The times we reside in are full of multifaceted challenges and opportunities. As a parent, it becomes difficult to devise a strategy that will benefit their children when it comes to education and deciding for their future.
This is not a bad thing per se that a lot of opportunities are at disposal but it becomes a challenge only when the mind is unable to figure out which or what option to opt for. This is where the importance of career counselling chimes in. In addition, it is a question from the child’s/student’s perspective how much time will he have to spend to pursue a certain field of study.
To parents, it is also about the cost they will have to bear in terms of fee and other expenses so that their child’s future is secured. For example, and it is quite the norm to target the white collar wing of the market (of course for those who can afford) such as engineering, biology, medicine, business administration but this is what the parents think is the successful gig for their children, but do we ask the child/student?
The need for career counselling is, therefore, crucial because it allows for the students to have their say. They may want to be a movie star, a director, or perhaps a painter, heck even a digital marketer. He may not be interested in pursuing a full-time degree at a university. Whatever it is, it should be his call, not his parents. After all, it is us who know ourselves better than anybody else in the world and what we are good at.
Now for this to be realized in a child, a career counsellor is required. It does not necessarily have to be some professional you hire for counselling but it could very well be the parents themselves if they choose but to listen to their child (which often time they don’t).
In the longer when the child grows to be an adult, it should feel good to him what he does for a living and not regret the decision he wasn’t on board with in the first place. Therefore key aspects of building a career lie in having the interest and ability to do that thing and this is the first rule that should be highlighted when counselling. If that student lacks the ability and interest in a certain domain, no need to pressurize him for continuing in the said domain under the pretext of hard work.
Parents/guardians should understand that there is a fine line between ‘not working hard’ and ‘not built for it’. A career counselling session can, thus, help clarify/draw the line under such cases. Moreover, career counselling ensures that the person has weighed in the pros and cons of the chosen career and have made arrangements to see it through until the very end i.e. proper planning and preparation are in place.
A classic example of an appropriately executed career counselling session is of a student who is curious about everything or ‘getting to the bottom of things’ interests him. Now, naturally, this guy is not suited for a career in sales. He would require a background of commerce, pure science or humanities. These domains will appeal to his mental faculty to carry out in-depth analysis. This will in turn yield a dedicated doctor, lawyer/attorney, chartered accountant or chemist and a great one at that too!
Hence, in a nutshell, career counselling seeks to identify a student’s career choices and presents him with the SWOT analysis of the chosen field. Once the roadmap gets laid out, following the path becomes easier as it has been adopted in consultation and is the decision is individual’s to own. He cannot assign blames later. Consequently, job satisfaction and professional success follow.
Author Bio:
Alex is a coach and a trainer. He is a foodie and loves to blog in order to fill his readers on career tips and educational insights. You can contact him for help in Essay Help UK. For more updates, follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+.