How Career Counselling Helps Students and People Who Are Unemployed

Often you will find students and unemployed people have similar issues in getting a job. Whether it’s a lack of experience or not enough education, it all results in nobody hiring you.   Consulting with a career counsellor can put you on the right track to landing a job, as well as moving towards your desired career.   Take some time to review the information below to see how career counselling helps students and unemployed people.

Career Counselling

Career Counselling for Students

Whether you’re in high school or college, you’re often under a lot of stress. You need to get good grades, but you also need to track your extracurricular activities, potential internships, and even your part-time work schedule.   To make the right career decisions, you should discuss your options with a career counsellor. They can provide advice and direction about all the possibilities available to you.

Find Internships

Internships are often short-lived and just give you an opportunity to see how the job works and get some relevant experience. Career counsellors can help you review the internships and part-time positions available to students that best match your interests and potential career paths. This is a huge time saver when you’re already busy and don’t necessarily know which options will be best for you or even your future career.   Most jobs require experience; if you’re fresh out of school, you often wonder how this would even be possible. However, it’s possible by finding the right internships and part-time jobs that companies want, which is why a career counsellor is best suited to assist you.

Find Career Path

If you entered college knowing exactly what you wanted to do, picked the right major, and stuck with it, then that’s great. But, unfortunately, most students don’t know what career they will pursue or even what careers are available outside the well-known ones.   A career counsellor can review options with you and assess your abilities, aptitudes, and potential career and life goals to see the best opportunities.   They’ll even assist in helping you pick the right majors or courses to take so you can reach those career possibilities.

Build Resume and Prepare for Interviews

As a student, your job experience is most likely limited. A career counsellor will assist you in building a great resume and help you decide what to put on your resume based on the job you’re applying for.   Once you land a job, a career counsellor can run you through how job interviews work, what to expect, how to answer standard questions, even what you should be wearing.

Help Find Mentors

Students can often get a leg-up based on whom they know or whom they can network with. A career counsellor can assist in finding you the right mentor to get you help in your chosen career. Past students who are now working at companies you may want to also work at are an excellent resource for information as well as introducing you to potential employers.

Career Counselling for the Unemployed

Unemployment can happen for any reason and can last for any length of time. Often you will seek career counselling when initial options have not been working or when it’s been a long time, and you just don’t know why you can’t get a job.   A career counsellor can review the situation and options to find the right path to get you back into a career or even just a job right now.

Review Your Situation

A career counsellor can discuss your current unemployment situation with you, how long it’s been, and the factors that caused the unemployment.   This will allow them to see what issues remain and what approaches will work best to return you to a job or career.   Without a thorough understanding of why you’re unemployed, setting goals and getting back to work can be challenging.

Provide Practical Advice

Once a career counsellor has reviewed your situation, they can offer advice to resolve issues that caused your unemployment. They will also help with problems that are causing you not to be hired right now.   The advice would entirely depend on your issues, but they could involve anything from housing or clothing issues to educational problems.   Career counsellors, especially when focused on unemployment, have good contacts for clothing and housing options. They also can provide the best education options for your goals and situation.

Review Career Prospects

A career counsellor will review your previous jobs, education, and skills and provide options for what jobs you can get right now. They will also help you find a path to your future career. Getting back to work is often essential when you need to pay your bills, then you have breathing room to focus on career options.   You may be unaware of possible jobs or not know where to look for them. A career counsellor will assist you in finding realistic career prospects.

Assist with Resume and Interview Preparation

An issue you may be facing is your resume or how you conduct yourself in interviews. A career counsellor will help you build a new resume, to highlight all the best features and skills you have, as well as your experience and education.   Once you get a job interview, they can assist in questions that will be asked, dress code, and how to put your best foot forward during the interview.   If you haven’t interviewed for a long time, then a career counsellor can make sure you know what has changed and how things are done now.

Career Advice

Career Advice for Students

Career counsellors should know what works and is effective for students seeking a career. Some practical advice to students from career counsellors is below.

Find Internships

Don’t waste your time if you have career goals. Instead, find internships that relate to the industries you are interested in. At the very least, this will give you a real-world perspective of what your career choice could be like, and it will provide you with experience when seeking a job in the future.

Take Work-Study Opportunities

If you need to work to pay for school and an internship would interfere with this, you can look to a work-study program. These programs allow you to be paid and gain experience at the same time in a field you’re interested in. The opportunities may differ from an internship, but they will match you with the best option for your available interests.

Improve Your Skills and Keep Them Updated

Know what skills your potential employers are looking for, and start working on them during your schooling, even if they aren’t offered as courses. You can look to extracurricular activities or study on your own and practice. If you can show experience or proficiency in the skill, that would be even better for your resume.

Pursue Your Passion

Make sure that there is passion, enjoyment, or something you like about your potential career. Don’t let money and expectations guide you into what you’ll do for the future. You may last a while, but ultimately, you’ll want to leave and find a new career. So, start early in finding what you want to do.

Use Your Schools Career Services

Your school’s career services should be able to assist you in building resumes and prepare for interviews. They will also help you network with past alumni who could help you find a job and even helping you find career opportunities directly.

Build Your Network

Make sure you network with current students. You never know where you’ll all end up and who can help you get into a position. Also, ensure you talk to professors and past alumni who can also help you with your career.

Career Advice for the Unemployed

Career counsellors can provide practical and real advice to the unemployed to assist in dealing with unemployment and getting back into a career.   Below is advice that may benefit the unemployed.

Prepare for Unexpected Emotions

Prepare for unexpected emotions. Being laid off and unemployed can cause grief, shock, rage, and sadness. Therefore, it’s essential to understand and deal with emotions effectively.

Work On Mental Toughness

Work on mental toughness. Don't allow unemployment to knock you down, work on health, relationships, and keep good daily habits.

Pace Yourself

Pace yourself. Career prospects may not come quickly, especially depending on your industry or how long you've been out. Set expectations that finding a new job and career can take time.

See it as an Opportunity

See it as an opportunity. Losing your job may be the best thing that happened to you. You have the opportunity to assess and forge a new path forward to a career that will make you happy.

Find Meaning

Find meaning. If you've been searching for a long time, then you may be getting burned out. It’s essential to have a life outside of work and the job search.

Final Thoughts

Career counsellors provide practical and real-world advice to help you choose a career or get back into a job after you’ve been unemployed for a while.   Nobody should struggle through the process by themselves when professionals can provide advice, direction, and resources to get a better result.

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