Wednesday 16 February 2011

Introduction to how to choose a career

The first stage of Career Choice is Self Awareness. This involves looking at your SKILLS, VALUES, INTERESTS and PERSONALITY and analysing where your strengths and weaknesses lie. This is important both in choosing the right career and also for success in applications and interviews where you will find many questions which test whether you have been through this process.

Ref:

Introduction to how to choose a career

 

Tuesday 1 February 2011

Introduction to Career Counseling Competency Statements

These competency statements are for those professionals interested and trained in the field of career counseling. For the purpose of these statements, career counseling is defined as the process of assisting individuals in the development of a life-career with focus on the definition of the worker role and how that role interacts with other life roles.

 NCDA’s Career Counseling Competencies are intended to represent minimum competencies for those professionals at or above the Master’s degree level of education. These competencies are reviewed on an ongoing basis by the NCDA Professional Standards Committee, the NCDA Board, and other relevant associations.

 Professional competency statements provide guidance for the minimum competencies necessary to perform effectively a particular occupation or job within a particular field. Professional career counselors (Master’s degree or higher) or persons in career development positions must demonstrate the knowledge and skills for a specialty in career counseling that the generalist counselor might not possess. Skills and knowledge are represented by designated competency areas, which have been developed by professional career counselors and counselor educators. The Career Counseling Competency Statements can serve as a guide for career counseling training programs or as a checklist for persons wanting to acquire or to enhance their skills in career counseling.

 Minimum Competencies

 In order to work as a professional engaged in Career Counseling, the individual must demonstrate minimum competencies in eleven designated areas. These eleven areas are: Career Development Theory, Individual and Group Counseling Skills, Individual/Group Assessment, Information/Resources, Program Management and Implementation, Consultation, Diverse Populations, Supervision, Ethical/Legal Issues, Research/Evaluation, and Technology. These areas are briefly defined as follows:

 
Career Development Theory: Theory base and knowledge considered essential for professionals engaging in career counseling and development.

 Individual and Group Counseling Skills: Individual and group counseling competencies considered essential for effective career counseling.

Individual/Group Assessment: Individual/group assessment skills considered essential for professionals engaging in career counseling.

 
Information/Resources: Information/resource base and knowledge essential for professionals engaging in career counseling.

Program Promotion, Management and Implementation: Skills necessary to develop, plan, implement, and manage comprehensive career development programs in a variety of settings.

Coaching, Consultation, and Performance Improvement: Knowledge and skills considered essential in enabling individuals and organizations to impact effectively upon the career counseling and development process.
Diverse Populations: Knowledge and skills considered essential in providing career counseling and development processes to diverse populations.

 Supervision: Knowledge and skills considered essential in critically evaluating counselor performance, maintaining and improving professional skills, and seeking assistance for others when needed in career counseling.

Ethical/Legal Issues: Information base and knowledge essential for the ethical and legal practice of career counseling.

 Research/Evaluation: Knowledge and skills considered essential in understanding and conducting research and evaluation in career counseling and development.

Technology: Knowledge and skills considered essential in using technology to assist individuals with career planning.


Reference:

Career Counseling Competency