Why Do I Need Career Counselling?

Career counselling is an essential service that provides individuals with guidance and support in making important decisions about their career.

At some point in life, many people find themselves at a crossroads where they are unsure about their next career move. Career counselling can help people identify their strengths and interests, explore various career options, and make informed decisions about their future.

One of the primary benefits of career counselling is that it helps individuals pick the right career. Career counsellors are trained professionals who use various tools and assessments to evaluate an individual's aptitude, personality, interests, and other aspects of their life. Based on this evaluation, the counsellor can suggest the best career options from all the available and relevant options. This can help individuals make an informed decision about their career path, which can ultimately lead to greater job satisfaction and success.

Career counselling also provides access to expert resources and knowledge. Most people do not have the knowledge and expertise to navigate the complex world of careers, including their scope and the paths to pursue them. Career counsellors, on the other hand, have a wealth of knowledge and expertise in this area, and can provide individuals with the information and resources they need to succeed.

Another important benefit of career counselling is that it can help individuals gain confidence and insight. Career counselling can help individuals understand the obstacles and challenges they may face in their career path, and develop the confidence to overcome these hurdles. A good career counsellor can provide insight and guidance that can help individuals build a solid foundation for their career.

Career counselling can also help individuals change unwanted behaviour patterns. Many students and professionals have habits that are hard to break, such as procrastination, neglecting emotional and mental health, and not trying to self-motivate. A career counsellor can help individuals break these patterns and develop new habits that lead to more productive activities both at home and in school/college/work.

Career counselling can also help individuals remove career-related frustration. Choosing a career can be a demanding task, and a lack of any source of venting out emotions and thoughts may add to the existing frustration. Career counselling provides a platform where individuals can reduce such frustrations and focus on selecting the best career options.

Career counselling also provides a role model for individuals. Career counsellors are often experts who have enough life experiences to share. They are role models who have accomplished much, and helped people in their life. This is why career counselling can serve as an inspiration to those who require it.

Finally, career counselling can help bring stability in thought. Career counsellors can help individuals remain calm when it comes to taking a career decision. Counselling helps bring about focus, and maintain that focus throughout in our activities. Through proper scheduling and planning, they try and make your life more organized.

The ideal time for students to seek career counselling is during the ages of 13-17 years (8th standard to 12th standard). This is a time of many changes taking place in their life, both physical and emotional, such as transitioning from school to college, and trying to ""fit in"" with peers. It is also a time when career decisions are made, and therefore, they need someone to guide them in the right direction at this time.

For students in college who are still confused about what they want to do, as well as for professionals who want to transition from their field to something they love, career counselling can be beneficial in numerous ways. Career counselling can help individuals understand the career options that they have, understand their own strengths and weaknesses with regard to their present course or profession, and give them a platform to voice their opinion about what they would like to pursue, as well as discuss the obstacles that they may be worried about.

All of us require career guidance at some point in our life. It helps us get insights about ourselves, our career and what we can do to improve it. Here are a few ways in which career counselling helps us:

Helps Pick The Right Career

Career Counsellors are experts at assessing your aptitude, personality, interests, and other aspects of you. They use this evaluation to suggest the best career options from all the available and relevant options.

Helps Provide Expert Resources

Career Counselling provides access to the resources and knowledge that a career expert possesses. This knowledge of Careers, their scope and the paths to pursue them are most important from the point of view of a parent and child, since most of the times, parents or guardians do not have that kind of knowledge.

Helps Gain Confidence And Insight

Career Counselling helps a counselee understand the hurdles in his/her career path. This knowledge helps to develop the confidence to overcome these hurdles. It is the duty of a good counsellor to provide such insight and confidence to the counselee.

Helps Change Unwanted Behavior Patterns

Students and professionals have habits that are hard to break, such as procrastinating, not keeping updated on latest developments in their chosen career paths, neglecting emotional and mental health, not trying to self-motivate, etc. A Career Counsellor helps break such behavioral patterns that lead to unproductive activities, both at home and in school/college/work.

Helps Remove Career-Related Frustration

Choosing a career can be a demanding task for both parents and children. A lack of any source of venting out emotions and thoughts may add to the existing frustration. Career Counselling provides a platform where such frustrations can be reduced, and focus is re-directed to selecting the best career options.

Provides A Role-Model

Career Counselling helps students connect to experts who have enough life experiences to share. They are role models who have accomplished much, and helped people in their life. This is why Career Counselling can serve as an inspiration to those who require it.

Helps Bring Stability In Thought

Career Counsellors can help you remain calm when it comes to taking a career decision. Counselling helps bring about focus, and maintain that focus throughout in our activities. Through proper scheduling and planning, they try and make your life more organized.

Who Need Career Counselling & When?

The perfect time for students to seek Career Counselling is during the ages 13-17 years (8th standard to 12th standard). This is a time of many changes taking place in their life, both physical and emotional, such as transitioning from school to college, and trying to “fit in” with peers. It is also a time when career decisions are made. This is why they need someone to guide them in the right direction at this time.

Most of our parents are actively involved in shaping our career, in fact at least 51% of Indian parents’ priority is their child’s financial success (Survey by HSBC Retail Banking and Wealth Management in a report titled “ The Value of Education: Learning for Life”). We can safely assume that our parents follow a hands-on approach when it comes to making career decisions for us. Sometimes, it works and many a times, it does not. We can attribute this to the fact that every child is unique, and it is extremely hard for parents or teachers to always recognize the child’s strengths or weaknesses, and his passion or dislikes. This is another reason why career counselling is needed.

For students in college, who are still confused about what they want to do, as well as for professionals who want to transition from their field to something they love, career counselling helps in the following manner:

• Career Counselling helps them understand the career options that they have, and how to pursue them.
• Career Counselling helps them understand their own strengths and weaknesses with regard to their present course or profession, and lets them know what career they would be suited for.
• Career Counselling gives them a platform to voice their opinion about what they would like to pursue, as well as discuss the obstacles that they may be worried about.
• Career Counselling makes the transition from one field to another a non-stressful event.
• Career Counselling helps give them the required confidence to change their domain, with the support of an experienced mentor.