As a career counselor, I use a guided, self-reflective process to help individuals think about their career interests, skills and goals in new ways. Too often, we end up in a job or career because someone else thought it was a good idea, or because it was available and we needed the money, or because it seemed right many years ago and we have been stuck with it ever since. Very few of us have taken the time to think carefully about what we would like to do, what skills we have, and what kind of work would feel meaningful or make us happy. Both individually and in groups, I use discussion and guided exercises to help clients define the kinds of characteristics that are important to them in work and to look at their own transferable skills in new and different ways.
I see career counseling as a short-term process. That means I feel it is part of my job to help you gain the skills and knowledge you need to move forward independently, without having to rely upon professional help on an ongoing basis. I generally recommend scheduling two sessions initially, so that I can do a full assessment of your career situation. At the end of the assessment, I will make a set of recommendation on how I think you ought to proceed. Those recommendations vary, but can include participation in one of my career groups, researching specific career areas, networking with others in your field of interest, or some additional individual sessions (though rarely more than 10 total) with specific tasks for you to accomplish with my help.
Successful career counseling depends greatly on the client's active involvement in the process. To facilitate this, I give homework assignments that will help shape our work in the next session. These assignments help you explore different aspects of who you are and your career interests, in ways you probably haven't done before. For clients in an active job search process, I provide constructive feedback to help improve your presentation on paper (resumes and cover letters), and use practice interviewing techniques to help improve your performance in job interviews.
I do not do vocational testing as I do not believe it is useful for most adults. My experience is that most people already know what they would and wouldn't like to do, but have buried this knowledge and need help uncovering it. I find it more useful to engage in a guided self-reflective process first, before considering vocational testing. If, at the end of the assessment, it seems likely that vocational testing would be helpful for you, I will refer you to an appropriate place to have that done.
I find that career exploration works particularly well in groups. Talking with others who are struggling with the same questions, can be very useful in generating ideas, thoughts and information.
