The “Failure to Launch” Moment Is Real—Here’s How to Help Your College Grad Beat It
- Dan Troup
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
Cue the cap toss. Queue the tears. The crowd goes wild (or at least politely claps). Your child—the one you helped navigate science projects, college tours, and FAFSA forms—is graduating this May. Four years. Countless credits. Tuition checks that rival small mortgages.
But one thing’s missing.
A job.
You ask about it at dinner over Spring Break: “Do you have any leads?” You try to stay casual. You get vague answers. “I’ve been looking. Sent some resumes.” You glance at the resume. It looks like it came straight off the career center printer. Because it did.
And now, just a few months from graduation, your bright, capable, Netflix-subscribed adult child is staring into the abyss of summer… with no clear launch plan.
Sound familiar?
You’re not alone. I’ve worked with many college students, recent graduates, and their parents who have found themselves in this exact moment: diploma incoming, job offer... not so much.
It’s a stressful, emotional, “what now?” phase that feels like failure to launch. But it doesn’t have to be.
The Job Market Is Tough—But It’s Not Hopeless
This spring, nearly 70% of college seniors are expected to graduate without a full-time job offer in hand.
Hiring is slower, competition is fiercer, and “entry-level” roles often want two years of experience. And it’s not just this year’s class—many grads from the past couple of years still live at home, apply online, and wonder what they’re doing wrong.
Here’s the truth: most grads aren’t unmotivated. They’re just underprepared.
Why? Because no one ever taught them how to actually run a job search.
What Most Students Don’t Know
Even students who visit the campus career office can often walk away with something less than a full meal for that journey to their first professional job. At best, they likely have:
A résumé that looks like every other student’s
A generic LinkedIn profile and/or the student-focused Handshake profile
No real game plan
But the job search isn’t a one-step activity. It’s a process.
That’s why I created the AdvantEdge Job Search Process—a four-phase, twelve-step framework that helps students transition from being stuck to being hired.
It covers:
How to create a job search plan and weekly schedule
How to define target roles and companies
How to craft a personal brand and a standout resume
How to network like a pro (without being pushy)
How to prep for interviews and land the offer
It’s everything most students don’t know—but can learn quickly with the proper guidance.
Help Your Grad Launch (Not Linger)
To help families like yours, I’ve put together a free downloadable guide:
“Graduating with No Job:
A Parent's Guide to Helping Your New Grad Launch Their Career”
Inside, you’ll find:
A full breakdown of the job search process
Real tips for building momentum
Advice for parents (how to be supportive without taking over)
A clear next step to get help now
Don’t let a diploma become a gap year on your couch.
Let’s help your grad turn tassels into traction—and launch into the career they’ve worked so hard for these past several years.
Dan Troup is the author of the job search guidebook Selling You: The AdvantEdge Job Search Process™, available through multiple channels in Paperback and eBook formats. He is also the Managing Director of the AdvantEdge Careers coaching service. If you want to learn more about how a job search expert and certified career coach can assist you, please contact AdvantEdge Careers for a free initial consultation.
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