Career Counseling: Who Needs It?
What Career Counselors DoWhat Coaches Do
Finding Counselors and Coaches
Succeeding with a Counselor or CoachBooks
Career Counseling: Who Needs It?Unless you were presented with career counseling in school or as part of a back-to-work program, you may not be very familiar with what career counselors and career coaches do. So it's not surprising if you are not sure why career counseling would enhance your decision about which career path to follow.
My only exposure before writing this article was a high school counselor who, in 1969, told me that, because I was a girl, looking into a career and even going to college was a waste of my and everyone else's time. Another counselor in college tested me, told me my aptitude was in writing but said that was too bad because there are no jobs where someone just writes. Not too confidence inspiring!
But, as the line in the Cole Porter song goes, "Times Have Changed." Career counseling is considerably advanced and has had lots of practice. Further, it is supplemented with a new field, career or job coaching, which extends its benefits to more people - even those who are well into their chosen career paths.
These two professions specialize in finding tools and resources to help you choose the right career for you and make the best decisions about how to obtain the right job for you in your chosen field. You can turn to your career counselor or coach as you do any other specialist, such as a physician, attorney or plumber, to get done what you may not have the time, knowledge or tools to accomplish on your own.
As the
Rockport Institute, a career counseling firm, puts it, "To be completely successful in making these important decisions, it takes a complete approach, a holistic method, that considers all aspects of your life (and) leads to definite and realistic answers and effective action. It should be an expression of 'practical idealism,' leading towards the choice of a career where you will be able to feel that what you do matters, your talents and personality traits are fully expressed, and your growth is supported."
While much of what career counselors have at their disposal is now available online (such as aptitude testing), it's difficult to find a standard for what is complete enough for you. And, even if you can determine the results from these tests, you most likely do not have the expertise or information to interpret and act on them.
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What Career Counselors Do
I visited with professional career counselor and career and life coach, Peg Cheng, for a better understanding of what career counselors do. She puts it succinctly, "They help you determine your path." To do this, career counselors often give you a series of tests that help you discover your aptitude for different jobs as well as measure your interests and your suitability (in terms of personality and temperament) for a particular career.
For example, you may be a brilliant mathematician. But you may not be interested in mathematics-based careers or may simply not have the patience or persistence for the type of work that involves it.
How do you know what aptitudes, interests and temperament will make for a successful career? That's another area of expertise career counselors offer. They have the benefit of decades of research about how to effectively match an individual with a specific career. They know what it takes not only to do a job but to feel good about doing it.
Career centers and counselors can also help you develop the tools you need for a successful job search. They can offer advice about the best forms of resumes and cover letters for particular fields and specific circumstances. They have job search resources. They can teach you how to network and to grow through the process. And they can help you prepare for interviews through practice and role-playing. In fact, they may have experience in jobs you've done (and have not done), giving you an edge through others' interview experience, adds Cheng.
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What Coaches Do
Cheng, who is also a professional career coach and has been an instructor at Coach University, has a clever image for understanding the difference between a career counselor and a career coach. "The counselor is the person you talk to when deciding that you want to ride a bicycle," Cheng explains. "She helps you gauge your abilities and what you need to learn about bicycles before you can ride one. The coach puts your butt on the seat and runs along beside you as you ride, shouting encouragement and helping you keep to the path!"
We have a more "serious" definition from coach Rachelle Disbennet Lee: "Coaching is a designed alliance, a relationship that involves sharing advice, information and support, while providing a structure for rapid growth. My style is based on the belief that you have the answers."
Coaches are often consulted after you've made a career choice or when you have decided to make a change in your current career. They help you assess your options and get organized. They help you plan your action steps and check in with you regularly to see whether you are on schedule or need coaxing.
Cheng herself often coaches over the phone, since many of her clients don't have the time for office visits. "I know several coaches who coach internationally and have very good calling plans," she says with a laugh.
In fact, Coach Lee spent several months coaching Bern, a blind graduate student in Johannesburg, South Africa, from her own office in Massachusetts. Both report the phone coaching a great success.
I asked Cheng about Internet coaching. "You really need the immediate exchange, so e-mail is not the best tool," she offers. "But chat would work very well. I hope to give it a try."
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Finding Counselors and Coaches
If you're in school, you can find career counselors on campus, usually in a student career center. Counseling and placement services are commonplace. Many colleges extend these services to alumni, too. Be sure to include an advisor from your chosen department (English, mathematics, communications, biology etc.) to be sure you have the advice of someone knowledgeable about your field.
Sarah Lopez of the DO-IT Careers program, University of Washington, Seattle, says, if you discover that the career center wants to refer you to Disabled Student Services (DSS), be sure to point out that the career center has the resources on careers, not DSS. If necessary, she suggests, enlist DSS's help, emphasizing the need for the career center to be equally accessible to all students.
Nicole Gant, as Western Washington University's Equal Opportunity Specialist, is working to address the career counseling needs of students with disabilities. "From what I have heard," she says, "many students with disabilities hesitate accessing services at a campus career center because either they have had a poor experience or assume they will have one. The resource they generally tap are the professionals in the student disability service center."
That's why Gant's department is working with the campus career center to provide the career counselors with disability-related training and resources that they can provide students. She is also encouraging services and programs that are disability/career focused such as seminars about disclosure, accommodations, protections under employment laws etc.
Outside of school, you can find career counselors in a number of ways. There are both non-profit career counseling centers and private for-hire professional counselors. Either way, check the Yellow Pages (online or off) for career centers in your community. Your local high school and college career centers will know of off-campus programs, too.
Most states require that counselors be licensed, so you can check with your state or provincial government or ask those wizards of information, research librarians, for the contact information. You can also call the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) at (800)398-5389 to get a list of certified career counselors near you.
If you live in a metropolitan area or consult a counselor long distance, you will have access to many different types, including those with the more standard academic-based philosophies, career-specific counselors (such as Cheng, who counsels marine biology students), counselors with specific philosophical or spiritual bases for their advice, and specialists in disabilities, minority workers, government jobs and more.
Cheng helped me find information about locating a coach. In addition to her own web site, you can use Coach University. Otherwise, she recommends using the same general resources for career counseling to find a coach.
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Succeeding with a Counselor or Coach
Just as with any endeavor, the secret to a great experience with a career counselor or coach boils down to these points:
- Choose well. Interview the counselor or coach before you agree to any contract. Examine the person's credentials. Cheng says, "Ask for their philosophy of career counseling or coaching." If they are professionals, they will respect your approach. Choosing a counselor or coach is a decision that's too important to take lightly.
- Come prepared. Unless you are truly clueless about
"what you want to be when you grow up," be ready to answer all the counselor's questions about your goals.
- Do as much of your own research as you can so your time with the counselor or coach is best spent discussing options.
- Do every assignment given to you with enthusiasm and all you've got. Your counselor or coach's responsibility is to help, not find you a job.
- Educate the counselor or coach about disability and accessibility needs. You will be doing the next person a great favor.
When you are willing to take responsibility for your career path, a career counselor or coach can really help you make sound decisions.
Go to Top of PageBooks"What Color Is Your Parachute?: A Practical Manual For Job-Hunters & Career-Changers," 2000, Bolles, Richard Nelson
This book is the original career planning book and has been a standard in any career search for decades. Continuously updated, it is available through your local talking book and Braille library and is Shelf Number GD302 at Recordings for the Blind and Dyslexic.
There is also a cassette title by the same author listed by the
National Library Service for the Blind and Visually Impaired. Its title is: "Job-hunting Tips for The So-called Handicapped or People Who Have Disabilities: A Supplement to What color Is Your Parachute?", Bolles, Richard Nelson. Book Number: RC 37372.
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