You may have heard about career counseling or even know someone who has worked with one. If you feel like your career has hit a plateau, you may wonder if hiring a career counselor can help you take your career to the next level.
Career counseling can help you find meaningful work that can help you accomplish your goals and matches your skillset. Whether you need feedback on your resume, help with your job search, advice on a career change, or additional training, you may find what you need working with a career counselor.
The Benefits of Hiring a Career Counselor
If you are unsure whether working with a career counselor can help you, and your career, here are some benefits you may gain:
1. Shifts Your Focus Positively
If you’re feeling frustrated in your current occupation, working with a career counselor can help you develop and execute the plan to transition to a new career. Your counselor may suggest taking various aptitude tests to see if another career path suits your skills and interests better.
A career counselor can provide an unbiased sounding board for plans, ideas, and concerns you have about your career. If you’re open to changing your career, a career counselor may give you personality and skills assessments to help you choose the best career based on your goals, skills, and personality type.
There are a number of online personality assessments that you may complete independently. You may be interested in learninghow to use LinkedIn Career Explorer to assess your career path.
Working with a career counselor can help you understand the importance of career development and the need to plan for your future development. While discussing career development, the counselor may emphasize the necessity to focus on personal development.
Your daily habits may be sabotaging you from creating the mindset and establishing the focus you need to make positive moves in your career. Whether it’s reducing time watching television or limiting your time on social media, your career counselor can help you identify the habits limiting your career growth.
Limiting and ridding yourself of bad habits can be challenging but rewarding once you do. You may be interested inthe most beautiful habit-tracking apps to stay on top of your goals.
3. Can Help You Achieve More Work/Life Balance
Your career coach will ask you questions to learn more about your interests and your goals, so they can help you understand what type of job will help you achieve the work-life balance you’re looking for. They may be able to challenge your beliefs about what’s possible and help you achieve your goals.
A career coach can help you discover the type of career that can provide the environment to maintain a work-life balance. One of the ways they can help you maintain balance is by assisting you to establish attainable goals.
While some may say establishing a work-life balance is impossible, others believe it is possible. You may be interested in learningreasons why you should unplug for a better work-life balance.
4. They Can Help You Get Unstuck in Your Career
A career counselor can help you discover resources and information that can help point you in the right direction. Whether it’s attending an industry event or putting you in touch with someone who can provide you with success tips.
If you’ve been searching for a job for a while and feel like something is preventing you from getting it, then it may be time to have someone review your resume and help you practice your interview skills.
Career counselors can review your cover letter and resume and provide feedback on how to sharpen your skills to get the attention of hiring managers. They can also help you strengthen your communication skills, so you do better in job interviews. Are youfeeling stuck in your tech career? Questions to help you find your purpose.
Where to Find Career Counselors
If you’re looking for a career counselor, there are sites where you can find qualified career counselors. Before you select a counselor to work with, do your due diligence to make sure they’re qualified to provide the help you’re looking for:
1.Career Counseling Connection
You can search for resume writers, career coaches, and career counselors by location on the site. You can find a list of Verified Career Counseling Connection members there.
Verified Career Counseling Connection members have been vetted, and the site ensures members have an active career-related professional certification or license before they can offer their services. This can help put your mind at ease regarding the qualifications of the counselor you find on the site.
In addition to counselors, coaches, and resume writers, you can also find LinkedIn profile writers and executive/leadership coaches. If you’re in a leadership role or aspiring to be in one, you may be interested inthe best employee coaching and mentoring tools.
2.National Career Development Association
The National Career Development Association allows you to search for career counselors by their credentials. There are five different categories that the association offers:
You can be assured about the professionalism of the counselors listed on the site because the NCDA code of ethics binds them. If you’re interested in guiding yourself, you may be interested inApple apps for self-coaching and care.
3.National Board for Certified Counselors
The NBCC is a non-profit established in 1982 to provide credentialing for counselors. you may find a counselor by country, state, and city. This site will provide you with a list of certified counselors, but you will have to ask them if they specialize in career counseling since it doesn’t provide specialties in its directory.
Like other directories, the list of counselors on the site only confirmed they are certified and shouldn’t be treated as an endorsement. You can benefit from working with a counselor for more than your professional concerns.
It May Be Time to Consider a Career Counselor
If you feel like your career is stagnant, then it might be time to consider hiring a career counselor. They can help you uncover the habits that sabotage your job search and teach you skills to create impactful cover letters and resumes.
A career counselor can provide you with personality and skills assessments to help you determine what kind of career fits your lifestyle and competencies. They can also help you improve your interview skills if that’s where you feel you need help. When searching for a career counselor, ensure they have the proper training to provide the help you seek.
