By Mark Grzeskowiak
When I was in high school, I took part in a career assessment exercise that involved my history teacher, a computer, and a bunch of punch cards. After spending an afternoon answering questions and filling in cards, the assessment tool suggested only one career to me: infantry officer. While I felt that there were those who would enjoy being an infantry officer, I certainly didn’t count myself among them, and my history teacher understood my disappointment in the exercise.
Of course, that was a long time ago. Today, I recognize that a career assessment by a professional counselor involves a lot more than simply generating a list (apparently, for some of us, a very short list) of possible career choices.
So what exactly do career counselors do? Generally, in order to provide you with feedback on your career goals, a career counselor will look at your educational background and your skills, as well as your values and interests. If you are a university or college student, that could mean looking at things like prior work and volunteer experience, in addition to your area of study. The assessment itself usually involves interviews and testing for aptitude and/or personality. Tests that are commonly used for this purpose include the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, the Kiersey Temperament Sorter, and the Highlands Ability Battery. More specific services offered by career counselors range from critiquing résumés, to providing advice on issues such as career transition, to dealing with a layoff, or even to financial planning.
While most career counselors work with individuals, some work exclusively with companies, advising on subjects like how to retain talent or outplacement.
A career counselor might have an educational background in business, education, psychology, social work, or even theology, which is why the term “career counselor” is just one of many that is used to describe those in the profession. Some career counselors prefer to call themselves “career coaches” or “career professionals,” instead of “counselors,” while others might refer to themselves as “passion mappers.”
A Good Place to Start Looking
Once you’ve decided to make use of a career counselor, the best place to start looking is the Association of Career Professionals International. The ACP International is a governing body for individuals, companies, and organizations that provide career services, and it has more than 2,000 members (ranging from independent practices to large firms) in more than 30 countries. More importantly, ACP International members are bound by a code of ethical conduct intended to safeguard the public interest.
Because ACP International lists members by territory and subspecialty, searching the website for a career counselor is relatively easy. There are 14 subspecialties in total, and some examples include assessment, coaching, internal career development, outplacement, and organizational development.
The weak point of the ACP International website is the lack of a more specific search function. Some career counselors tailor their services to a particular type of client. For example, an older employee will have different needs than someone who is just starting out. Similarly, a biologist will not have the same needs as someone who works in the financial services industry. While most career counselors will work with clients from any industry, some are more industry-specific. Unfortunately, finding them is difficult and requires a good deal of searching.
Of course, career counselors don’t provide their services for free. Most career counselors will post an initial assessment fee on their website, and further costs usually depend on the amount and type of counseling required. In some cases, this can become very expensive, with fees for services that go well into the thousands of dollars.
Other Options
If money is an issue, one possible solution is to approach your alma mater. In addition to providing services for current students, college and university career centers sometimes offer free career counseling services to recent graduates and alumni. A good friend of mine once used the career service at his old university, and was counseled by a management consultant who ran his own boutique counseling company. The consultant did this on a volunteer basis, and saw it as a way to give something back to the school. (Of course, this level of expertise may not always be available at university career counseling services.)
Another way around the issue of money is to make use of career counseling services that are available online and, in some cases, free of charge. Many career sites have in-house career advisers that answer questions and offer advice to readers. Of course, taking into consideration the amount of traffic on the internet, there’s no guarantee that your questions will be answered quickly or perhaps even answered at all. There is also no guarantee of quality. Basic personality or career preference assessments are also available online, and most of these are relatively inexpensive.
But beware: I’ve found that these online services are not much different than the old high school assessment tool – i.e., they only provide you with your “top career areas” and tell you things about your personality that you probably already know. Any more, and you have to pay for it.
