Do I Need Career Counseling?
Figuring out what you want to do with your life is one of the most important decisions you’ll ever make, and landing the job you want is a challenge you may or may not be quite ready for. So how do you know when you need help?
Look at Where You Are and Where You Want to Go
1. Write down your long-range professional goals.
2. For each goal, write down the steps you need to take to reach that goal.
3. Think about where you are now. Is your current professional life satisfying? Does it fit who you are? Does it use your strongest abilities? Is your current professional life likely to lead you in the direction in which you want to go?
4. If the answer to any of the above questions is no, decide if you know specifically what you do want. Do you know what you need to do to get on track? If not, you could likely use some guidance to clarify and implement your goals.
Evaluate Your Job-Search Effectiveness
If you’re job-hunting:
1. Develop a job-search action plan. Include all the job-search strategies you can think of.
2. Assess your response to your resume. Are you getting interviews for at least 10% of the resumes you send to employers?
3. Make a list of possible ways to network.
4. Write down typical interviewing questions, effective ways to answer them, and questions for you to ask the interviewer.
5. List websites and other resources that have helpful and up-to-date information on a variety of job-search topics.
6. If you have difficulty with any of the above, a career counselor can help you develop and implement your career or job-search plan.
Tips
• Consider that it can be confusing and time-consuming to sort through all the information out there on job-search and careers.
• Remember it can be challenging to determine on your own which information is up-to-date and which is not (and the date it was written isn’t always a good indicator).
• Remember that, while it’s important to be proactive and independent in your career search, it’s also important to seek professional assistance when you need it.