Networking is helping people, as Oscar Megerdichian told me long ago. A network contact will see few things as helpful as assisting her child in a job search. A previous post listed five ways to help. Here are five more.

6. Provide a practice job interview. Job interviews intimidate most first-time job seekers. A practice interview in a low-risk environment is usually greatly appreciated and greatly enhances the job-seeker's likelihood of doing a real interview well. The young job seeker will often take straight talk from you about appearance, posture and language better than she will from a parent.

7. Provide them with questions to ask during interviews. Most inexperienced job seekers are painfully ill-equipped for an interview. They have no idea of what to say or ask. But if they do ask good questions, their chances of getting hired increase noticeably. Questions they can ask, but probably won't without a little help include: In your opinion, what makes this job important to the company? How will anyone know if the job is being done well or poorly? What are the consequences for the firm of the job getting done well or poorly? What made past occupants of the job successful at it? What made those that didn't do well at it fail? What are your biggest worries about this position?

8. Coach them on follow-up to an interview. Most have no clue about how to follow up after an interview. They don't know what to put in a letter thanking the prospective employer for the opportunity to meet. They don't know how or how often to follow up by phone. Guidance here can make the difference between getting an offer and not getting one.

9. Hire them. Give them a summer job or part time job. If they are a good fit for your firm, give them a job.

10. Be tolerant if they don't follow up with you. Chances are about fifty-fifty that the young person you help will remember to let you know when they land a job or thank you for the help you gave. Remember that they are young. The parent will be mortified to find out that the child hasn't called you. Putting the parent at ease by saying that you aren't troubled by the child's breech of etiquette is a part of the help you are giving.

And after the kid gets a job, let the parents know how delightful their child is. We all love to hear that about our children and all worry, often needlessly, that the sullen face they may put on at home gets carried into the marketplace.