Building your career by helping others

Anish Rakheja

Changing needs of the progressive world and burgeoning human talent, has given rise to a number of job opportunities and job roles. This has brought a boom in career options, which is obviously an advantage for the youngsters, but at the same time, this is confusing many, as to find out what’s best for them. This is where the role of a professional would not only help you to find the best career option but also will guide the way to achieve it. 

In my experience, I have seen situations where people opt for a particular subject just because their parents said so, or just because their friends chose it for them. This is mostly because these people are yet doubtful about their capabilities. The other way of choosing the subjects, which I find most common, is by the elimination process. The students first discard the subjects that they feel are too difficult to pursue and then from the balance try to make the best possible combination. The underlying challenge in any of these methods is that the stream or course selection is not by choice or interest, rather through the external influence of misplaced perceptions.

Talking about the time that we are facing today, the recession has hit the world sooner. This recent slump in the economy has brought uncertainty on the career of 90% of the world’s population. This not just includes employees working for others, but also entrepreneurs and the certain industry as a whole. This has made many people rethink their career choices; many of us are also worried about our job security and are in need of advice from the experts. 

Such situations bring out the need of a professional who can give a practical and detailed perspective, vision and motivation to you, be it for your higher education, career change or an entrepreneurial venture.

This professional is called a Career Counsellor. Imagine being able to earn by giving peace to others, helping others identify their path to a promising future. A Giving life that offers you respect, money and peace of mind for yourself. Yet it is not one of the most talked-about career options, considering the lack of awareness.

Now the question arises, as to who could become a career counsellor?

Well, all that the person requires to become a career counsellor is to be a good listener, excellent communicator, a friendly advisor and someone who could bring out the best potential in individuals and guide them to a bright future ahead. He/ she could either be a psychologist, a teacher, doctor, even a housewife; you just need to have the passion to help others. You need to have an open mind to identify an individual’s strength, weakness, opportunity and threat at the same time understanding their interests and desires. 

Why Career Counsellor

India still has a shortage of such skilled professional counsellors, bringing in a higher opportunity in this career. Research suggests that the market size of the counselling is estimated at over Rs 5,000 crores in India and is continuously growing, giving an inherent advantage of gaining profitability from the booming sector. 

Skills Required

Even though it can be done by everyone, it is not as easy. Besides all the good human traits that they need to possess, a career counsellor must have a thorough understanding of the job trends/ changes in the areas of education and availability of the opportunities in the country and abroad. He needs to be well versed about the various institutions, courses, fees structure of the institutions and other scholarships programs. He must also be aware of the socio-political conditions and job/education policies in different countries. Also, it is highly desirable that the counsellor has the experience of working in the business environment as that can help him share real-life experiences with a clear understanding of the work-career challenges.  

What is the job of a Career Counsellor

A Career counsellor performs a number of tasks to provide the appropriate guidance to their clients. These include an individual’s self-awareness development, which will further help them to prepare for the better development of interests and capabilities. They also need to prepare and empower the students for taking career decisions as per their choice, interest, aspiration, personality trait and inclination of mind. Makes people aware of the various jobs opportunities and career options to best suit their interests and capabilities. Finally, assists the aspirants with the professional guidance of braving the challenges born out of changes in career and grooming them for professional perfection. As per my belief, it is very important to understand that individual profiling is the key to suggest future options to the respondents. My advice is that the approach for profiling should be multidimensional. All together it should have research from the interest and expectation of the peer, the astral science and psychometric findings. 

Workplace of a Career Counsellor

Career counsellors may have a private practice or even work in a college or university. The positions available vary by region, state and country. Some Counsellor can also be found as social workers, life coaches, therapists, corporate recruitment staff, teachers, and many other positions where a firm understanding of psychology is helpful or required.  

A career counsellor at a school would work with students to help them research which career is best for them while taking into consideration their peer and familial pressures. He will work with the students to encourage them to pursue careers that match their skills and desires, with thought given to monetary earnings and the satisfaction level of the chosen field.  

Career counsellors who enjoy the business applications of the field often choose employment in corporate recruitment, and professional headhunting – finding employees for their clients that will suit their workforce. In this situation, instead of finding clients jobs that match their skills, he will find employees to match their client’s requirements based on an applicant’s skills.

In summary, if a person is driven by the passion to help others and understands the psyche of the students as well as the work and career-related challenges, he definitely should explore being part of this noble profession and be a catalyst in guiding individuals towards their passion and high-performance life. 

 — The writer is Founder, Krescon