All You Want to Know About Career Counselling for Your Child

There might be many of us who are unhappy with the career choices we made during our academic life. Apart from the fact that there were only a handful of career options available in our times, there was also a lack of resources for the right career guidance. We largely relied on our teachers, parents, family or friends for career advice. Don’t we sometimes regret that if only there was someone to mentor us, we could have mapped a dream career path?

Fortunately, our children are at more advantage than we were at the crossroads of career choice. Not only there are diverse career choices available today, but there are also professional career counselling services and qualified experts/coaches who can help your children pick the right occupation.

Benefits of Career Counselling

Find the Right Career Fit Through Talent Assessment Tests

Most times, children tend to follow a herd mentality of peers or parents’ decision when it comes to career selection. However, they might not be interested or have the talent to pursue that career. Career counsellors can help assess your child’s interest, aptitude, personality, passion, strengths and weaknesses to find suitable career options. They conduct friendly conversations or interviews with the children and make them undergo easy talent assessment tests to gauge their career inclinations in a safe and secure environment.

Explore Career Prospects

Let’s say, your child wants to follow a career in art, STEM, entrepreneurship or even an unconventional field, but is not sure what type of job opportunities exist. Career counsellors have expert knowledge about various career domains in terms of career opportunities, salary/income, professional growth, etc. Career counsellors will ensure that your child knows the ins and outs of a career before diving into it.

Offshore Career Guidance

If your child dreams to go abroad for higher studies and employment, it could be challenging to dig out accurate information from the internet or your personal contacts. Career counsellors keep a tab on all developments related to studying abroad and finding employment there. They also have a wide professional network with foreign universities, job agencies and other authorities to find the right details for your children and guide them appropriately. They can also help your children prepare for eligibility tests and fill application forms to study or work abroad.

The Right Time to Approach a Career Counsellor

When your child is in 8^th standard, it is a good time to seek career counselling services. This way, your child will get sufficient time to decide whether s/he wants to opt for science, commerce and humanities/arts streams in 11^th standard. But, if your child has already decided upon the stream, then they can also reach out to the career counsellors anytime in 11^th or 12^th standard.

However, sooner you avail the career counselling services for your children, the more time they will get to prepare themselves for their career. They will be able to set their career goals with clear visibility and even take up some age-appropriate career development courses in parallel to routine studies.

Finding the Right Career Counsellor

You should bear the following tips in mind to find the right career counsellor for your child:

• Research their credentials. An authentic career counsellor would have a website, social media handles and even a physical office.
• Read the online reviews/testimonials about the career counsellor posted by parents and students. This will give you a broad idea of whether the career counsellor will meet your expectations.
• Check the range of services offered by the career counsellor. Find out if the service includes assessment tests, face-to-face interactions, online counselling, guidance on college/university admissions and competitive coaching, etc.

Career counsellors can be your child’s best mentor during the academic years. They can help your child figure out the right career choice and determine the next step of action to fulfil his or dream career ambition.

Check out career counsellors and find the right one, on Kidwise here.