What are some common challenges that career counseling clients face?

Step 1 is always Deciding What you want! So in order to make a decision you need clarity about what you want. Not all career counselors / coaches are trained in helping you gain clarity but many are. And be prepared to schedule some time on your calendar to do the introspection to figure out what's right for you. It will be worth it!

A careers counsellor's/adviser's job is to help you gain this clarity! Do not feel pressure to have all the answers or know what to say in the first session. Careers counsellors and advisers are trained and experienced in getting things started, and will do their best to support you in identifying your careers interests, wants, values, and goals.

The best place to establish clarity of your career planning and hopes is in your LinkedIn profile, making it a career narrative rather than a copy-paste of your resume. They serve different purposes, and offer different messages to different audiences. Resume: it’s so backward-looking, like an electronic obituary of what you did; LinkedIn profile: it tells in complete rich sentences how your past made you who you are today and your skills today hint at where you can be, and why you can excel, in your future. Is your LinkedIn profile providing past-present-future clarity to your readers who are hiring managers, recruiters, and referral partners?

It is so common for career coaching clients to know they want something different but not yet have figured out what that means in practice. What a great opportunity for career coaches to help you open up and explore the possibilities with powerful questions! Many clients have never been asked what it would look like to feel fulfilled in work, or about their ideal vision for professional life. A skilled career coach will explore with you to reveal your underlying hopes, needs, and priorities, and help you to balance all of that as you consider how to advance professionally. You, the client, do have the answers, and it's your coach's role to help you access that through meaningful conversation before offering guidance that fits you.

Many clients come to a career practitioner wanting a resume as a first step. But unless they know the kind of job they are targeting, it’s impossible to create effective personal marketing materials like resumes, cover letters, and LinkedIn profiles. Thankfully, the process of career counseling or coaching can help them gain that clarity.

An excellent career coach will not only help you figure out what actions to take but they should also be helping you ensure that you have mental health and self care practices in place so that you can push through your fear and ideally develop your courage as well as your confidence!

Try not to let fear of change stop you from booking that first careers counselling/guidance session. You never know what may come out of it and there is no obligation to book further ones (but you may end up wanting to!).

This is in my opinion the biggest factor in searching out new fields. Fear of the unknown, fear of failure, fear of success, fear of letting people dowm, fear of proving doubters right. So many things to fear. It's the old adage, rhe devil you know... If we could harness that fear and itilize that energy creatively, the world could be hours. The truth is there is no universal answer since the fear is different for everyone and that is the real challenge for career counselors. Finding out the real fear that is paralyzing someone.

Many career clients think too small. They can only envision what they can see. Their fear of changing into something they aren’t as familiar with stops them from considering more options. Helping clients to “prototype” ideas by trying things or talking to people in their field of curiosity can help alleviate those fears.

Medo da mudan?a, existe por ser um universo desconhecido, mas se você tiver uma forma de vivenciar isso antes??? Conversar com pessoas que atuam no setor, para entender o seu dia a dia e atuar de forma voluntária, s?o formas de você se vê fazendo aquilo e avaliar se é mesmo isso que deseja. Mudar faz parte e aceitar esse movimento, faz com o que a gente tire o peso das costas e aproveite as oportunidades.

Career coaches can offer a helpful counter to that external pressure! If a client feels pressured in a particular direction, the career coach or counselor can enter the picture as an advocate for the client's own goals. We can be the cheerleader helping a client not just know but believe that it's okay to consider a professional change, even if other people in their life aren't offering that same support.

Careers counselling and guidance sessions are completely confidential (except if you disclose something that suggests you are in immediate danger). This means no one else knows you are receiving this support unless you choose to tell them. Your careers counsellor/adviser will work purely in your best interests, including doing what they can to enable and advocate for you so that you can pursue your career goals and aspirations.

Depending on the client's culture, their family may undermine your advice. You must be ready to converse with your client so that they can be redirected to their "why."

Networking and finding a mentor can be such a powerful tool for expanding limited resources. The first place you can look is within the network you already have at your disposal. Think of former colleagues and supervisors you can reconnect with. What about alumni association mentoring networks from your college or grad school? Once you've identified someone that might be a good contact, send them a brief message to connect. It can be as simple as telling a former contact that you'd love to reconnect over a quick coffee or asking a new connection for an informational interview so you can pick their brain for 15 minutes.

We all have limited resources but many people don't have the skills they need to manage the limited resources they do have...especially time. Even the Vice Presidents I coach can improve their productivity and time management. It's important to note that this will probably be an are of growth for you if you have limited time for exceeding your career goals!

Working in higher education for 25 years, I saw this often. People thought they couldn’t afford education or certifications. But there is a lot of help available. I encourage clients to do the research before closing the door on education or training. Besides, the payoff is often much greater than they realize it will be.

Escolher em quais mesas vamos sentar diariamente é primordial e sabe porque, o ambiente sempre ganha. Hoje com a internet, você tem o conhecimento, a sua disposi??o, mas informa??o n?o é nada se você n?o sabe como utilizar. Sem falar de sites com Udemy e o próprio linkedin s?o oportunidades de se desenvolver com pouco recurso.

Realism vs. Crushing Dreams. I'm all for Realism and understanding realities AND this paragraph is borderline hogwash. Far too many coaches or counselors or Career Centers crush dreams instead of providing info and setting expectations about effort and hard work. Some people are willing to do the unrealistic work to achieve their dreams and that's the choice of the individual not any counselor!

When I'm working with mid-level managers who are trying to break into the senior ranks, they often underestimate the amount of time it might take to find their next role. Whenever networking and executive recruiters are a part of the process, it's a long game.

Sucesso n?o vem fácil e algumas pessoas n?o est?o dispostas a pagar o pre?o. Como mentora de carreira, já encontrei pessoas cheias de vontade, mas que n?o faziam a sua parte para que suas metas se realizassem, colocando sempre a culpa no outro e n?o assumindo a sua responsabilidade com o processo. De adianta querer estudar 8 horas por dia, se você só consegue absorver 1/3 do que estudou, é muito mais valioso, estudar 1h por dia e se dedicar 100%.

Many mid-career individuals say they want to make a change…sometimes for years…but never do. A career counselor or coach who can help them identify potential positive outcomes and all obstacles is a good start. And then helping them identify what they can do to minimize or even eliminate those barriers is crucial if the client hopes to move forward.

I would also add a Lack of Support. Knowing you have others that support your journey will give you the encouragement to stay with the process. Having a supportive community will increase your resilience when you feel like quitting.

Having an open mind and flexibility are also beneficial. For example, if you are limited to options geographically (by choice or not), then you have to work with your environment and its opportunities, not against it. That may mean working in area or with an employer you hadn't originally conceived of as a possibility. That may even mean considering entrepreneurship.