Sunday, September 15, 2013

LinkedIn launches "Bring in your Parents Day"

Picture via PongoResume.com

I'm sure many of you have heard about "Bring your child to work day" and I'm confident that some of you have even participated in it. For those of you who haven't, however, it is simply a fun way for a company to involve their employees' children while allowing children to get an idea of just what their mother or father does for a living. LinkedIn has taken this tradition, along with results from a recent survey, and has created a global event where children bring their parents to their job in hopes of decreasing the generation gap.

The survey took place in the UK and found that nearly half of parents do not understand what their children do for a living and that over one in four workers think that it would benefit them if their parents had a better grasp on their profession. The survey also allowed LinkedIn to compile a list of the top ten most misunderstood jobs and they are the following:


  1. UI Designer (82%)
  2. Data Scientist (63%)
  3. Social Media Manager (59%)
  4. Actuary (59%)
  5. Sociologist (53%)
  6. Sub Editor (51%)
  7. PR Manager (42%)
  8. Investment Banker (41%)
  9. Radio Producer (34%)
  10. Software Developer (34%)
As future PR pros, it is probably not shocking for you guys to see social media manager and PR manager on that list. Almost every time I speak about public relations around people who are not in the industry, I am overwhelmed with questions about what exactly the job entails. As for the social media aspect, many people who are my age or in the PR industry are familiar with the aspects of social media. However, many adults (especially my parents) really have no idea and I feel that they could highly benefit from this LinkedIn initiative to decrease the generation gap.

On November 7, 2013 LinkedIn's "Bring in Your Parents Day" will take place in fourteen different countries. The day hopes to give parents a better understanding of what their child does, which will hopefully lead to more satisfied children and parents. As of right now, 46% of parents do not fully understand their child's job, yet 97% of parents say that they are proud of their children for their career success. 

I absolutely love this idea and feel that many people could benefit from it. As someone who is very close with my parents, I would be delighted to have them come into the office for a day and see what I am passionate about. I feel that if they fully understood, conversations would be more in-depth and relationships would be strengthened. 

If you want to learn more about the survey and the results, click here!

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