Skill Set Stories – The Career Counselor

Who is a career counselor?

Career counselors are not just some people you are vaguely aware of and who you meet once in a while. It is a fact that many times, people, especially students, are simply unaware of the number and types of career choices that are available today. A number of factors tend to influence your career. These include your background, personality, interests, and obviously your abilities. A career counselor is basically the person who stitches (figuratively, of course) all these bits and pieces and helps you see the bigger picture towards an ideal career.

Why become a career counselor?

Let’s be frank, if asked, children would probably tell you how they want to be astronauts, scientists, etc. or the more unconventional answers of writer, photographer, designer, would greet you. There are not many people who would want to become a career counselor, and that is just the hard fact. But what people fail to realize is the importance of mentors in one’s life.

A career counselor is someone who can offer you an unbiased diagnosis of your skills and help you set down the right path. Becoming a career counselor is a progressive way of contributing to the overall development, as the more people are happy in their roles, the more successful will they be.

The skills that a career counselor requires:

Empathy

No matter what the economic condition of the job market is at the time, a job hunt tends to take a toll on applicants. Empathy on the part of a career counselor can help the clients confide more openly, making the career counselor a trustworthy individual to confide in.

Insight

Insight is what can help a career counselor read between the lines of what your clients say. With good insight, it is easier for career counselors to develop action plans that focus on the strengths and preferences of their clients.

Communication

Communication skills are integral in the profession of career counselling. Career counselors have to be polite yet assertive, compassionate yet precise to their clients about their assessments. They also need to be active listeners as that can help them understand their clients better.

Flexibility

Throughout their career, a career counselor will counsel clients from different walks of life. He needs to be flexible enough to be able to deal with each client in a different form. A rigid, clinical approach is not something that can work here.

Subject Matter Expertise

Career counselors have to have a passion for helping others, and though they may begin their education with a bachelor degree in any field, there are some master’s programs for counseling that require the applicant to have a bachelor’s degree in psychology or a related field, because it’s essential to be qualified before you get on the job.