What Is Career Counseling?

Career development is a lifelong process that begins at an early age. Many factors influence our careers, including our interests, abilities, values, personality, background, and circumstances. Career counseling helps you to know yourself and the world of work to be able to make career and educational decisions.

Career development is more than just deciding on the type of education you want to get or the job you are aiming for. In fact, this is a lifelong process because you are likely to come across changes in your life. Different situations will continuously make you decide on a career and your life. The objective of career counseling is not only to assist you in making these decisions but also give you the necessary knowledge and the skills for the same.

[su_quote class=”cust-pagination”]“Your personal and professional lives will have to go hand in hand and will have influence on each other.”  ― Abhishek Ratna[/su_quote]

What can I expect from career counseling?

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A career counselor will help you with the following:

—Understanding who you are and what you want from your education, your career, and life.

—Share thoughts, ideas, feelings, and concerns about the choices you make for your education and your career. They can help you organize your thoughts and feelings in a way that will make sense to you.

–Identify the factors that influence your career development and provide assistance in assessing your interests, abilities, and values.

—Locate resources and the sources of career information.

–Determine the next steps and develop a plan to achieve your goals.

Your career counselor will, however, not give you information on the type of education you should pursue or the kind of career you should choose.

Who needs career counseling?

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Since career development is a lifelong process, everyone should seek the help of a career counselor, including freshers, juniors, seniors, sophomores, and alumni. The whole objective of getting career counseling is to start making intentional decisions at an early age about your future.  All freshman should obtain help from a career counseling agency.

Below are some examples of the concerns which students have, which make them seek career counseling:

–I have no idea what I want to do in life.

–I do not know what subject to major in.

–I have a couple of career options in mind, but I am having difficulties choosing between them.

–I know what I want to major in, but have no idea what to do after I graduate.

–I want information about the type of jobs I can get regardless of the subject I major in.

–I am aware of what I want to do, but am uncertain about the subject I should major in.

–I am not sure about the different types of careers to understand what I should do.

It is the job of the career counselor to not only provide the candidate with a helpful answer but also set them on a path where they have clear thoughts and understanding about where they are headed.

[su_quote class=”cust-pagination”]“Make sure the job you select complements your personal life the best.”  ― Abhishek Ratna [/su_quote]

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Selecting career counseling services

If you are trying to select career counseling services, conduct some research and try to find a career counselor who holds a Masters degree. He or she should also have experience in career development theory, counseling techniques, and administration and interpretation of assessments.

Not everyone who promotes himself or herself as a career counselor is the best option to choose from. He or she has to have adequate knowledge and experience to work as a career counselor. If you manage to find the right career counseling agency, you will benefit from the information provided and be in a position to make decisions about your career and life for a long time to come.