How Does Career Counselling Process Work?

Career counselling is a process where career counselling experts help candidates, whether young students or adolescent individuals find the right career path. We live in challenging times where our education systems are forcing students in schools, colleges and universities to achieve beyond their capacities and scope of interests. Each one is battling with assessment grades, vast syllabi, earning credits and so much more. Moreover, there is continuous pressure from parents, relatives and peers to continuously excel and get a leading spot in the rat race. In this mess of thoughts and actions, they also face immense pressure to choose a specific career stream at some point of time. Here is where a career counsellor intervenes to help candidates get freedom from all sort of confusion and guides them towards the best career path.

Professional career counselling in India is slowly yet steadily gaining popularity with candidates, their parents and even their educational institutes. It involves a complex logical method of career planning as per the personal choices, abilities, talents and personality of an individual. Making choices is an inevitable part of life and career counselling helps people to make life-altering choices. Career counsellors aid students in picking the right careers by making them aware of their personal interests, plethora of career options available and current career trends.

Process of Career Counselling in India

 

  1. Career Exploration Stage 

Even though a student is brilliant at getting good grades, they might feel a bit confused when it comes to selecting specific career streams starting at the school level. So, the first step of career counselling is to assess what kinds of career options are really available to pursue and do well in. For some, it could be a standard career choice of becoming an engineer and for some, it could be about becoming a wine taster. It is important to understand that one’s performance may or may not always be aligned with their real interests. Things like ignorance, peer pressure and influence from family and kin may harm one’s growth in the future. Thus, it is vital to understand the available and trending career choices that somewhere align the performance and interest factors. The current practices of career counseling in India are exactly trying to achieve the same given the existing obsession of the masses with engineering, medical and MBA degrees. A career guide may just plainly discuss these and may share some case studies or real-life career interviews to provide more clarity.

  1. Stage of Personal Exploration

 Remember that it’s the will that pushes people to achieve greatness. The will of an individual is wired to their personality and their strengths, weaknesses, talents, abilities, skills and interests. Thus, it is very important to map these to find the right career choice. One of the most popular ways to get this kind of data is to ask the candidates to sit for a psychometric test. Though career counsellors already have a deep understanding of brain’s psychology, career tests like psychometric test is great way of convincing and guiding candidates to take the right decisions.

It is a scientifically modelled test that helps to map a candidate’s aptitude, personality traits and interests. Not only are these tests used in career guidance but many recruitment agencies also make use of it to see if an applicant is suitable for the position applied for. The test contains short or multiple choice questions which do not require any specific preparation. Once a candidate completes the test, they receive a report with a detailed personal profile and top career suggestions against the mapped results. Psychometric tests have only recently become a part of career counselling in India and are really helpful in providing fact-based career guidance to individuals.

  1. Stage of Choosing the Right Career

After the results of the test, it is time to reflect upon the career choices one could go for. For example, until the last few years, it was a notion that biology students can progress their career as a doctor or nurse only. Today, these students can choose from a plethora of career options such as microbiology, biotechnology, forensic science, horticulture, marine science, etc. Career counselling will take one through the best options available according to the skills and interests. It could be a surprise for someone when they see some new-age careers that they never considered before along with other expected choices. It will be a great experience for any candidate to compare their futures with different career choices at this single point. This will provide more clarity and also generate new possibilities that were not existing in the plan before.

  1. Stage of Finding the Right Streams and Subjects

Career Counselling in India is helping hundreds and thousands of candidates from schools, college and universities to make it big in this world. One of the most crucial stages any student or candidate comes across is selecting the right subjects, streams or courses after they have been through the previous stages of career counselling. It is not about just learning the right career choice but it is about finding the least troublesome path to reach your goals. This way one stays focussed, saves time and extra efforts and moves ahead towards their career goals with great speed. Career guides can help choose the best subjects or streams. They may also help in planning and preparing for important competitive exams

  1. Stage of Taking Action

Once an individual has clarity about the subjects or the stream, it’s through to planning one’s personal time and efforts for the selected career choice. From studying to learning new updates about the career choice, it should all become a regular part of one’s daily life. One needs to monitor their own progress from time to time and see if it aligns to the overall objective your want to achieve. Career counselling institutes and independant counsellors will help you stay updated with emails, short sessions, etc. When we consider career counselling for college students, these counsellors also help in identifying the best colleges and may help in the applying for the same.