Career counselling is a process that focuses on helping individuals (students and professionals alike) make informed educational and occupational decisions. It helps shift one’s mindset from the general understanding of life and work to a deeper understanding of the realistic and practical career options suitable for them. Having these kinds of discussions and assessments with an expert helps clarify your career goals, which is invaluable in making informed and meaningful career decisions.
Determine your strengths, weaknesses, interests, and values
Thanks to career counselling, you no longer need to worry about the painstaking process of identifying your skills, strengths, and abilities. All you will have to do is undergo a series of tests that may include IQ, aptitude, and personality tests, whose results will give a clear picture of your strengths and weaknesses. Once you have these in mind, it becomes easy to match them with appropriate career and education options. On the other hand, identifying your shortcomings will help to determine which career paths might not be the best to follow. Plus, your career counsellor will help you address and improve these weaknesses, which, in turn, will reflect in your growth and development.
Setting direction and goals
Once your career counsellor has helped you determine your strengths and interests, they can then help to guide you through a process of evaluating your options and identifying the steps to progress towards your goals. The work you have done to identify your strengths and interests will help to make it more likely that you will be working with realistic and achievable goals. This can be particularly useful if you tend to struggle with goal setting or making changes, as a career counsellor can make you more accountable to someone other than yourself.
Explores options beyond your original scope
We often have an idea of what we want out of our professional lives, but these notions are sometimes limiting and ill-informed. A career counsellor has extensive knowledge about a variety of career paths, the work it takes to succeed, and the type of lifestyle that each position brings to the table. But even more so, a career counsellor has the opportunity to get to know you and your lifestyle, allowing them to advise you with confidence and professional insight.
Enhancing your personal brand
Ultimately, securing or changing jobs will require you to present yourself in your best light. Career counsellors can also offer additional support in terms of help with constructing your CV and LinkedIn profile, researching potential employers, writing job applications and cover letters and interview practice. They will guide you in ways of making you, and your ‘personal brand’ more marketable to potential employers.
Calm career anxiety
More than all else, there is a great benefit in having someone along the way to provide you with support and the confidence you need. Leaving a job you once loved or feeling as though the professional world is going to eat you alive can be an extreme source of anxiety for many. Your career counsellor is a reassuring and realistic point of contact for you to grow and build confidence off of that can help launch you into the career of your dreams.
Uncertainty and lack of clarity can lead to wrong career choices. If you are at crossroads thinking about the next steps to take in your career, career counselling can be perfect for you.
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