Once you begin your career as a counsellor, you will face a lot of challenges. Your job is to guide someone in the right direction till they become capable enough to follow their passions in the correct manner. It might be difficult for you to apply what you learnt theoretically to a practical or real-life situation. Every person is different and understanding the needs and requirements of people with different personalities can become complicated and frustrating.
Being a career advisor, you must have the talent and ability to make quick and accurate decisions. You will not get a second chance and your decision is going to shape someone’s career, it should be perfect. Here are some tips to help you become the best career adviser. To determine your customer’s potential, you need to know your potential as well.
Be Goal-Oriented
You must set systematic goals for yourself and for your client. It is necessary to define the path which your client should follow. It will allow you to identify deviations, if any, quickly. Controlling the completion of tasks will become easier. Your client will have a sense of accomplishment and motivation after the completion of each goal.
Be Passionate
In order to counsel your client successfully, you must be passionate. You should be able to identify the inclination of your client. It is important to help them choose a career that they are passionate about. A career, in which you don’t have any interest, is good for nothing in the long term. It needs to be based around the life of your client. So as a counsellor you need to hold deep discussions to find out the right field for your client.
Know the market
In order to aid your client in making the correct decision, you need to know various job markets in depth. It is important to understand the implications of the changes in the job market. Being a career advisor, it is your job to find out whether your client’s preferred line of career is going to be fruitful in the future or not. There would be no point in entering a field where the factor returns are diminishing. You need to be well prepared with such knowledge before starting a conversation with your customer.
Encourage Self-Reflection
To become a top career counsellor, you should be able to encourage your client to introspect. After their participation in some online career guidance tests from websites like Careerguide.com, it is your responsibility to inspire the person to think beyond these tests. The tests will only guide in setting up the right base to start self-exploration. Each aspect of the test must be looked into and discussed in detail in order to gather more information about the aspirations of your client.
Healthy Relationship
The client must be comfortable in talking about his/ her insecurities and doubts freely. In order to achieve this, it is your duty to create a friendly atmosphere for holding talks about such sensitive topics. Mental health is as important as physical health. Being a career advisor, your aim should be to interpret the worries, fears, and desires in-depth. Your interpretations should be beyond those of the tests that your client takes. These should be able to guide the person in a direction that is most suitable for him/ her.
Be a good listener
Do not judge the client on what he/ she shares with you. First, listen to everything that your client wants you to know. Don’t interrupt the flow of their thoughts. Let them speak out freely. Generate a sense of security. This will increase the level of trust. Your client will feel more at ease while discussing his/ her problems. Don’t provide suggestions in between as this may divert the conversation elsewhere. Instead, you should note down what your client says. You can think about these points later on and provide valuable inputs.
Be Flexible
The world is full of people with different personalities and characteristics. No two people can be the same. Not even twins. Each individual has different goals and aspirations. Being a career advisor, you should be open to all kinds of people. You should be free from any biases. Be flexible in your approach as a counselor. Be open and amiable. Your aura must radiate positive energy. Don’t have prior expectations from anyone. Everyone has contrasting life stories and struggles to share. Being a career advisor, it is your job to encourage all views and ideologies.
