Your Child Worked Hard for That Degree.
Here's How to Help Them Use It.
As a parent, you've invested years and significant resources in your child's education. The jump from graduation to career is often harder than anyone expects. Your First Job gives them a clear, proscriptive path to turn your graduate into a sought-after applicant — and a trusted team of coaches to support them every step of the way.
Your 3 Steps as a Parent
1 Understand the 3 Options for Assistance
Your First Job offers three levels of parent-initiated support for your student: self-guided membership, coached membership fully managed career activation, and fully managed career activation. Review each option and choose the level that fits your student's needs and your comfort level.
2 Select One Option and Immediately
Turn Your Student Into an Applicant
Once you choose a support path, your student's profile is activated quickly. They will receive a communication from Your First Job, and easy instructions to activate their account. They will take the Professional Aptitude Profile to receive their Killarney Score, and their resume is quickly standardized into the preferred format and entered into our exclusive employer-facing applicant pool — making them a visible, evaluated candidate immediately.
3 Get Updates (If Requested)
You can opt in to receive progress updates on your student's activity within the platform — coaching sessions completed, employer matches made, and applications submitted. Entirely optional, always respectful of your student's autonomy.
The 3 Options for
Parent-Initiated Support
Option 1 — Self-Guided Student
Membership
Your student joins, completes their Professional Aptitude Profile independently, and navigates the platform on their own. Best for self-motivated students who just need the tools,the network and one additional source for securing interviews.
Option 2 — Coached Membership
Your student gets everything in the self-guided plan plus access to two (2) personalized coaching sessions with a Your First Job career coach, and receives their personalized version of The Career Launch System. We will walk them through the proscriptive process – which is different for each year of study (i.e. Sophomore, Junior, Senior) – which they will execute on their own, and report back to us. They will also have access to our education library. Ideal for students who want expert guidance available through the job search process.
Option 3 — Fully Managed Career
Activation
For students who desire the most support, we take an active role in helping them secure interviews. They complete the Professional Aptitude Profile (and receive their Killarney Score), obtain their personalized Career Launch System, get personalized resume guidance, and interact with us on a monthly basis to ensure compliance with the proscriptive process. In addition, they will receive coaching for interviews, and have access to our education library. Parents who want peace of mind, this is your option.
Frequently Asked Questions — Parents
As much or as little as you'd like. Some parents activate the process and step back. Others opt in to receive regular updates. The platform is built for student ownership — but we understand parents want to help.
Yes. Your First Job is a fully online platform serving college students nationwide. Our initial focus is Illinois, but our employer base hires nationally.
No. Although Your First Job is a registered 509(a)(2) nonprofit, membership fees (at any level) are not tax deductible. However, All donations are tax-deductible, and are most often used to sponsor students who do not have the means to pay for membership.