There are plenty of reasons why career counselling is important for students. As the world changes so does our careers, and if you’re not prepared you may find yourself out of work and penniless in no time at all! Here are 10 reasons why career counselling at your university or college could be just what you need to prepare yourself for the future.
1) What is career counseling?
A student’s education can be a journey of self-discovery, but too often, students may not even realize that a career counselor exists. Whether you’re looking to advance your career or just need some guidance in selecting courses, a professional can help you create an action plan and get you on track to your goals. Below are 10 reasons why it pays to start now
2) How can we identify our interests?
When we think about our interests, we’re really talking about something much bigger than career choices. Interests help define who we are as people, and knowing what your interests are can help you discover your strengths. To identify your interests, it’s useful to complete a self-assessment of vocational preferences by using an instrument such as The Self-Directed Search (SDS) Inventory or another related assessment tool from The Strong Interest Inventory.
3) How can we explore careers?
The idea of choosing a career can be daunting, especially if you are still in school. What do you want to do? How will you find out what careers are out there? Who can help you figure out your options? As students and young adults, we all go through different experiences throughout our educational journeys, and each of these experiences can help us grow as people. We learn what we like and don’t like.
4) How do you know if this field is right for you?
Everyone has their own expectations and desires of their career, but it’s important to consider more than just that. The truth is that every job has its pros and cons—no matter how amazing it seems at first glance. It’s important to conduct research and work through several different scenarios in order to make an informed decision about your education. This research will help you identify if a certain career path would be a good fit for you—not what other people think you should do with your life.
5) What should I do in my final year to prepare for my future career?
One of the biggest mistakes I see students make in their final year of education is to do nothing in preparation for future employment. It’s not enough to just sit there and hope that a career will find you; you need to actively seek opportunities that can help get your foot in the door early on. My advice?
6) If I have questions during university, who can I turn to?
Whether you’re wondering about your career prospects, how to approach a particular situation at work, or where you want to end up in five years, having a resource person that you can turn to during university can be a great support. Whether it’s via email, phone or in-person meetings, having someone as a sounding board throughout your time as an undergraduate is one of many perks of career counselling.
7) What will happen after graduation?
Many students think that their careers are set after they graduate, but that couldn’t be further from reality. There’s a lot of planning and strategizing that goes into any career, and sometimes you need an outside perspective to figure out what your options are. A career counselor will help you map out a plan by taking stock of your interests, skills, personality traits and other personal attributes; in addition to helping you become more goal-oriented overall.
8) Making decisions on graduate school/career paths.
In today’s world, more and more people are choosing to further their education beyond high school. After all, a degree often comes with better employment opportunities, higher salaries and greater personal fulfillment. One of your first steps as you make decisions about your future career is to find yourself a great career counsellor who can help you make sense of it all. Here are some of our top reasons why having a career counsellor can be helpful when making decisions on graduate school/career paths.
9) My parents don’t understand my decision, what should I do?
The first thing to realize is that you are responsible for your own career. Nobody else can make your decisions for you. You may feel like it’s important to gain approval from your parents, or friends, or society as a whole; but their approval won’t make your career any more successful than it otherwise would be.
10) What kind of salary should I expect in this field/job?
The best way to get a realistic sense of what you can expect in terms of salary—as well as a slew of other things, such as perks and hours—is to talk with people who are already working in that field. Your teachers are a great place to start; they’re likely friends with other educators and will be able to tell you about what life is like in that industry.
Conclusion
There’s no right career path. Your experience as a student and as an employee after graduation will impact how you plan your career and choose a job that fits you well. That’s why it’s so important to learn about yourself, your interests, and what you want out of life—both now and in the future.