Career Counselling is a must for one of our important parts of life. Sometimes there are moments in our lives when we all have to make big decisions. From that one of the biggest decisions is choosing the right career.
A career counselor helps people in their career choice. Whether the person is new to the working world, or simply desires a change of profession. He is a professional with a master’s degree, who has important knowledge, information, and skills to help people.
Career counselors are also known as Career Guidance Counselor, Personal Career Development Counselor, Career Exploration Counselor, Career Change Counselor.
What is meant by career counselling?
Career counseling means giving advice and support by career counselors to their clients, to help them in making decisions regarding learning, career, and work changes. In other words, it is a process that will help you to know and understand yourself, and make firm decisions regarding your career.
Why is career counseling important?
Not everyone is capable of taking firm decisions regarding her/his career. Some people are misguided by their family members or relatives or friends and take a wrong decision for a career which sometimes leads them to depression. But career counselor is a professional who guides their clients on the right path of career through the study of their skills, needs, and desires. So, career counseling is important to decide what type of job will be the best fit for you.
What is the Responsibility of Career Counselor?
Career counselors are well-educated researchers, advocates, and communicators whose education and training qualify them to guide their clients. This comprehensive education in career development helps them navigate the essential responsibilities involved in helping a client follow the best personal career path. Career Counselors must have knowledge of the skills needed in various fields, the average salary of each field, and the requirements of each field. They must know how to best communicate and engage with their clients.
What is the Role of Counselor?
- Whether the person is new to the working world, or simply desires to change his/her profession, a career counselor will guide them in the best possible direction. So thus, A career counselor can help those who are unsure which professional direction to take.
- Career counselors also support professionals by providing resources, administering tests, and recommending tactics for securing a great job.
- While interviewing the client, the counselor will learn their history. After assessing the client, the counselor will match the client up with a field suitable for their skills and personality. By creating the most profitable match possible in terms of job satisfaction and monetary earnings, the counselor will guide the client.
What is the workplace of a Career Counselor?
Career counselors may work in private practice or even in a college or university or any institute or consultancy. The positions available vary by region, state, and country. Some can be found at many other positions where a firm understanding of psychology is helpful or required.
A career counselor at a school would work with students to help them research which career is best for them while taking into consideration their familial pressures. Career counselors will work with the students to encourage them to pursue careers that match their skills and desires, with thought given to monetary earnings and the satisfaction level of the chosen field.
What are the Skills of Career Counselor?
Important qualities and skills that a career counselor should possess:
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Friendly and Attentive
A counselor should be very warm and welcoming towards his students or clients. If one found them unfriendly and strict, they might not open up to him, and the counselor might not be able to assess the student properly. He also needs to be attentive to a student. Otherwise, he/she might feel depressed and not indulge completely in the process. An individual should feel comfortable and confident enough with the counselor to open up regarding his/her career. A counsellor should be in regular contact with a student and support them with their admissions, interviews, exams, etc. A good counselor offers guidance for financial aids, educational loans, scholarships for those who need it.
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Experienced and certified
An experienced counselor provides courage to dream and also supports it with good practical planning and strategies to follow through it. A certified counsellor understands client in deeper level. He/she find out the skills and talents of client without scaring them.
· Globally aware
A counselor should be aware of various new innovative career fields around the world and possible career opportunities in them. He must know about what’s going on in the world. He should also be well networked in the industry to offer a proper gateway to students and professionals to start in the practical world. With so many new continuously changing demands of the world, a counselor should be aware of it so he can identify students’ talents and interests and offer him/her all the most appropriate available options.
· Acceptive and Non-judgemental
A counselor is approached by many individuals with unique talents and interests and many of them will be unknown to the counselor himself but he does not judge the student and is accepting of him/her. Through this, he will gain the student’s trust and confidence. A counselor must keep in mind that one has sought him/her out for help and not judgmental remarks. A good counselor never judges a student for their choice of field to work in and offers honest answers to students’ problems and doubts.
· Flexible and Patient
A counselor’s job is a tough one. In advising on a career, one needs to help individuals find their interested field or subject. Many students are unaware of their talents and strengths, which the counselor helps them recognize. Many individuals are well aware of what they want to do but often need another person’s point of view to acknowledge what they want. So, this process is not always easy and requires patience.
What are the Benefits of Career Counselling?
Here we just make a list of some essential benefits of career counseling in consideration of everyone.
· To clarify career goals:
By asking questions regarding your interests, job or business values, and work-based preferences, your best work experiences, your relationships with others, your hobbies, which way for you is best to learn, how you do face challenges and how you overcome them, your career counselor help you to clarify your goals.
· Identifying career options:
Your counselor will help you to find out the field that you might be interested in and the right resources necessary for you to take your next step in your career’s journey.
· Determining strengths and weaknesses:
Counseling is also an excellent way to determine your strengths and weaknesses. Apart from the discussion, Counsellor also gives you a practical series of tests and assessments like personality tests, aptitude tests, psychometric analysis tests, and IQ tests for the career goal judgment. Your counselor will show you which areas need improvement and will guide you on how to improve on those areas. They’ll also provide you with a report of your strengths and weaknesses.
· Skill building:
Your career counselor will also help you with jobs, attending interviews, and understanding the corporate world. These will boost your confidence, helps you in preparing professionally, and improve your communication skills. Your skills are one of the major factors that plan your personality-matching career.
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Helping to developing the right strategy:
If you are facing issues in choosing your career then a career counselor will help you to come out of it. Career counselors will help you to make firm decisions and blueprint of a strategy that suits your decision. They are fully aware of the jobs in the market, therefore, can point you in the right direction with resources.
These all are the benefits of our career counseling, which play an important role in making meaningful career decisions by you.
What are the techniques used in career counselling?
· Developing a beneficial relationship:
As with all forms of counseling, career counseling is most successful when the counselor forms a meaningful connection with their client. Career counselors use career aptitude tests and personality tests but other than this, they work to understand their client’s worries, interests, fears, and desires on a level that is much deeper than what any test might reveal. By establishing a beneficial relationship with their clients, career counselors can provide entire support and guidance.
· Defining goals:
Career counselors might ask clients to describe their perfect job or consider where they would like to be 5 years from now. Career counseling professionals might also focus their clients’ attention on what is important to them in life and what they enjoy accomplishing at work. All of these questions can help define a career seeker’s goals.
· Creating room for self-exploration:
Top career counselors don’t just hand their clients the results of vocational tests. They get to know their clients and give their clients the space to talk through the issues affecting their career and career choices. A good career counseling session can be a gateway to self-discovery. For career counselors, data like vocational assessments are only the beginning.
· Understanding the job market:
The career counselors know what skills clients lack for his/her career and work hard to stay up-to-date on the issues facing the job market. They pay close attention to the ways automation, outsourcing, downsizing, and global competition affect job opportunities and specific careers. Additionally, they understand the skills and attitudes workers need to succeed in a modern employment environment. Often, counselors work with their clients to make sure their clients are qualified with technology.
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Helping to turn your abilities into career goals:
Career counselors don’t just recommend possible professions. They help their clients uncover a previously unrealized passion for specific careers. To do this, career counselors take a holistic approach, viewing each client as a whole person and then seeking out life themes that have a natural connection to a career for which the client is qualified. There’s a little long-term benefit to entering a career that you’re good at but dislike. The best approach is to find a career that’s in tune with your abilities and your life goals. Career counselors can help you do just that.
What is the Process of Career Counselling:
· Getting to Know Each other:
The first and initial stage of your counseling is to know each other. Having a comfortable and confident talk between you two regarding your career is extremely important. Through that, the counselor might be able to assess you properly and can point you in the right direction with resources.
· Gathering of Data:
Data needs to be gathered so that a picture of who you are can be built up. This is done in various ways, including questionnaires and form filling. This part of process is necessary to lead you on right path.
· Awareness:
The career counselor will know a lot about you by now. With this knowledge, he/she can start working towards strategies that he/she will use throughout the remaining stages of your counseling.
· Exploration:
Now, the counselor condusts various tests that helps him/her understand individual’s skills, talents, and areas of strength and weakness. It gives the process more result-oriented. With these tests, students also get more clarity and narrow down their most beneficial option. This type of activity broadens their knowledge and accelerates them towards thinking about their career and self-discovery.
· Decision Making:
Different paths of your career are investigated, and from that, a firm decision must be made. You and your counselor will need to reach a common decision, that which path is right for you.
· Preparation:
The decision has been made by you and now is the time to prepare a plan of action. This plan will allow you to go down your chosen route and succeed. Resources will be made available and a backup plan will be provided. All the counselors have a backup plan.
· The Final Stage:
The final stage is the implementation of the plan. Goals and deadlines to achieve are given to you. All the hard work you have put in will get you to the place you want to be in your life.
Our experts are here at every step of the way in order to guide you.