Preparing For An Effective Career Counseling

Preparing for career counseling can be lot like preparing for a job interview. You’ll get out of it what you put into it.

You are probably expecting some help in determining your career path, but in order to do that, first you must decide what you do want and what you don’t want in your life.

A career counselor isn't able to answer those questions. Only you can and you must be honest with yourself. The counselor is only there to guide you and help you find your strong points and weaknesses, your interests and skills.

You can prepare for your career counseling session by using this little routine:

Get out a sheet of paper and write down a list of all your strengths. They are not limited to workplace attributes, but also include your personality strengths. These are what you think are be your best features.

Now start a new list. This time include the things about yourself that need improving. Once again, these do not have to be related to the workplace, just issues about yourself that you know you need to work on.

Now it is time for brainstorming. For approximately ten minutes, write about the job in question. come up with questions you would like to ask the employer, what they expect of you, and write down your expectations for the employer and career.

Just write your sincere thoughts, this isn’t about interview protocol. It is just to you thinking and warmed up for the counseling session.

Remember to keep an open mind. Your counselor will examine your history and then listen to what you have to say to determine what your best course of action is. You will most likely be asked to participate in activities you might not expect. You may also be asked about your negative qualities. These are normal parts of the counseling process and shouldn’t be take personally.

Below are examples of activities you may be required to participate in:

Assessment Testing

These tests build a complete profile of your personality and abilities to help determine the work you are most suited to.

Mock Interview

Your counselor will play the role of the employer and ask you to answer routine interview questions. This way your interview skills can be assessed and your weak spots identified.

Information Session

You might be sent to meet with employers to simply ask about their company and typical workdays. You can make a good first impression without pressure on either side.

By taking the whole process seriously and being well prepared, you will be in a better spot to get more out of your counseling session.

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Jennifer Petersen is a staff writer at Career's Digest and is an occasional contributor to several other websites, including Education Digest.