Career Counseling
Don’t be pushed around by the fears in your mind. Be led by the dreams in your heart. -Roy T. Bennet, The Light in the Heart
Choosing a career is an important task and also a difficult one, and it’s never too early to plan as well as prepare for a great academic or career path. Researching a wide variety of potential careers can be overwhelming and intimidating at the same time, and the information on the skill sets and education needed for a particular position may at times be contradictory or difficult to find.
At SCS, we are focused on providing career counselling and guidance services to students through tests and counselling sessions. On the basis of the outcomes of our assessments, we empower the students to identify the key motivators for the right education, skill and role choices in order to chart out a career path best suited for them.
With progressively increasing career alternatives these days, career counselling has become a fundamental part of an individuals’ life. Career guidance provides for a space that spotlights on assisting people by tracking down the right career pathway.
About Career Counselling
Career counselling is a process of advice-giving and support through integrated sessions and tests provided by career counsellors. It is meant to help the clients recognize and explore options while making viable career choices and, also to assist in managing career changes, directives for lifelong development for progressive career path and in dealing with other career-related issues.
Career Counsellors are trained experts who assess the clients’ aptitude, personality, interests, and other aspects through a series of aptitude tests and assessments. This evaluation is then used to suggest the best career choice from all the available and relevant options. Career Counselling provides a client with an access to the resources and knowledge that a career counsellor possesses.
Importance of Career Counselling
The expansion in the opportunities and possibilities in the job market has resulted into growing competition especially in areas where a particular skill set and knowledge is required. It has become more important than ever to be well equipped with information regarding the career choices that are available or pursue the desired ones. The knowledge passed on to students by career counsellors can help them take the best academic or career related decision and explore the options that could be suitable. Through career counsellors students become exposed to all possibilities in the various career fields.
There have been several accounts of mental and emotional health issues among students and learning individuals that have potentially stemmed from confusion, frustration and anxiety due to immense competition in the job industry. Also, indecisiveness among the students resulting out of social pressure, lack of parental guidance, multiple career choices or ignorance of personal potential regarding which skills set to acquire for better career prospects give rise to frustration and confusion. Even the most seemingly lucrative choices often clash with the person’s interests or passions.
There have been other instances where people with promising careers and honourable job positions end up feeling depressed or suffer from anxiety due to the pressure to maintain the status of their current job profile, or simply because they are not happy or satisfied with the current job or their career progression.
In this regard, once the famous German-born scientist Albert Einstein said that – Everybody is a genius but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, people will believe that the fish is quite stupid. The fish’s best ability is to swim in the water. The value here is that each person possesses a unique character and to pull out that unique character the concerned person needs a mentor or a counsellor.
Proper guidance and mentorship can lead a person to reach his/her full potential and achieve the desired goals. The role of a career counsellor is focused on the improvement of overall performance and it analyses interests, personality, and character of an individual through which the best possible career options may be evaluated. The methods and points of discussions in career counselling mainly comprises of:
- Analyzing particular skills or talents and in which careers might they be useful
- The education and training required for various careers
- The potential financial prospects of various careers
- Room for mobility or opportunities for change or advancement in a particular career
- The necessary skills/education for a desired career
Moreover, Career counselling can benefit students and concerned individuals in several ways such as:
- Enhancing their problem-solving attitude
- Empowering students to resolve career queries themselves
- Enhancing their communication skills, patience and listening skills
Career Counselling at Shubha Counselling Services
At SCS, our career counselling experts work alongside the clients in a methodical framework by introducing techniques in customised sessions. These sessions are best suited to the clients’ interest. Our sessions and methods for effective career counselling comprise of:
- Developing a therapeutic relationship through communication
- Aptitude tests for academic, personality and career assessment
- Profile Analysis
- Setting and defining goals
- Developing Action plan
- Using technology platforms and understanding the job market
- Updating the knowledge of Career options
Our initial sessions primarily focus on communication to foster confidence and understanding between the counsellor and the client. Once a rapport is formed the following sessions become more driven towards assessment of the client’s interests, education, and personality. The assessment tools used are both subjective and objective and they are applied after carefully studying the individual’s interests and aptitude. The entire process makes room for self-exploration to set realistic goals and the means to achieve them.
At SCS, we believe in helping with regard to mental health and well-being while providing guidance on the potentials, aptitude, motivations, skills and shortcomings. Carefully designed assessment tools are used to help our clients choose the right career paths. The tests and interactions in our sessions help us to identify and visualise the individual’s interests and innate abilities. Parents and students are involved at every step as they have a very active role in the planning and execution process.
It must be understood that career development is a lifelong process; it is more than just a decision to land up with a dream job or even deciding on what kind of education to acquire. Under ever changing situations in the career field, an individual’s mind-set and decisions too are susceptible to changes. Thus, one can seek counselling at any point in life and for any reason.
As quoted by Steve Jobs, “Work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.”