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What Is Career Counseling?

Deborah Ng
Deborah Ng

If you're in a rut and are not sure of what to do for a living, perhaps career counseling may be in order. By investing in a counseling session, you'll be able to learn which professions might be suitable and hopefully more interesting to you. There's nothing worse than working at a job you don't enjoy. Visiting a career counselor is a positive step towards job satisfaction.

Those who partake in career counseling sessions will first have to take an aptitude test to see which profession is right for them. They may be surprised to learn that their original career plan doesn't suit them at all. In fact, many who choose counseling end up employed in a field that is the exact opposite of what they originally had in mind.

Career counselors offer advice and help prepare job seekers.
Career counselors offer advice and help prepare job seekers.

There's more to career counseling than placement tests, however. Career counselors critique resumes, suggest the best and most efficient methods of searching for employment, help strengthen negotiation skills, assist in getting better salary and promotion packages and generally steer you in the right direction. Since they have a reputation to protect, it's in their best interest to have a high customer satisfaction rate.

Career counseling can strengthen an employees chances for promotion.
Career counseling can strengthen an employees chances for promotion.

Teenagers who participate in career classes and workshops benefit the most. Not only will they learn which careers they are most suited for, but they will also learn which jobs pay the most and even which companies to avoid. Through career counseling they will learn about trends in different industries as well as projected future trends. Students who are happy with their suggested career choices, and the required courses for that career, tend to do better in high school and college.

Career counseling can give teens a direction as they consider options following high school.
Career counseling can give teens a direction as they consider options following high school.

Society as a whole benefits when people are happy in their careers. Stress due to unhappiness in the workplace dissipates as do incidents of domestic violence. Happy workers are also productive workers. Many business leaders now send promising employees to receive career counseling to determine where they would be the happiest, and subsequently do the most good, within their companies.

Career Counseling can benefit the economy as well. Those who are happy with their jobs are less likely to become unemployed. This means there's a lower turnover rate among businesses that encourage counseling for their employees.

Career counseling may help people who were recently laid off.
Career counseling may help people who were recently laid off.

Investing in the best career aptitude test can be a game-changer in your career counseling journey. These scientifically developed assessments take a deep dive into your interests, skills, personality traits, and potential, translating the findings into tailored career options. You'll likely discover fascinating insights into your own vocational potential, and it may even reveal an entirely new career direction that promises greater job satisfaction. After all, the best career aptitude test isn't merely a tool; it's a pathfinder to a fulfilling professional future.

Discussion Comments

anon338874

I have an MSW degree and the above mentioned details have helped me explore more about my field.

Charlie89

@musicshaman -- I understand your point, but I think that you may be a little too harsh on career counselors.

They see tons of people, and can't get to know each and every one super-well, and so they have to have something to guide them.

musicshaman

I think sometimes it's really easy to start to feel pigeon-holed by those career counseling tests though.

I know they can be really useful for giving people a general idea about what they might be good at, but I also think that career counselors should make a point of trying to see people as individuals too.

I think that too often it's easier to rely on the test and point somebody in a direction they might not like just because it's quicker or doesn't require as much thought.

EarlyForest

I remember having a really great career guidance counselor in high school.

It makes such a difference to have a counselor who is not pushing you in any certain direction, but can just give you feedback about what you might be good at, or how feasible it is to get a job doing what you love.

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    • Career counselors offer advice and help prepare job seekers.
      By: Alexander Raths
      Career counselors offer advice and help prepare job seekers.
    • Career counseling can strengthen an employees chances for promotion.
      By: micro10x
      Career counseling can strengthen an employees chances for promotion.
    • Career counseling can give teens a direction as they consider options following high school.
      By: Monkey Business
      Career counseling can give teens a direction as they consider options following high school.
    • Career counseling may help people who were recently laid off.
      By: imageegami
      Career counseling may help people who were recently laid off.
    • A career counselor may assist job seekers in completing employment applications.
      By: lenets_tan
      A career counselor may assist job seekers in completing employment applications.
    • Career counseling can help someone who has become bored with their job.
      By: apops
      Career counseling can help someone who has become bored with their job.
    • Career counseling may help someone who feels they have a stressful job.
      By: Photographee.eu
      Career counseling may help someone who feels they have a stressful job.