Counselling Introduction There are various options available to counselling graduates including going into employment, taking further study, starting your own business or taking a year out to travel or volunteer. This factsheet will help you look at career and further study ideas. We recommend that you also view the Career Planning Action factsheet as this will help you consider what you would like to do.
Skills & Employability A Counselling degree provides excellent skills for almost all areas of employment. Skills include:Basic counselling skills such as, active listening, relationship building, reflecting and guiding Team working Collaboration Interprofessional learning/reflection Effective case load management Inter-personal skills Organisational skills Academic Skills Research skills Written and oral communication Numeracy
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You will also have gained many skills from work, volunteering or extra-curricular activities. When exploring your options you will need to find out about the skills and experience required for the careers you are interested in and consider if you have any gaps and how you can fill them ready for when you graduate. Your employability will be further improved if you undertake work experience and relevant postgraduate qualifications.
Skills and Employability Action Points Action points to help you recognise your skills and improve your employability n n
See the Employability factsheet Skills Assessment (Go to the ‘Careers and Employability’ pages on the website, select ‘Make yourself Employable’, ‘and ‘Skills Assessment’).
Career ideas - the following ideas may require further training or qualifications. Related Careers n n n n
Advice Worker Coach - personal Counsellor Health Worker
Alternative Career Ideas
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Charity/Community Worker Civil Service Community Development Worker Human Resources Social Worker
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Teacher/Lecturer
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R e se a rc h yo u r ca re er id ea s Research There are hundreds of different types of jobs and at least 40% of these are open to graduates of any subject. Conducting research to find out the entry requirements or what experience is needed for a job can help you decide if you are able to or still want to pursue a certain career path.
Job Profiles.
The best place to start researching a career is to view job profiles. These short factsheets usually include:n n
Typical work activities Salary
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Training Entry requirements
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Career Development Typical employers
The best place to start researching a career is to view job profiles. These short factsheets usually include:n n n n
Graduate Prospects - www.prospects.ac.uk/types_of_jobs.htm TARGETjobs - www.targetjobs.co.uk National Careers Service - https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk The Jobs Crowd - www.thejobcrowd.com (Reviews of jobs by employees)
Employers and professional organisations You can often find out about jobs from employers themselves via their website. You can also find out about types of jobs from professional organisations own websites which will often include career and training information. View the find job opportunities and work experience section for more information. Research your career ideas Action Points n n n n
Visit the suggested websites above Go to the Resource Centre in Hardy to access to resources, staff are also available here to answer your questions. BG Futures module on Blackboard: ‘Explore your options’ section Jobs+ Vacancies (http://bishopg.prospects.ac.uk/). Search for Employers via the Employers directory
Postgraduate / Further Study There are various levels and types of postgraduate study; find out more by going to: www.prospects.ac.uk/about_postgrad_study.htm
Postgraduate / further study subject ideas n n
Counselling Human Resources
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Social Work Teaching
Find job opportunities and work experience Key Employers There are a number of key employers in this sector. The following links contain information about their organisation, the type of jobs available and information about jobs and work experience. n www.nhscareers.nhs.uk NHS Careers n www.bupa.co.uk BUPA UK n www.bmihealthcare.co.uk BMI Health n www.communitycare.co.uk Community Care Professional organisations n www.bacp.co.uk British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) n www.hpc-uk.org Health Professional Council (HPC) Essential Information: -
Researching Employers (factsheet) Job Sector (factsheets) – Social, Guidance and Community Work/ Health/Public Services/Social Work/Charity Sector, available via Resource Centre or Blackboard Search for vacancies on the Jobs+ Vacancies Board - http://bishopg.prospects.ac.uk
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Networking Using your contacts is one of the best ways to find out about job opportunities. You can build these up through work experience, volunteering, family and friends. You can join the Networking Club run via BG Futures. This club offers the opportunity to meet up with employers to find out about their job role and their organisation. You may also benefit from joining the professional networking site LinkedIn. This is an excellent way to make professional contacts, join discussion and networking groups. Action Points: n n
Join the Networking Club Join LinkedIn, guide to using LinkedIn (factsheet) http://issuu.com/bgcareers/docs/linkedin.
Essential Information for finding jobs and work experience n n n
Researching Employers (factsheet) Job Sector (factsheets) These include: Health |Public Services| Charity Sector | Available via The Resource Centre or Blackboard. Jobs+ Vacancies Board http://bishopg.prospects.ac.uk
Other options Start your own business You may consider starting your own business or becoming self-employed. View the Self-employment (factsheet) https://issuu.com/bgcareers/docs/self_employment
Gap year A gap year can be in the UK or overseas. You can do this to earn money to fund further study, gain work or life experience and to help you decide what you would like to do. View the factsheets ‘Working Overseas’ and ‘Vacation work and gap year job hunting’ for further information - https://issuu.com/bgcareers/docs/working_overseas and https://issuu.com/bgcareers/docs/vacation_and_gap_year_job_hunting
What did other counselling students do? These statistics are taken six months after graduation. BGU counselling and psychology graduates n 55% Further Study, n 5% Studying and working n 40% Working For statistics of other combined courses at BGU, go to the Unistats website. http://unistats.direct.gov.uk/
Advice and Information Go to the Resource Centre in the Hardy Building with your initial enquiries or email bgfutures@bishopg.ac.uk. If you require advice with exploring your further study or career options you can book an appointment with a Careers Adviser. Please email bgfutures@bishopg.ac.uk to request an appointment booking form. www.thejobcrowd.com (Reviews of jobs by employees)
BG Futures: Careers, Employability and Enterprise Operates in accordance with the University Diversity and Equality Policies. If you require this document in an alternative format, for example in large print, please email us at bgfutures@bishopg.ac.uk