Crossword Puzzle Greeting Card" that he managed with his brother Brian, and Strawcastle Snax, a vending company in Williamsburg, Virginia, which he developed from $90,000 to $1/4 million in gross sales in two years. Joel is an active member of Toastmaster International and the Toms River, NJ Chamber of Commerce. Joel received a BA in Political Science from Christopher Newport University, VA, where he was the President of the Student Government, Commodore of the Sailing Club and an Adjunct Professor teaching sailing.

Author Randy Rolfe's Take Home Tip: Make sure your child has had a good night sleep before an interview. The mind works much quicker and more clearly after a few good nights of sleep. And make sure they have had a meal with some protein and that they are well hydrated. Both of these too help brain function and keep the body relaxed. Say nice things about your child as they go out the door, not last minute reminders or words you think will protect them from disappointment. Help them to feel good about themselves by complimenting their outfit, hair, or energy.

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Empty Nest Syndrome

Someone asked family counselor and parenting educator Randy Rolfe today to help her with her feelings now that she faces "the empty nest" - one child is moving away after college and the other is leaving to go to college. This is the answer Randy gave her, and she said she was so grateful to know that her feelings were quite "normal" and okay. Hopefully it may be helpful to you too.

This is the simple bottom line. Restructuring is the right term. Make sure to tell your husband how you are feeling and that you need more time and attention from him to help you adjust to the new smaller family community.

Things around the house stay where you put them, for example! It’s crazy-making!

Parenting is a life-long process of letting go that starts when you give birth. Humans are designed traditionally to have at least some of their children in their daily lives for life (think tribal living), so this kind of thing we are not well adapted to and it does take mental energy to deal with it.

Let the kids know too that you are feeling a bit needy and it’s not about them, it’s just that you are transitioning to them being who you always imagined they could be.

Make a list of all the great things you did for your children and pat yourself on the back that your job is done. Now you are meant to enjoy the fruits of your labor, even if just from afar.

Have a chat with each child about how often seems right for you both to connect by phone, and keep generally to that schedule. Then they feel you are confident about them and just want to connect regularly out of your love.

Often you hear stuff like get a hobby, blah, blah, blah, but don’t worry about that. It’s about processing your great parenting experience and appreciating it fully, so that you can move on into the second half of your life!

The second half will indeed be wonderful. Randy talks to her children about once a week and sees them monthly or quarterly depending on geography. If it goes longer than that, boy, she feels it in her bones!

But we moms have the glorious gift of love and that pulls us through always!

Take Home Tip: Parents feel separation feelings as deeply as their children. Talk about it freely and confidently. It's all about love.

Read Randy's books You Can Postpone Anything But Love, and The Seven Secrets of Successful Parents to understand more about the gradual process of letting go and celebrating your family all through your life.