Why should I take career counselling?

Students often find themselves at crossroads when they reach Class XII. The question is, “What next?”, to which they do not have definite answers. They consult their parents, peers or class teachers who are, in reality, ill-equipped to guide them due to their limited knowledge of the many career options available today. In such instances, a student would benefit greatly by consulting a qualified and experienced career counsellor, who would have a holistic approach in determining a suitable choice of career.
Career counsellors assist in discovering a student’s potential and aptitude, and accordingly suggest the right course of study to enhance the student’s career prospects. They usually test students for 3 three key factors – aptitude, interest and personality. These aspects help them in deciding the right career path for a student.
Why is Career Counselling Important?
Choosing a suitable career option influences a student’s course of life. Taking informed decisions at the right time could bring in wonderful opportunities as opposed to wrong ones, which could ruin a student’s future as these decisions are often irreversible. In such a situation, approaching a career counsellor would be a step in the right direction.
With an increase in the number and diversity of openings in the market, the importance of career counselling has also increased manifold. People realize the fact that not all can become engineers or doctors and have now started exploring other fields depending on their talent and interest in alternate domains.
Benefits of Career Counselling
Career Counselling helps in determining a student’s true potential. Students are often confused about their career preferences. Aptitude tests and counselling sessions would help identify their field of specialization. This would indeed help a student in following the right course of study for accomplishing his career goal.
Secondly, despite having a clear idea of their choice of career, students do not have the requisite knowledge to plan their higher course of specialized study in order to fulfill the eligibility for their chosen field. In such a scenario, career counselling can help clear these doubts by giving them clarity and vision regarding what they can expect from various educational courses. Sometimes, students have pre-conceived ideas about certain fields. Counselling would help build in awareness by putting things in the right perspective.
Students are often overwhelmed by the prospect of change and the chain of events that lead to their eventual admission for higher studies. At such times, the essential support provided by the counsellor throughout the admission process can boost their morale and give them the confidence to face all odds. Counsellors play a crucial role in building the motivational level of students, which is necessary for long term success. Career counselling also teaches students ways and means to expand their network, which in turn enhances emotional support during their course of higher study.
While college truly is about overall development of a student’s personality, counselling at an early stage could help one gain the right perspective, especially with the number of new career options coming up every day, which would otherwise not be considered by students. Early counselling assists students in reflecting on their personalities and abilities, likes and dislikes, and how these would align with various career paths. This would help students have a focused approach in their search for a suitable University for continuing their higher education and realizing their career aspirations.
Under the guidance of an experienced counsellor, students attain calm confidence and focused ambition for achieving success in their chosen field.