Do: Identify strengths Don’t: Identify careers Do: Tap lists of careers Don’t: Restrict the list

Psychologists call it “strength spotting” and since you know your child well, you can help with this.

Remind your offspring what they do well on a micro level. For example, “organizing your thoughts before you speak.”

Note the circumstances under which your child works best, whether it’s alone, in small groups or in large organizations.

All of these skills and preferences are clues to possible careers.

For a more official strength-spotting exercise, suggest that your son or daughter take a personality test such as Myers-Briggs or the Strong Interest Inventory.

To use the same example, if your child is good at “organizing their thoughts before they speak,” you might be tempted to make more macro suggestions, like “you’d be a great lawyer.”

But this same skill applies to broadcast journalists, politicians, professional speakers and more, so why box your child in?

Identify raw skills and let them make the leap to specific careers.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook lists 25 career categories, descriptions of hundreds of jobs within those categories, and even average salaries for those jobs.

It’s a great brainstorming resource.

We, as parents, are not aware of the entire universe of available jobs, particularly those that didn’t exist when we started our own careers. That’s another reason to refrain from naming specific careers. in, you can leverage your contacts to help.

On the quick-and-dirty end of the scale, you can help them find professionals to interview or shadow for a day.

At the deep-and-meaningful level, perhaps you can find them a mentor or internship.

But stop there. Pressing your offspring to follow in your footsteps into the same field probably won’t work.

If they truly do take after you, they will be much happier figuring that out on their own.

Twenty or so hours a week is plenty of time to figure out if you’re passionate about a profession.

Working a typical summer job, such as waiter or lifeguard, instills valuable career lessons too, such as how to multitask and be responsible.