What Career Counselors Do
A good career development professional can help you explore career options, can inform you of labor market trends, and can assess your skills, interests, and work-related values. A career development professional can help you sharpen your job search skills, and can help you learn how to move up the corporate ladder.
Helping You Get Started
A career counselor can help you figure out what career path you’d like to pursue. They can help you determine what you’re most interested in, what your skills are, and what your values are, and use those factors to help guide you. They can also help you determine whether or not you’d like to transition to a different career. A career counselor will help you find additional resources and sources of career information. Depending or skills, experience, and the career path you’re thinking of pursuing, a career counselor may recommend additional job training or education.
How to Choose a Career Counselor
While credentials are not the only thing you should look at, they are a good starting point when you are choosing someone to advise you about your career. Just as you would never consider seeing a doctor who does not have a medical degree, you should never pay someone for career advice unless they have professional credentials. Once you have determined that the person from whom you are seeking advice has the proper credentials, you must then find out if they are right for you. You’ll want to interview any career counselors you’re considering working with. When you’re deciding if they’re the right fit for you, you’ll want to make sure that:
They know about the field or fields you’re interested in You feel comfortable talking to themTheir advice sounds reasonable
Certifications and Credentials
The National Career Development Association
Many career counselors are members of the National Career Development Association. The NCDA offers special membership categories to recognize those who have reached certain professional levels of achievement. Master Career Counselors, for example, have a minimum of five years of experience and a Masters degree in a related field, or a minimum of seven years of experience and a Bachelor’s degree in a related field. You can find NCDA members listed on their website. Career counselors may also have local licenses from state boards of licensure.
Global Career Development Facilitator
There are many people who provide career guidance but are not professional career counselors. This fact was recognized by several professional groups who banded together to develop the Global Career Development Facilitator (or GCDF) credential. The credential was launched in the United States in 1997 and was the first credential in the field of career development. In order to receive the credential, you must abide by a code of ethics and complete a comprehensive training.
