Working with Professional Career Advisors

 Over the last few years, the changing economy has forced more people to face a changing job market in their field. When you were in high school and college, career advisors were readily available to you for curriculum choices and information about possible careers. This information is still available to people who have been in the work force for some time. The person to see is a career coach or professional advisor. There are a number of services these professionals can provide to help you make well informed decisions about your future career path.

Career advisors usually see people that are not satisfied with their current position and are looking to make a significant change in their career. They offer testing that can help them identify which careers may be better suited to them. There are even tests that can match your outside interests with those of people in other fields. The theory being people with similar outside interests are better suited for that type of work. The career advisor will help the candidate in resume preparation and coaching them in interview presentation. The advisor will analyze the client’s past experience and match them with the new position they are considering. Having a good idea of your transitional skills is a must when making a career change

If you are a person in an entry level position and you have some ideas about where in the company you would like to advance, you should discuss this with a career advisor. They can administer some tests that assess whether you have the skills necessary for that position. These tests can of course point out weaknesses that can be overcome by training. The career advisor will have information on what is offered and the cost.

In this case you may be able to have the training paid for by your employer. Telling your employer that you have consulted with a career advisor certainly shows great initiative. It is a great way to get noticed, especially in a larger firm.

They can also be helpful to experienced professionals who have been happy in their job, but due to downsizing are in need of some assistance. It might be just some help in punching up a resume or identifying transitional skills that can help expand the job search for people in this situation. Others may have to come to terms with the fact that their career plan must be drastically altered to keep up with current conditions in their field. A career advisor can offer guidance and specific ideas on how to move forward. A plan that breaks things down into easy to follow steps can ease the anxiety of the situation and make it less overwhelming.

As you can see, these professionals are an important resource for any person that takes their career seriously. You get to sit down with a professional that has a lot of experience and find out if you really can get that “dream job”. The young professional can find out what skills are needed to advance in their desired field. Many career advisors have information about upcoming job fairs and current hiring trends. Some advisors offer job search technique seminars for the older professional who hasn’t needed to look for a job for years. When it comes to careers the old adage was “It’s not what you know, but who you know”. That is still true, and one person you’d want to know is a career advisor.