What is Career Counseling?

The Answer to Your Questions About Career Counseling

(“Counselling” = British English / “Counseling” = USA English)

If you’ve ever been curious about your future or worried about your career, you’ll find the answers you seek with career counselling. In this article, we cover some things you need to know about this type of professional guidance and its benefits.

You might think that you don’t need a third party to tell you what your interests are or what field is best for you, but the truth is that it can be challenging to see objectively when you’re in the middle of it all.

What is Career Counseling?

Career counselling is a collaborative process where you work with a counsellor to make decisions and plans for your future. The key difference between career counselling and other types of guidance is that it’s focused on your work life and to a large extent, your future. Other forms of counselling tend to focus on the past and discuss emotional upheavals, relationship problems, addictions and other mental health issues.

Instead, you’ll be discussing your hopes and dreams, your values, and the strengths and skills you bring to the table. A good career counsellor will help you explore your passions, clarify your values, help you learn more about the job market and determine your best career path.

How Does Career Counseling Work?

Career counselling is a collaborative process between you and the counsellor. It can take place in person or online, but you’ll likely share your story, discuss your passions, explore your values, and talk about your strengths and skills over a series of sessions. 

Single sessions are possible but 3+ sessions are recommended because the process involves a process of information gathering and action tasks that need to be completed before the next session which will then be explored in the following session.

To give an example of the process, career counselling involves 3 main steps:

1. Information gathering 

2. Job markets, education requirements & workplaces

3. Decision-making & planning

Information gathering is the process of learning more about yourself, your skills and interests, what is important to you and what jobs fit this criterion.

Step two is about learning about the actual jobs out there and what they require as far as education, skills and personalities. 

Step three is where the intelligent decision-making process is activated. Only after we have enough information regarding ourselves and the job marketplaces can we go about making informed, intelligent decisions about our future. 

A counsellor can help you make connections between these topics to see how they all fit together. You may be asked to complete some self-discovery exercises, like an interest inventory, a values inventory, or a skills inventory. A counsellor may also ask you to do some homework, like reading a book on a related topic, or journaling about a particular subject.

Why Should You Consider Career Counseling?

It’s natural to want to be the captain of your own ship, especially when it comes to something as important as your future. 

You might be wondering why you should listen to someone else or go through a career counselling process. The short answer is: because you can’t see everything clearly as an individual. It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day tasks, the emotions, and your own personal worldview. 

A career counsellor can help you to see outside of yourself, explore other potential options, discover new insights about yourself and connect the dots between who you are and the best career path for you.

3 Things to Look for in a Good Career Counselor

A good counsellor has the right credentials and experience. But what else do you need to look for? Here are three things to keep an eye out for when searching for a good counsellor. 

Trust - This is something that grows over time, but it’s important to start with it. You need to trust your counsellor so that you can share your story honestly and get the most out of the process. With all good counsellors, there will be a confidentiality agreement between the client and the counsellor which states that the information in the sessions will not be shared with any other person.

Expertise - Counselors bring different sets of skills to the table. Some specialize in certain fields, some work with certain age groups (eg. teens & school students) and some focus on a particular approach. Some have formal training and are affiliated with reputable associations whereas others have little to no training. You want to make sure that your counsellor specialises in the area or field in which you seek support.

Non-Judgmental - You need a counsellor who can help you navigate the process from a non-judgmental and non-bias space. A good counsellor does not imply their own values onto their clients or make critical judgements about their clients’ perspectives (eg. “This is not a good thing to do…”), but instead helps the client discover their own innate values, interests and beliefs without being influenced or manipulated by the counsellor.

Benefits of Career Counseling

• Helps you identify your natural passions, interests and strengths and what types of jobs tend to match these qualities

• Helps you get clear on what matters to you and why

• It can help you to discover new jobs, education options or work opportunities that you may have never considered before

• It can help you develop a realistic action plan so you can move forward towards your career goals

• It can help you get out of your own way & help you see the bigger picture. Sometimes the biggest obstacles are the ones in our own heads. Career counselling can help you get out of your own way and help you see the bigger picture.

• It can provide a non-judgemental space for talking, sharing and listening regarding your dreams, plans and ideas

• Career counselling can help to expand your options and what you thought was possible

Final Words

Career counselling can be a challenging and rewarding process. If you’re looking for a general guide or quick fixes, career counselling may not be the right choice because it's a process that involves focus, activities and planning.

Therefore, if you’re willing to show up and get clear on who you are, what you want, and what matters to you, then you will be able to achieve it through career counselling.

If you would like to book a 1:1 career counselling session with Michael, please CLICK HERE to book in a time and day.