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The landscape of career success in 2026 has evolved significantly from what previous generations experienced. Even recent college graduates are finding it increasingly challenging to secure employment in today’s competitive job market. However, a seasoned venture capitalist has outlined effective strategies for parents to help their children achieve career success.
According to Cengage’s graduate employability report, the statistics are concerning. The report reveals that a mere 30% of 2025 college graduates and only 41% of those graduating in 2024 have secured full-time positions relevant to their field of study. These figures highlight the daunting reality facing new entrants to the workforce.
In a conversation with Parents.com, Alexa von Tobel, the founder and managing partner of Inspired Capital, shared her insights on how parents can better prepare their children for future career paths. Her advice is particularly valuable in an era where traditional career trajectories are shifting.
Foster a Love of Learning
A passion for learning is one of the primary indicators of future success. Encouraging children to be curious and enthusiastic about acquiring new knowledge can lay a solid foundation for their professional achievements. By nurturing this mindset, parents can equip their children with the tools necessary for adapting to an ever-evolving job market.
“A genuine curiosity about how things work ends up increasing kids’ speed of learning, because the more interested you are and the more you’re paying attention to something, the faster you adopt it, and most likely, the better that you do,” she tells the outlet.
In other words, if they are interested in a particular subject or career path, encourage them to learn more. If it ends up becoming a passion, support their exploration.
“I have a principle that I think still applies, which is, what is your child excellent at, and what do they love to do?” von Tobel explains. “And when you combine those two things in your career, as early as you can, you compound success.”
Teach them Executive Function Skills
As per the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, “Executive functioning skills are a set of cognitive processes managed by the brain’s frontal lobe that act as an ‘air traffic control system’ for daily life. These essential skills enable individuals to set goals, plan, initiate tasks, manage time, focus attention, regulate emotions, and adapt to change, continuing to develop well into adulthood.”
“Executive functioning is not just the skill set of getting things done. It’s knowing how to plan, how to execute, how to organize, which is an incredibly important trait that comes to some people very naturally,” von Tobel explains. “But regardless of how it comes to your child, executive function is a sort of muscle that we can all train and get better at.”
Ensuring that children are well-versed in executive function skills is essential to their success.
Prioritize Human-Centered Jobs
As technology advances, the number of human-centered jobs are on the decline. If you focus on jobs gearing your child to show interest in human-centered jobs, those are less likely to be animated and replaced by technology.
Von Tobel sites jobs within the legal sector, restaurant industry, construction, etc. as jobs that are human-centered.
Value the Workplace
Remote opportunities are wonderful for a variety of reasons; however, von Tobel recommends that parents encourage their children to value the workplace.
“I want my children to have all of their jobs right out of school and all of their internships, to be in-person with people more senior than them and who they have opportunities to learn from,” she says. “Quietly watching what other people are doing to get things done is a great way to learn how to succeed in any industry.”
Don’t Neglect Emotional Intelligence
According to Mental Health America, “Emotional Intelligence (EI or EQ) is the ability to recognize, understand, manage, and use your own emotions, as well as perceive and influence the emotions of others. It involves self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills to communicate effectively, manage stress, and build strong relationships.”
Ensuring that your child has strong EI will make them highly desirable in the job market and also have a positive effect on their education at a young age.
“So effectively, what’s happened with AI is that IQ has become free,” says von Tobel. “Real 150 IQ has become free at our fingertips, and that gives a really powerful opportunity to people with strong EQ skills, with social skills, communication skills, to be able to actually do a lot more than maybe they could in the past.”