In the last few months, I have had many parents call Career Counseling Connecticut on behalf of their children.  The stories are reasonably similar.  Their children – seemingly more sons than daughters – graduated in the last few years from college or are in the midst of “interrupted college” = and have not developed career traction.  In each case, the parents never mentioned their worries about financial security of their children but rather each focused on their worries related to their children’s mental health.

Back in the not too distant past… the biggest worries – by far – for unemployed or underemployed recent college graduates were practical.  “How will he support himself? “We can’t support him forever?” “He has loan payments due.”

Now, while such issues remain, the emotional pain of parents focuses far more on the anxiety/depression of their children.

Quick research will reveal the epidemic of mental health challenges facing young adults.  Truly unprecedented.

The reasons are multi-faceted.  One is quite apparent: social comparison is now social media based – where most display their “best lives” – as opposed to the limited viewing of those we saw in person a mere 15-20 years ago.   The college grad who was working at a restaurant in the early 2000s was not bombarded with images of classmates – however inflated those images might be – thriving in their careers.

As Kyle, a 2021 UCONN grad relayed, I know I shouldn’t compare myself but it seems “like everyone has figured out their lives”.  When I walked through “everyone”, it seemed clear that even though several of his close friends were not doing better than he was, he felt way behind the hundreds of peers he sees on Instagram .

We quickly worked on a plan to get Kyle in the work world.  The plan should have him employed in what he calls a “real job” within the next few months.  More importantly, his mom relayed afterwards: “Kyle’s demeanor changed every since he started working with you.  He has his confidence back.”

Happy to help.