Why Career Counseling is Important?

‘Career Counseling’, when I say that I am a career counselor to people of my parents age, they just laugh at me saying “Humare zamane meine yeh sab nahi hua karta tha, hum aaj ke navjawanon jaise confused nahi the (During our times we were not as confused as today’s youth)”

I wanted to ask them “Really? Looking at today’s world in which, every where there is a rat race and world being so competitive and above all of these you have umpteen number of careers?” Many a times we are in a career where one is not happy and would want to change their careers in the middle age, or a child who has taken up engineering / science just because their peers are doing it or parents wants them to pursue it.

What do we do? Whom do we go to? How do we go about find what is right for ME? Here, I believe and feel there is a need of an expert who is able to detect one’s personality, aptitude and interest through evaluation, who know about different careers, curriculum, know the career paths and helps one choose a ‘Career’ in which one is happy and enjoys it.

What is Career Counseling exactly? If you think if in career counseling a expert will advise you what to take up as a career, then I would say ‘No, they don’t.’

There is a process in which career counseling is conducted, the process is as follows:

1. Assessment:
• The child is assessed on four dimensions i.e., Aptitude, personality, Interest and Emotional Intelligence.
• These evaluations helps the counselor identify the strengths, aptitude, area of interest of the child
2. Counseling:
• Based on the results of the evaluation the counselor come up with a list of best careers for the child and then the child with the help of the counselor zero’s down on a career.
• The counselor then draws out the career path for the child.
• The counselor might also suggest extra help if required, like courses to help the child improve the personality if required, the schools or colleagues, the beat suited curriculum for the child.
•  The counselor listens to the child and to the parents separately then together.

Now let’s see what does these assessments mean and how are they important.

Aptitude is a natural ability to do something; an aptitude can be developed further or can be improved with coaching. Personality is the combination of characteristics or qualities that form an individual’s distinctive characteristics. Interest is what one likes to do, they would want to learn or know more about it. 

Emotional Intelligence is capacity to be aware of, control, and express one’s emotions, and handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically.

It’s a loop, where everything affects each other, let’s see how?

Emotional Intelligence is the key to both personal and professional success. One needs to have an aptitude as well as interest for the career being chosen, also needs personality traits for that career. E.g.: A child who wants to do Business management in Finance should have an aptitude for Math, interest to meet people, should have knack of controlling his/her temperament as well as please the clients to get the deal and also should be an extrovert. Here if the child who aspires to be a business manager would not be successful if he/she does not want /scared to speak to people.

Hence a career counselor’s has an important role to play, where they help the child and parents understand what would be the best for a child to avoid any disappointments in future, a career which well thought from all the perspectives and a career in which you/ your child will be happy pursuing it.

Bharti Sharma,

Career Counselor,

Edugroomers