When you seek the help of a career counsellor, you will wonder what will happen in each career counselling session. First things first. Let’s look at why you may have sought the advice of a career counsellor. There are a few different reasons here. Perhaps you have just left education and have no idea what to do next. This scenario is unfortunately quite common, and the problem usually lies with the lack of resources from the school in question or college.
But let’s take the scenario that you left school longer ago than you care to remember. For the last few decades you have been getting up and going to work. You don’t like your career, but you go to work as you need the money. You see no room for promotion or exciting new beginning within the company you work for. So, a career move could put things right?
Career Counselling Session : Initial Meeting
Deciding you need to change jobs in order to feel complete is a big decision. After so many years stuck in one job, you may have little or no clue about what you wish to do. Your first career counselling session will be a meet and greet situation. In this first meeting, it is important to form a bond with your chosen professional. If this is not the case, you cannot hope to have a successful counselling or mentoring relationship.
In you first meeting you counsellor will get to know you. He will find out about your education, qualifications, and personal background. From here he will be able to go on to assess your strengths and weaknesses. If you have decided on a career you would like, he will be able to tell you what you need to do to achieve your goal.
Goals and Your Future Career
Not everyone is suited to their chosen career. It may seem harsh, but if your counsellor recommends against what you have chosen, you should not try to fight the decision. It may be the case however that your aptitudes fit your new chosen career perfectly, but that you are lacking in training. This can be put right with a trip back to the classroom. Remember however that you will need to fund your training and education. So, leaving the job you have learned to hate will not be instant. But, it will be worth the wait.
Training and Work
It is also important to have enough time to both train for your new career and to continue working. Although it is the job of a counsellor to push you to your limits, burnout is not what he is looking for. By setting realistic goals to achieve, you will be pushed to your hardest, but within realistic expectations. Once you have trained for the career of your dreams, the next stage is to secure a job. If your interview skills are rusty as you have not attended one for decades, your counsellor can help here too. In fact, he will stay with you, pushing you to the limits until the day you start your new dream career.