Career counselling can be life-changing for the people who choose to attend it. Often the first time anyone goes for career counselling is when they have an important life decision to make. For many people, it is when they are in class 10th that they need to decide which stream they want to opt and frankly, not many have a clue. This is just one among the many situations a career counsellor can help you make the right decision because heaven knows no one would ever want to make regretful decisions so early on in life. Hence, it is always a better choice to seek professional help. Here, we list some ways you can make the most out of career counselling after class 10th.
Make the right choice
Looking for career counsellors can be a tedious job when you don’t know where to begin, what to look for, who to ask, who to trust. There are a million questions to be asked but probably the best way is to meet an expert that has been recommended to you by a friend or relative. Read their credentials online and pay close attention to the reviews as this may help you get clarity. Don’t be shy from withdrawing if you don’t find in your counsellor what you were looking for. It is important to book someone who you click with.
Be honest
career counselling after 10th is supposed to help you and counsellors cannot help much if you are not willing to open up. The best way to gain something from your counselling sessions is, to be honest. Honest about your skills, honest about your interests, honest about your likes and dislikes, honest about your expectations from the counselling. It is common to be ashamed or shy to admit a few things, but counsellors are professionals who have encountered a lot more people just like you and all your sessions are confidential.
Be inquisitive
The key to good communication is questions and answers from both sides. Your counsellor is bound to ask you more questions to conduct an analysis on you but that doesn’t mean you can’t. It is, in fact, encouraged to ask questions to understand the process of how career counselling works and helps after 10th. Upon raising doubts, you get more clarity, and this deepens the confidence and trust you have placed in your counsellor.
Do not waste time
career counselling after 10th is essentially about working for a good future by making the right decisions through professional expertise. If you start beating around the bush and find ways to obstruct communication (intentionally or unintentionally), you are really just wasting the counsellor’s time as well as your own time and money. Not wasting time does not mean you need to rush, let the counsellor set the flow for your sessions, they know what they are doing.
Be patient
You must not expect to get all the answers and clarity in the world within a few days of counselling because that is not how it works. Counsellors do not even tell you what to choose and what not to choose, they only have the power to guide you. It is also okay if you didn’t receive much clarification from your career counselling, not everything you do has to result in something but hey! Something is better than nothing.
Work
If you walk in a career counselling session expecting everything to fall into place because of the counselling, then you are wrong. Counsellors only help you see what was already within you but never realized. You don’t expect your basketball coach to score a hoop for you, do you? Then why expect such behaviour from counsellors? It is nobody but your role to make decisions and set goals by keeping in mind all the information your counsellor has provided you.
Accept criticism
Your counsellor is probably going to tell you a lot of stuff that you have never heard about yourself before. It can be harsh, but it is meant as an eye-opener because they want you to accept it and grow through it. Maybe, through your comprehensive personality test, your counsellor has concluded that you tend to have egocentric behavior, although that is hard to accept, they only say it to signify that you need to work on your teamwork skills.
Do not expect them to have all the answers
Just because your counsellor has not done a job you thought they would, does not mean they were no good. Even the best of counsellors cannot provide you with everything you ask for. For example – No, they cannot help you choose for a college after 12th or even tell you what your specialization should be in college, they can only direct you by letting you know what kind of social atmosphere you’re most likely to thrive in, what activities bring out the best in you and so on. It is your job to apply all of what they say to yourself and your life and make the most of their advice.
