Frequently Asked Questions

Role of Career Counselors
What are the qualifications of a career counselor?
What is different about a career counselor and a coach?
How do I work with a career counselor?
How much does career counseling cost?
How much time does career counseling take?

Job Search versus Career Change
I'm unhappy in my work. I don't know if it is my job or my career. How can I tell?
What is the difference between a job search and a career change?

Work/life balance
How can a career counselor help me achieve a better balance between my work and my other life priorities?

Job Search
How does a career counselor help me with my job search?
I have been out of work for a long time. How can you help me?

Career Change
How do I make a career change?
How much time does it take to make a career change?
How can I apply my skills to another job, occupation or career?

Workplace Issues
What kind of workplace issues can you help me with?

Role of Career Counselors

What are the qualifications of a career counselor?
Typically a career counselor has a graduate degree in counseling or a related professional field from a regionally accredited institution, along with course work focused on career development as part of the program or as an additional certificate. A career counselor does not have to be licensed. Refer to ncda.org (National Career Development Association) or ccda-careerdev.org (California Career Development Association) for guidelines and additional information.

What is different about a career counselor and a coach?
A career counselor focuses on in-depth issues and a coach focuses on a more specific goal. Refer to ccda-careerdev.org for more information.

How do I work with a career counselor?
Generally a career counselor will work with you over a period of time, focusing on your particular concerns. Often you will have exercises, testing or assignments to be completed at home to facilitate the process. In addition to asking you questions to help focus the discussion, a career counselor is often directive, sharing information, resources and perspectives to help you reach your goal. Please refer to our Individual Services page for more information.

How much does career counseling cost?
Career counselors typically charge on an hourly basis. The hourly fee and total costs will depend both on the individual counselor and your particular career or work issues. You will want to ask this question at the time you first contact the counselor.

How much time does career counseling take?
The time-frame for career counseling depends on the particular career or work issue. Often, a client and career counselor will have an on-going relationship; even when a particular issue is resolved successfully, the client may return as other issues arise throughout his/her career.

Job Search versus Career Change

I'm unhappy in my work. I dont' know if it is my job or my career. How can I tell?
You need to explore a variety of issues to answer this: the work activities you engage in everyday; the recognition you get; the environment you're in; the policies and practices of your organization; the values you have; the people you work with; how you feel when you tell someone what you do for a living; and how well your personal needs are being met. Ask yourself whether the work uses your abilities, gives you a sense of achievement, compensates you with appropriate pay and benefits, and makes you eligible for advancement. If you feel like you're a duck out of water everyday, it's time to make some kind of change. Answering these questions is a good beginning to figuring out what's making you unhappy. Your career counselor can assist you further in sorting out this difficult issue.

What is the difference between a job search and a career change?
The two processes have a lot in common. A job search could be the impetus for a career change, and thinking about a career change may cause you to go on a job search. Both would focus first on your unique attributes, and then on employment possibilities in concert with the person you are. A professional career counselor is best suited to help you sort out the issues and provide guidance for you to take the most appropriate, high-impact actions.

Work/life balance

How can a career counselor help me achieve a better balance between my work and other life priorities?
A counselor can help you examine your values, priorities, work situation, family situation, commitments, and goals and work out a plan that both meets your needs and takes into account the concerns of other important people in your life.

Job Search

How does a career counselor help me with my job search?
A career counselor can help you develop a comprehensive job search strategy and complete out all the necessary components, including a resume, cover letter, networking, interviewing and salary negotiation. Please refer to our Individual Services page for more information.

I have been out of work for a long time. How can you help me?
A career counselor can take you through the necessary steps to go back to work. We'll talk about whether your hiatus was voluntary or involuntary, how you feel about it and about the prospect of looking for work, whether you would like to return to the same field or make a change, how current you are in your field and how you can learn about changes since you've been away. We can also help you put together a resume and cover letters, prepare for interviewing, and engage in a job search, and discuss how you can address significant gaps in your work history.

Career Change

How do I make a career change?
If you don't know what kind of work you want to do, you will probably benefit from exploring your interests, skills, values and personality through self-assessment. You can research fields that interest you by reading about them and talking with people doing the kind of work you're considering. A career counselor can guide you in undertaking these tasks and in deciding on a career direction, as well as in determining what specific steps you need to take. You may find that you have many of the skills required for the new career and that you can transition fairly easily into it. Or you may need some training to move ahead with your plans. You may also wish to try out the new direction first through volunteering, part-time work or an internship.

How much time does it take to make a career change?
This really depends on the nature of the change. To answer this question, consider the following: Is it really a career change or a job change that you want to make? Assuming you would like to change careers, do you know yet what new career you would like to pursue? If not, it will probably take several weeks to a few months to determine
a) what you want from a new line of work and
b) what kinds of fields would suit you.

How can I apply my skills to another job, occupation or career?
You can undertake some research to find out the skills called for in other contexts where people make a living. Open yourself to the possibilities. Talk to people. Read materials that describe to you the skills required and the results expected in a given occupation. Ask yourself, "Could I contribute in this new environment?" If the answer is yes, begin to develop your stories that demonstrate that you could be successful, describing what you have accomplished in the past. You may need additional skills to enhance your portfolio, so classes, volunteer work, or other way to develop new skills may be in order. But, the truth be told, the good skills you have developed in the past are applicable in a vast number of jobs and occupations.

Workplace Issues

What kind of workplace issues can you help me with?
We can help you with: problematic relationships; dealing with toxic co-workers & bosses; stress; burnout; downsizing; outsourcing; violence and substance abuse.