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IMPORTANCE OF CAREER COUNSELING

  • 2020-08-25

Career, this one word can be so puzzling, it's so powerful to put us in a state of immediate confusion. Whenever someone asks us what we want our career to be, we are most of the time unsure and feel a sense of being lost. It was so easy in childhood to know what we want to become, a doctor, a pilot, a teacher, etc. however, as we grow we explore the vast array of careers based on our liking or our passion, we get a little more confused as to what to do in life.

Today's generation has evolved from the traditional career choices of engineering doctors etc. and more focused on their passion, they want to be different, something new, being one of a kind however, we still see a dominance of “science stream” over other courses. This confusion most of the time puts our future at risk as we are not sure what to pursue further.

 

To overcome this confusion, people nowadays are turning towards Career counseling.

Career counseling is a path formed to help with choosing, changing, or leaving a career and is available at any stage in life for anyone who is lost in their life career-wise. 

To elaborate it is a one-to-one interaction between counselor/practitioner and client, usually ongoing, involving the application of psychological theory concepts and a good set of communication skills. The primary focus is on helping the client make career-related decisions and deal with career-related issues. (Kidd, 2006, p. 1)


Isn't it the same as guidance?

Career counseling is different from career guidance, in counseling of clients involves a conversation between a career counselor who possesses all the skills, abilities, knowledge and information regarding the job openings, prospects, opportunities that are available and possess the ability to effectively communicate with the person who is seeking counseling whereas in guidance the person is an expert in his/her field, you can get guidance from your parents, teachers, elder siblings, person working in that particular field, etc.

 

Why is career counseling necessary?

Career counseling is a much more formal, in-depth, comprehensive process that assesses your aptitude, interests in relation to your personality type and offers you the most compatible career options for you. It's also helpful in managing your anxieties, fear, or doubts you might have while deciding your career.

 

When to take career counseling? you can take career counseling when you feel too confused as to what to do with your life. It doesn't matter at what age you wanna seek career counseling, the efforts matter. There are many people that change their career direction later in their life or find their true calling after settling in a job, and guess what? It's totally okay!. Do what you are meant to do, don't give in the mob mentality. 

Career counseling is seen to be most helpful for people of 15-25 years of age as they get a clearer picture of what they want to do in the future a little early.

 

Provides technological guidance: It's very helpful in identifying your strengths and weaknesses in regard to your preferred course/profession. They conduct assessment tests designed to help you gain insight into determining the good traits as well as the bad traits you possess which in turn will help not just in your professional life but personal life as well.

 

Helps in identifying Ideal Profession: As fresh job seekers, you may also find yourself in a dilemma as to what career would be the perfect choice for you. Taking career counseling will reveal a number of professions that can be good options based on your personality traits, skills, values, passions, and interests. As a fresher seeking employment, it is quite possible that you will find that there is a gap between what skills the industry wants in you and what they can offer. Therefore, it is important that you are aware of their capabilities and work on their areas of improvement with the help of counseling. It will help in targeting jobs that are best suited for you as well as help you achieve success.

Careers of the future: the world progresses rapidly so does the careers, new situations create demands for new careers and vice versa. Career counselors are very adept at keeping up with the new-age careers and they help in clearing doubts about them also.

Full knowledge:  career counselors will help you through every stage of deciding your future path from clearing your doubts to giving you clarification on other jobs and about yourself as well. They also help you in shortlisting colleges, companies, locations as per your capabilities. They'll also help you with your entrance exams, interviews.

Types of career assessment tests that you can take are as follows:

(hyperlinks are provided for the tests)

Myers-Briggs: One of the most famous assessments, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator that has a four-letter “types. The test is meant to identify basic preferences for each of four dimensions (e.g. introversion and extroversion) and describes 16 distinctive personality traits. It's the most comprehensive test. It covers all aspects of your personality, your relationships, the kind of environment that suits you, the kind of people you are compatible with, your weaknesses and strengths also.

Keirsey Temperament Sorter: its personality assessment is based on Keirsey Temperament Theory, which categorizes people into four “temperaments:” guardian, idealist, rational, and artisan. The assessment measures people's communication and what their actions result to be. 

MyPlan.com: This assessment helps you identify your motivations and what’s important for your career. MyPlan.com ranks different aspects of work, and the results can encourage you to look at jobs or industries you may not have considered before. You’ll know from this career test a list of 739 jobs rank-ordered based on your suitable style. 

Big Five: Big Five personality assessments divide people into five personality traits: (OCEAN) openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. The assessment identifies a preference out of the five and tells you about your learning styles and work preferences.

Enneagram of Personality: According to the Enneagram Institute, the enneagram (a structure that sort of looks like a handful of triangles within a circle) is a model of nine distinct, interwoven personality types: the reformer, the helper, the achiever, the individualist, the investigator, the loyalist, the enthusiast, the challenger, and the peacemaker. You can take the test for $12 on the Institute's site, although there are also a handful of free enneagram-like tests on the web.

16personalities: 16personalities' assessment starts with Myers-Briggs dichotomies and adds archetypes from Jungian theory as well as some from the Big Five, which is a psychobabble way of saying you’ll learn whether you’re an introvert or extrovert if you take this test—and at the end, you’ll be labeled with one of 16 personality types with cool names like “Mediator,” “Commander,” and “Defender.” it's time friendly as well (12 minutes).

iSeek “Clusters”: here at iSeek survey you rate activities you enjoy, your personal qualities, and favorite school subjects. Then you get a comprehensive match of which career clusters are a match for your interests. And this is another quick one, clocking in at five to 10 minutes.

MyNextMove: MyNextMove is a tool which is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor, to help determine your interests in relation to work. Here you’re asked how to rate how much you’d enjoy performing very specific work tasks like “building kitchen cabinets,” “laying brick” and “buying and selling stocks and bonds.” It’s really nicely color-coded as well. It's a bit long as it has 60 questions.

Holland Code Career Test: The Holland Code self-assessment determines your suitability with different careers based on six occupations: (RIASEC) Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional. The test identifies your top interest area and compares it to the other areas, and the meaning for your career interests.

PI Behavioral Assessment: The Predictive Index predicts primary personality traits that explain and predict day-to-day workplace behaviors, says Greg Barnett. This rigorous test studies your strongest workplace behaviors and determines your management and influence styles.

Thus,  it's better to take professional help if you are confused about your future or even current job rather than feeling lost and be in a constant state of confusion.

You might also know new things about yourself that you didn't know!

Know yourself. Know your career. Excel!

 

 

Ms. Kajal Singh (Content Writer)
Editor’s note: Deciding on a career path is very puzzling. This confusion can sometimes cost us our time and energy. Consequently, sometimes we feel lost in our lives and don't know what will be better for us in the future. Thereby, people should be leaning more towards career counseling. Career counseling gives comprehensive information about your personality, aptitude, and interests in relation to the best-suited career option. It helps in giving a much clearer direction for our future life. Having a much more clear direction in choosing the career. 

 

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