Making correct career choices for students can be very frustrating and time-consuming. They feel delusional and sometimes take wrong career decisions. Due to wrong career choices, they are unable to feel happy in their jobs.
Why choosing a particular career is so difficult?
Students have to make the decision of choosing a particular field of their choice and build their careers. The process of making the choice is sometimes very confusing for the students. There are several factors that impact the students’ decision process.
First, students may suffer from indecisive nature due to which they may take time to make decisions. They lack knowledge about the various career options available in the market. Due to inadequate knowledge, they suffer from a lack of self-confidence. Thus the absence of making informed choices impacts the ability of the students to make the right decisions for their careers.
Second, the most noticeable problem faced by the younger generation these times is peer pressure. Intense competition among students causes them to feel intense pressure. This creates delusions in the minds of the students, where they feel that others’ choice is better than their own.
Third, students’ family plays a critical role in determining/her career. A person’s family background also influences his choice of career. As per a study conducted by the Wharton Global Youth Program, family history and an inside glimpse into a particular industry strongly influence their career choice.
Fourth, salaries also influence the career choice of the students. The majority of the students prefer to pursue a career choice where they can get a higher salary. But, if they do not like the job profile or suffer from work-life imbalance, they may suffer from mental anxiety and leave the career in the future.
Fifth, students also make a career decision based on their past performance. Most students make career choices based on one-time exam performance. Such evaluations can be highly misleading and can lead students in making the wrong career choice.
All these factors impact the overall career-related decision-making process of the students. Thus, to make better career decisions, the students can undertake outside help, such as career councillors, to determine the right career path for them.
An overview of career counselling
Career counselling is the process of providing support to clients regarding their career choice. Such services involve providing advice to the clients by exploring various career alternatives. Such services also help people manage their career changes and also deal with issues related to career development.
Students are at their most vulnerable point at the start of their careers. Without proper guidance, they may make mistakes that can cost them dearly in the future. Hence, taking external help from career counsellors is useful in correcting their steps and moving toward a successful future.
How does career counselling work?
In the first stage of career counselling, the counsellor tries to get a basic undertaking about the needs of the candidate. This step is necessary to get a better idea about what the person wants and what is his weakness. The counsellor can develop a specific strategy by understanding the basic needs of the students.
During the conversation, the expert needs to build a strong rapport with the student. This helps to remove any communication blockage among them and helps to create a strong bond. Such a process encourages the candidate to share his worries, weakness and his career aspirations freely. Based on these insights, the expert is able to devise a strategic plan to shape the persons’ career.
The counsellor undertakes a 360-degree approach to provide the right assistance to the concerned candidate. He/she considers the skills, knowledge, personality, culture and thoughts of the students into consideration to develop a suitable career plan. Such a process helps to discover the unrealized interests of the students that can become a potential career choice for them.
Additionally, counsellors can use various assignments and homework to assess students’ knowledge. Assignment help the counsellor to understand the areas of interest of the students. Online psychometric test also helps to provide better insights into the personality of the students. By thoroughly analyzing their areas of interest, the counsellors can establish a proper plan for the students.
On the basis of those insights, the counsellors then devise goals that are realistic, achievable and measurable. Furthermore, steps are taken to meet such goals and objectives. It includes creating a checklist containing all steps and actions and well-laid out objectives that help to implement the goals in both the long term and short term.
What do studies say about the current workforce?
Recent studies have shown that many people who are currently employed in various jobs are not satisfied with the career that they have chosen. For instance, in the U.S. only 20% of the working population are passionate about their job. In 2019, a study conducted by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Gallup found that around 50% of the workers in the U.S. are not feeling satisfied or happy with the job profile in which they are currently employed.
These studies put emphasis on the importance of understanding and determining the correct choice at an early stage in the career.
Does career counselling work
Experts help students develop a focussed approach toward making career decisions. The counsellors help students get a better clarity regarding their passion and areas of interest. Furthermore, the experts also provide insights about the universities and courses offered by them. This helps to reduce the mental frustrations of the students and achieve a balanced state of mind.
As experts are aware of the current industry requirements, they also encourage students to add a new skill set to advance their careers. They help to boost the confidence of the candidates and also offer insights about the current job developments in the market.
The grey areas of career counselling
Although career counselling provides some guidance to the students they are not always effective. Certain advices often fall short of the expectations of the clients, and may not be effective at all. The major reasons behind these shortfalls are as follows:
Lack of expertise among career counsellors can impact their ability in helping students. This leads to poor communication and improper understanding of their requirements. Some experts can be fake, and may not have the necessary credentials to provide such service to the students.
Lack of proper assessments of a person’s skills impacts their ability to understand the capabilities of the candidates. Inability to critically assess the homework Help written by the candidates also impacts the counsellors’ ability to suggest suitable career options for the candidates.
Conclusion
A large section of students still adopts wrong career choices due to a lack of guidance and awareness about various career opportunities. Before seeking advice, students need to take precautions by verifying the credentials of the experts. This will help candidates seek help from experienced experts who can make a meaningful change and help them follow their passion.
