Serving the Career Needs of Western Washington
The biggest mistake people make . . .
“Clients come for career counseling because they have made the mistake of studying the opportunity structure instead of studying themselves.”
Charles McArthur, Business Executive
Harvard University
What is Career Counseling and How Does It Work
So what does a career counselor do? Career counselors help clients to get clear about their life goals and values and then consciously choose a direction to make that happen. It might involve significant change or a simple “tweaking” to improve their situation or set them on a course of action.
It also involves some work on the client’s part, too. For example, research into a potential career change is essential to making good decisions. For this reason, I offer my clients access to a secure Washington state database which is updated annually and includes essential information about thousands of careers.
This information includes salaries, training/education required and where it is offered, necessary skills and abilities to have, projected growth/decline within an occupation, and much more. It is crucial to have solid information before embarking on a new career path.
Another tool I often use is a career assessment called the Strong Interest Inventory. It is a well-researched instrument and has solid reliability and validity data behind it and it takes only 30-40 minutes to complete online. It can be a very useful guide to choosing your next step, by comparing your interests to those of the general population, as well as to people who work in 146 different occupations. I have found that my clients really value this tool, as it eliminates time-consuming exercises and goes straight to the heart of the relationship between individual interests and career success.
Who Benefits from Career Counseling?
People at mid-life who are seeking other avenues for career expression
Anyone who has been laid off, fired, down-sized, or who is bored or dissatisfied with their current work
Women and men who have taken time out from their careers to have children and raise families and who wish to re-enter the workforce
Those who feel they have made a poor career choice and wish to re-evaluate their options
Young adults who are in the initial stages of establishing a career
Retired individuals who wish to contribute their skills in some way other than how they earned their living
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