Career counseling
is an important part of the career decision- making process
and often requires the professional guidance of a Career
Counselor. It provides guidance to individuals who are making
career decisions for the first time or to those who are at a
cross-roads and are considering changing their current career
path. This
involves four steps:
Step 1:
Identify your interest.
Ask yourself questions such as:
Do I like to take care of people?
Do I like working with machines and things rather than
people?
Develop a list of
occupations that are likely to match your area of
interest.
Assess your willingness to
be trained.
Step 2:
Take note of what is
happening in the business world today, especially in the
industry in which you would like to get involved . You may
find that your career will be shaped by what is happening
around you.
Compare the criteria you
set for yourself, (or know about yourself) with the
information you gained on the careers investigated.
Step 3:
Having narrowed the viable
options, decide on the one you wish to pursue.This may be
done by conducting thorough interviews or research about
the career.
Exposure to particular careers will lead you to a
decision.
Step 4:
Formulate a plan of action
that includes identifying things you will need to do to
make yourself marketable in the career you have chosen.
This may include changing your major, making regular
contact with persons in that particular field or assessing
how much time you will be required to spend in
training.
Alternative Career Option: Self- Employment
In the search for a career path you may find that your
work interest dictates that you would prefer working
independently. This option entails the most significant
financial commitment and risk. There are 3 main
self-employment options:
Small business This involves the production and marketing of products or
services and usually requires a business facility and
employees. One-person enterprise This involves working on one’s own and is usually done
at home. Consulting This involves working on varied projects, often for
different clients on separate premises
Self-employment presents benefits such as the opportunity to
be creative and to test your ideas. You may enjoy the feeling
of being in control of your own time and work conditions.
However, before making such a decision one must consider its
disadvantages, which may include financial loss, long hours or
unpredictable income.
