Career Counseling

Choosing the right career is one of the important and difficult decisions we all face at some point of our life. Whether you are a fresh student out of college or standing at the crossroads of your career, career counseling can help you with career advice and guidance. Find out how a one-stop career center can help you charter your career course.

Career counseling

Career counseling helps job seekers on deciding on a course of study or finding the job that they are best suited for. Individual career counseling can be conducted by a career counselor. A trained career counselor will conduct personalized tests to gauge the candidate's personality and interests so as to guide him adequately.

Career counseling is generally conducted by persons who have been trained to identify personal and academic traits in people and guide them suitably. Each person has his own individual personality, which can be best suited for certain types of professions. The process of career counseling or career advice is aimed at allowing an individual to explore various career opportunities and help him make decisions or plans accordingly. A person's personality, skills, interests, academic qualifications and values are vital in honing him for a profession or career. Varied personality traits such as analytical skills, creativity and persistence among others can be put to good use in the right career.

Career counselor

Identifying the job seeker's interests and abilities so as to help him make the right career choice is an important task for any career counselor. A session with a career counselor will begin with a test to evaluate abilities and skills. The process will also involve a series of meetings with the career counselor. An astute career counselor will be able to assess the skills base of a client and direct him to a career where these traits can be profitably employed.

This would lead to enhanced job satisfaction and financial rewards. A career counselor must be aware of the kind of skills required in a variety of professions. Career counseling goes beyond career advice these days. Clients are trained for interviews and aided with resume preparation and covering letters. A career counselor, who usually has a psychology degree under his belt, tries to empower the client to become a marketable and viable commodity in the job market. Some of the career counseling functions that are offered by career guidance centers:

• Individual evaluation and counseling
  
  
• Administering and interpreting tests to evaluate abilities, interests and skills
  
  
• Assistance with resume preparation
  
  
• Conducting career workshops
  
  
• Interview coaching
  
  
• Providing support and career advice during job transitions
  
  
• Advice on job hunting and career choices.

Career advice

With an unemployment rate hovering around 6.1% in the United States, the profile of clients seeking career advice is not restricted to college graduates. Just thinking about changing careers can be overwhelming. Career transition is a difficult and daunting time. Career advice centers can provide you with fresh career ideas in keeping with your skills set and interests. It is essential to plan your career without rigid boundaries and keep yourself open to avenues you hadn't considered earlier.

This requires perseverance and planning. With the right moves, you can position your career to get you where you want to be. A career advice coach will help you identify your critical success factors - what you enjoy doing and do well. He will administer psychometric testing to get a clear understanding of your values; interests and motivational factors that can help you focus on the kind of career you need to seek. Interactive tests can now be taken online from career web sites. These include personality tests and vocational tests.

One stop career center

There are a slew of self-administered tests on the Internet that generate automated counseling reports. The price of these tests ranges from $10 to $75. Many career sites on the Internet function as a one-stop career center. Career choices are available aplenty. You can browse through various sections of such a one stop career web site and get a fair idea of the kind of job opportunities that are available. Resume preparation is another area of career guidance that many career-counseling workshops provide. A well-drawn CV works as a marketing brochure for you. The right resume can take you places!