This initial phase of the Career Counselling process is undertaken before you make any decisions about your career and personal development. It enables you to answer some key questions including ‘who am I?’ and ‘what do I want?’ It will normally include the use of questionnaires and exercises to help you better understand and appreciate the following:
- Transferable skills. What can I do and what am I good at?
- Interests. What motivates me?
- Values. What is the most important to me?
- Personality. What work roles and environments would suit me?
- Career drivers. What are my key career needs?
- Positive experiences. What activities and situations make me thrive and be at my best?
The above will then be clarified using some additional exercises and enable you to create a ‘Job Template’ which is a summary of the key elements you must have in your work life.
The increased understanding and clarity provided in the first phase will have put you in an ideal position to begin to explore ideas for your future. These could include:
- Improving your current prospects
- Developing your potential
- Different roles
- Alternative work environments
- New or complementary careers
During the meeting with your Career Counsellor, you will first ensure that your Job Template (what you must have in a job) is as accurate and specific as possible – so that you can pass the employer test – in other words, be able to answer clearly a prospective employer’s question: “So what is it you are wanting from a job?”
This phase can help you to develop a much clearer vision for your future.
We will give you exercises to assist you in assessing the suitability of different options, and to help you decide on the ‘best fit’. We will also help you to set realistic goals and devise small and relevant action steps to achieve them.
After your earlier ‘ideas’ meeting, you will need to carry out extensive research and talk to potential employers and organisations as well as any contacts who know about your areas of interest. Bluesky can give you details of relevant websites and other sources of information from our extensive knowledge of relevant web based material. We can also give you concrete information, where possible and which may include further information on diverse careers, training courses and grant-giving bodies.
During this final phase we will also work with you to develop realistic Action Plans and at the end of this phase you will also have gained a toolkit for decision making which you will be able to use again and again.
All Bluesky Career Counsellors are fully trained and licensed by Career Counselling Services London to use the well proven CCS approach and materials in the delivery of the service.
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