10TipsForNewCareerCounsellors
Iamsuremostofyouwillagreethatacareerdecisionisoneofthemostcrucialdecisionsa personhastomakeinhislife.Careercounsellorsplayanimportantpartinthisprocess.This inturnmeansthatcounsellorshaveahugeresponsibility
Ayoungperson’sdreams,aspirationsandgoalscanbeidentifiedifacareercounsellorguides andmentorsthemtowardstherightcareerpath.It’stheroleofcareercounsellorsto understandthestudentsandhelpthemtoidentifytheiraptitudes,personalitiesandinterests. Duringthecounsellingprocess,acareercounsellorhelpsthemunderstandthedifference betweentheirinterestsandtruepotential.
Likeastudentcanbeconfusedwhilemakingtherightcareerchoice,newcareercounsellors canalsobeunsureoftherightwaytobegintheircounsellingpractices. Thushereareafewtipsfornewcareercounsellorswhohavejuststartedouttheircounselling practices.
10TipsforNewCareerCounsellors
Checkoutthetipsfornewcareercounsellorstohelpstudentsfindtherightcareerpath:
1. ProvideaComfortableEnvironment:Whenstudentsapproachcareercounsellors, theyfeelshyinparticipatingintheconversationandexpressingtheirthoughts.They feelunsureaboutthecareerchoicestheywanttomakeandhowtoportraytheir vision. Thustheprimaryresponsibilityofacareercounselloristoprovidethemwithasafe spacesothattheycanfreelysharetheirdoubts,concernsandconfusions.Youneedto makethemfeelcomfortablebyprovidingapositiveandrefreshingenvironment.
2. BeaGoodListener:Hearoutthestudentsbeforeprovidinganysuggestionsoradvice. Whenastudentapproachesacareercounsellor,he/sheiscertainlylookingoutfor guidancebutmorethanthathe/sheislookingoutforamentorwhocanunderstand his/herneeds.
Agoodcareercounsellorneedstobeagoodlistener Youshouldgivethestudent yourundividedattention,usegestureslikenoddingandprovidethemencouragement tosharemoreusingthewordsyes,keepgoing,etc.
Iwouldalsorecommendthatoneofthecounsellingsessionsthatyouhavewithyour studentshouldbeaone-on-onesessioninabsenceoftheirparents.
Acounsellorisabridgebetweentheparentandstudentwheneverthereisa disagreementbetweenthesetwo.Onceyougaintheconfidenceofyourstudent, he/shewillbeinabetterpositiontoobjectivelyaccessallthecareeroptionsavailable tohim/herandbereadytounderstandtheparent’spointofview.
3. AskRelevantQuestions:Acareercounsellorcangetthestudentstoshareexactly whatisgoingonwithintheirmindsonlyiftheyasktherelevantandrightquestions. Acareercounsellorneedstoobservestudentswellwhiletheyaresharinginformation abouttheirinterests,likesanddislikes.Poserelevantquestionstothemandextractthe informationrequiredtofurtherguidetheminmakingtherightcareerchoices.
4. Research:Youcanbecomeagoodcareercounselloronlyifyouresearchwell.Your knowledgeofvariouscoursesandsubjectsavailableisverycriticalforyoutobecome successful. Thus,irrespectiveofwhetheryouhavestudentsornot,asyouarejuststartingout, keepdoingyourresearchonsubjects,coursesanduniversities.Maintainanexcel sheetwithrelevantinformation.Dedicatetwohoursofyourdaytoresearchingand preparingadatabank.
5. AcceptandLearnNewTechnologies:Careercounsellorsinteractwithtoday’s millennialswhohavegrownwithever-increasingtechnologyrequirements.The majorityofthemarethemostactiveusersoftechnology Therefore,career counsellorsshouldbeopentotheuseoftechnologytoconversewiththem.
6. Adaptability:Everystudentthatyoucounselwillbedifferentfromtheother As counsellors,youneedtoadaptandchangeyourcounsellingstylesbasisyourstudents. youcannotusethesamemethodtoapproacheverystudent. Thusobserveyourstudents,makethemfeelcomfortable,getthemtoshareandadopt acounsellingstylethatisthebestsuitedforthem.
7. AssignmentofTasks:Alwaysassignatasktoyourstudentafteryourcounselling session.Acareercounselloristheretohandholdthestudentandnottogive everythingontheplatter.Forexample,ifastudentapproachesyouforguidanceon universityadmission,youcansharealistofafewuniversitiesbasedonthestudent’s aptitude,interestsandrequirements.Thenaskhim/hertoresearchthesametoo.Let themcomebacktoyouwiththeirquestions.thenyoucandiscussthosequestionsand cleartheirdoubts.Thisway,youwillarriveatadecisionbasedonfactsandtheir actualneedsandcapabilities,notonassumptions.
8. DevelopGoodCommunicationSkills:Careercounsellingisacontinuousprocess. Wheneverastudentrequirescareerguidance,youshouldknowthathe/shewillneed yoursupportthroughoutthejourneyuntilhe/shemakesacareerselection.Therefore, it’simportanttohavegoodcommunicationskills.Fromunderstandingtheir requirementstosuggestingasuitablecareerpath,yourcommunicationplaysavital role.
Acareercounsellorshouldbeabletoeasilyexpressandexplainhis/herideasand thoughtstostudents.He/sheshouldknowwhentoaskquestionsandwhentoremain silentduringtheentireconversation.forthis,youneedgoodcommunicationskills. Thiscomesnaturallywhenyoudealwithstudentsmorefrequently.
9. Networking:Joinsocialmediacommunitiesofparents,counsellorsandother
entrepreneurs,andsupportgroupstonetworkwiththem.Thiswillalsogiveyour businessventure/counsellingpracticemorevisibilityandrecognition.Thisisagreat waytobuildyourclientele.
10.ConsultandCollaboratewithColleagues,Experts&SeniorCareerCounsellors: Alwaysstrivetobealearnerandlookoutforcollaborationopportunitieswithother counsellorsandyourcolleagues.Thiscouldhelpyougetmorevisibilitywhenyouare startingoutandalsothisisagreatwaytolearnmoreabouttheprofessionand industry
BonusTip–
DonotUndervalueYourself:Asanewcareercounsellor,whilestartinganewventure,one tendstoofferfreeconsultationstoattractclients.Whilethiscanbedebated,Ibelievethatno onewillrespectyourskillsifyoudonotvalueyourtimeandeffort.
Thus,youcansurelychargeabitlessthanthemarketpracticeinitiallybutneverundervalue yourself.Youdonotwantanyonetoquestionyourcompetencebeforeevenavailingofyour services.
RecommendedRead–StreamSelectionAfter10th:9 TipstoGuideStudents
Careerplanningiscrucialintoday’scompetitiveworld.Acareercounselloraimstochannel studentsintherightdirectionbycarefullyassessingtheiraptitude,interestsandgoals. Thus,acareercounsellorneedstobeavisionarywhocanforeseethebestopportunitiesfor theirstudents’brightfuture.
Ihopetheabove-mentionedtipsfornewcareercounsellorscanhelpyouinthisendeavouras youembarkonanewjourneytomentorthefutureofthecountry Ifyouhavejuststartedyourcareercounsellingpracticeorwanttostartyourjourneyasa careercounsellor,youmusthavetherightskillsandvalidation.Youcanadvanceyourcareer counsellingskillswiththeGlobalCareerCounsellorProgram.
ThisisAsia’s1stComprehensiveOnlineProgramofferedbyByUnivarietyinCollaboration withUCLAExtension.Thisprogramisthebestchoiceforindividualspassionateabout CareerCounselling.GivewingstoyourcareerandbecomeatrainedGlobalCareer Counsellor.[ReadMore]