Career guidance consists of services that help people successfully manage their career

development. Career development, an aspect of human development, is the process through

which an individual's work identity emerges. Although it will occur on its own as you mature,
you may benefit from getting assistance as you navigate through this process, which can be quite
confusing at times.

Many people seek out assistance from career development professionals only when they are
trying to choose a career for the first time, or perhaps when they are going through a transition.
The intent of career guidance, however, is to provide support to individuals throughout their
entire lives. Let's take a look at when, during your career, you should get help.

Get Help When You Are Choosing a Career

Far too many people are dissatisfied with what they do for a living. Why is that? They make
mistakes when choosing a career and end up in an occupation that isn't a good fit. That's not
surprising since going through the career planning process, including the four steps one should
take when choosing a career, is difficult. It may seem like it would just be easier to pick an
occupation out of a hat.

While making a random choice may be simpler, it is certainly not wise. Given the amount of
time you spend at work, you should do everything possible to make a well-informed decision.
Getting help from a professional who provides career guidance can be the difference between
ending up in a satisfying career or one that makes you miserable.

A career development professional, such as a career counselor, may use self-assessment

instruments to help you learn about your interests, values, skills, and personality type. After
coming up with a list of occupations that seem suitable for you based on the results, he or she can
show you how to explore them and then weed out the ones that are not as good a fit as others.
Then, the counselor can help you create a career action plan that will allow you to pursue the
occupation you chose.

Get Help With Your Job Search

What is the point of choosing a vocation if you don't know how to find a job? Career guidance
also consists of providing job search assistance when you are looking for your first job or any
subsequent ones. How we look for work has changed significantly over the last decades, and it
continues to change. Career guidance professionals keep up-to-date on the best methods to use
when job searching.

A career counselor will show you what resources to use to locate job announcements. He or she
will help you write an effective resume and will teach you how to network. When it comes time
to go on job interviews, you can also get advice on how to best answer questions and negotiate a
job offer.

Get Mid-Career Advice

In addition to getting help with matters that involve beginning your career, such as choosing a
vocation or securing your first job, you can also get direction about things that occur later. For
example, career guidance services also include helping individuals advance their careers and deal
with workplace issues.

A career development professional can answer your questions about career advancement. He or
she can tell you what to do to be promoted or get a raise, or even help you decide whether to quit
your job. You can get advice about getting along with co-workers and your boss, preparing for
and responding to performance reviews, and managing job stress and burnout.

Get Help If You Lose Your Job

Job loss is devastating, both financially and emotionally. When you lose your job, a piece of
your identity is also taken away. The most tangible result, however, is the loss of income.
Assisting those who are dealing with this devastating life change is a component of career
guidance. Since you probably don't want to spend extra money when you are already feeling
distressed about your finances, you should look into free or low-cost career guidance services, as
will be discussed later on.

A career counselor or other advisor can assist newly unemployed clients to cope with practical
issues like applying for unemployment benefits and continuing health insurance. Eventually, he
or she can help the client begin the job search process. They can also get encouragement and
advice from professionals and, through support groups, from others who are in the same
situation.

Get Advice About Making a Career Change

Since most people do not stay in the same occupation for their entire working lives—some
individuals even switch careers multiple times—there will probably come a time when you will
want to make a change. A career guidance professional can give you advice when you are taking
on this kind of transition.

Meet with a career development specialist who can help you assess your transferable skills. With
their assistance, you can discover what skills you can bring to your new occupation and which
ones you will need to acquire before you can begin a new career.

Get Motivation

When you are engaged in the day-to-day activities of making a living, searching for a new job, or
making another change, sometimes you need an unbiased cheerleader by your side. Your partner,
friends, and family have a stake in your future and may have difficulty being impartial. For
example, if you need encouragement to make a big career change, but your partner is worried
about how it will affect your finances, a professional advisor who doesn't have any skin in the
game can be just what you need.
A career guidance professional can motivate you when things aren't going the way you would
like. He or she will encourage you not to give up whether you are stuck in an unsuccessful job
search campaign or having trouble making a decision about leaving a career behind and pursuing
a new one, even if it will be difficult to retrain. They can give you a realistic look at what to
expect, tell you whether you are making a wise decision, and cheer you on when you feel like
giving up.

Where Can You Get Career Guidance

Professionals who provide career guidance include career counselors and career development,
facilitators. School guidance counselors provide these services to middle and high school
students, who can get an early start on making career-related decisions. A college student can
seek career counseling from the career services office at his or her institution.

Career centers in public libraries are a good source of free career planning assistance. Librarians
can teach you to use all the resources and tools. Many also have counseling services available.
Also, many community agencies provide free or low-cost vocational assistance, including
occupational training programs and workshops on job search skills. The U.S. Department of
Labor sponsors One-Stop Career Centers located throughout the country. These offices provide
tools and services to help job seekers and students.

Career Counselling has always been important but only recently, got the recognition it deserves.
Earlier, people sought out career counselors, for a change in careers, only after they got a job and
were unhappy with it. Now, people recognize that this isn’t ideal. What is noteworthy, is to
consider why people change careers.

It doesn’t take much thinking to understand that someone who does that was never convinced of
what career they should take. Such a decision usually stems from school. Many students make
career choices based on the most picked career among their peers. They don’t, for once, consider
what they like until it’s too late.

Picking a career usually, comes after picking a course. If a student doesn’t pick the right course,
it would inadvertently affect their career choice. A recent study showed that 1 in 3 students are
unhappy with the course that they picked. That is nearly half a million dissatisfied university
students! Such figures only point to one clear truth - The importance of career guidance in
schools.

To find the right career, there needs to be an understanding of what course to take and if
capabilities match interests. A student might want to get into architecture thinking he’s good at
math and that drawing a building isn’t too difficult. In reality, there is much more to architecture
than that and there is a high possibility of him wanting to pursue another career at the end of the
first year itself.

Career counseling in schools ensures the right kind of help to overcome such thinking and stop
students from making such mistakes. Many students take a psychometric test in order to avoid
making mistakes and their efforts are commendable, although the results of the test might leave
them more confused than before. Why? The psychometric test basically outlines the strengths
and weaknesses of students and highlights their aptitudes and interests. The catch is, their
aptitudes and interests don’t necessary have to match. Meaning, they can be good at Math but
have an interest in Arts. So which career option do they pick?

An established career counselor will firstly, be able to explain the entire report, tell them the
perks and disadvantages of pursuing both their interests and aptitudes, and give them the clarity
and understanding to make the right decisions. This is much needed, especially, when students
are prone to taking advice from inexperienced sources.

Students tend to take advice from anyone they think has an experience. But it may not always be
right or let alone be the best one. The path followed by their seemingly successful peers might
not help them to reach the same destination, their model adults must have gone through failures
themselves and their parents might be unaware of the latest industry demands. To make sure that
students have clarity of thought, career counselors must be made available for students at all
times while they are in high school to receive the right and latest advice.

Although CBSE has made it compulsory for schools to have counsellors, there still needs to be a
distinction made as to what kind of counselors are required. Many of the counselors already
present are life skill counselors and although life skills are important, the number of college
advisors (counselors) are low. Ultimately, college advisors are what students need most to be
successful. To highlight, the urgent requirement for career counselors recent stats show a
whopping 92% of students who don’t get any career-related guidance from their schools.

Decisions made in High School often make or break a student’s career. Experienced career
counselors are trained to understand students thinking and their potential. Once a student’s
potential is understood, the counselor is able to guide the student to the best career suitable to
him/her and help them make the decisions that ensure career success.

Students want to be successful and they don’t mind getting help. They may feel shy at first or
think it’s weak to take help, but it is our responsibility to help them build strong careers. Having
a career counseling cell in schools is the first step in doing that. It is a great first step indeed.

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What is a Tourist Guide?

EN 13809 2003/ ENISO 18513 2003
Adopted by World Federation of Tourist Guide Associations: 10th International Convention:
Dunblane, United Kingdom 2003

Tourist Guide:
A person who guides visitors in the language of their choice and interprets the cultural and
natural heritage of an area which person normally possesses an area-specific qualification usually
issued and/or recognised by the appropriate authority.