Please land your helicopters, parents.

Seeing the headline, “Millennials Now Bringing Their Parents On Job Interviews”, made me gag. Then I immediately thought of the “Ban the bag” Portlandia skit. Yeah, I’m talking about “Portlandia” *again*. I go through TV watching cyclical phases. I’ll be obsessed with Queen Victoria documentaries for a few weeks, then some dark moddy series like “Breaking Bad”, then I’ll be all up on “The Simpsons” like nobody’s business. Maybe it’s weird, or maybe it’s just how people watch TV these days. I’m hoping the latter. Anyway. here’s the skit:

Smothering for generations. (Shudder.) So let’s go back to the HuffPo story by Jillian Berman:

 

 

Pro-tip to millennials: You might want to leave your parents at home when you show up for a job interview.

 

 

Though this may seem like a pretty basic rule of getting-a-job etiquette, 8 percent of recent college grads brought their parents along to an interview, according to an Adecco survey cited by the Wall Street Journal. What’s more, a full 3 percent actually had their parents sit in on their job tryout.

 

 

For these 20-somethings, who have grown accustomed to a life micro-managed by parents, having Mom or Dad by your side during the ultimate test may only seem natural. Indeed, “helicopter parenting,” which can range from scheduling playdates for kids to even writing letters to college admissions officers to boost their 17-year-old’s chances, has become a norm for many millennials.

 

 

This trend isn’t necessarily a good thing. Recent research shows that parents’ over-involvement in their children’s lives can actually result in worse grades and decreased satisfaction for their kids. Still, employers are catering to that tendency by hosting “Take Your Parents To Work” days and inviting them to open houses, the WSJ reports.

 

 

But millennials’ inclination to lean on a parent may be about more than just helicopter parenting. Let’s be honest: This generation needs a little boost. The weak economy means that a new college graduate takes a job they feel they’re overqualified for once every five minutes, according to a recent report from McKinsey on Society. And half of recent college graduates work jobs that don’t require a degree, a January report from the Center for College Affordability and Productivity, found.

 

 

And they’re taking all the help they can get. About 13 percent of recent college graduates said they got a job through a parental connection, according to the Adecco survey.

 

 

Full disclosure: This writer is a millennial who has yet to bring a parent to a job interview.

(Hat tip: Gawker)

 

Eww. Bad economy or not, this is just straight weird. Do these people think their mommies and daddies will be there for intense meetings? Quarterly evaluations? Presentations?

(Shudder.)