How to Choose A Great Career Counsellor & What to Expect?

What is career counselling?

Career counselling is a process to help individuals move through any career challenges they are facing, whether it is finding the right career path, moving through a career transition successfully, or support with landing a job.

What is the purpose of career counselling?

The purpose of career counselling is to help you move forward in your career, however that may look.

Perhaps it is gaining more clarity and finding the right career fit for you, perhaps it is easing the transition into a new career or new role, or maybe it is helping you put your best foot forward in the search for a new job.

Career counselling is a step in the right direction when you are feeling stuck and looking for professional, unbiased support.

What makes a great career counsellor?

A good career counsellor comes from a combination of elements, such as counselling and coaching skills, education, and experience. Look for a career counsellor that has had formal education and training in counselling or coaching.

We recommend someone who has completed a degree in counselling or has completed a coaching program that is certified by the International Coach Federation (ICF).  

It is crucial, however, to find a counsellor that has extensive experience specializing in career development.

This is because career counselling is different from psychotherapy, which you may receive from a regular counsellor. Career counsellors have the relevant knowledge and experience to support you in your career development that you may not get in mental health counselling. Ideally, your career counsellor should have experience spanning across industries and at every career stage. 

Whether you are young and starting out your career, moving through a transition mid-career, or planning for retirement, a career counsellor can help you create a career strategy. A career counsellor will be up to date on information specifically pertaining to career development, such as labour market trends and other more strategic angles to building a successful career. 

Coaching skills are another major component of what makes a good career counsellor. A good career counsellor will be able to to help you identify your blindspots and dig deeper into any blocks you may have. They will have the ability to deal with you (the client) as you are, and tailor a career counselling program to you, so you are getting exactly what you need to help you move forward.

Through the career counselling process, you will be able to gain clarity into whatever challenges you are facing, and be able to come up with a concrete plan to tackle those challenges. Active listening, the ability to think outside the box, problem-solving skills, and empathy are all important qualities of a career counsellor. A career counsellor isn’t just someone who can help you find a new job or figure out the right career path - a career counsellor can also help you advance in your current role, manage conflict more effectively, develop leadership skills, identify areas for growth, help you with time management or procrastination, support you in developing stress management skills, and look at non-traditional options, such as starting your own business.

At Careers By Design, our career counsellors have all of these qualities but go one step further!  We use an approach that educates our clients on how to "Connect Head and Heart".  This truly holistic resilience training is embedded into all our programs and helps you learn to manage stress more effectively, improve confidence, and boost productivity.

What happens in career counselling?

Our career counselling programs are tailored to your individual needs to help you reach your goals.

Our Connect Head & Heart method helps you get there faster. We start by identifying your strengths, skills, passions, and priorities. Next, you move into a research stage where you can explore all your career options and start to identify what aligns with your values. Through this process, you will gain clarity, identify a specific career path, and take concrete steps towards that goal. Our career counsellors will then support you with your job search, interview coaching, or brushing up important documents like your resume. We tie everything together by incorporating emotional resilience training into every step to help you gain clarity and manage stress.