Career Counselling Online - 4 Steps to get the best results

In the present pandemic scenario, there is a lot of uncertainty. This has caused apprehension among students on how to make career decisions. Here is where career counselling online can help. Today people have access to career counselling online at the click of a button. Students can receive proper guidance to make an informed decision.

Which is the best course to study? Can I get admission to a prestigious college? Will there be scope in the future for my chosen career? These are the questions that are foremost in any student’s mind while making career decisions.

A professional career counsellor can help students by analysing and matching their profile to a suitable career path. They can provide an unbiased analysis of which courses to study and where to pursue them.

Education is expensive. We put our hard-earned money into education. When we are taking career decisions by chance, this money becomes an expenditure. If the career decision is taken by an informed choice the money spent becomes an investment. Apart from the money, the time spent in preparation can give a good return on the time invested.

What to expect from a career counselling online session?

The first step is self-analysis. The student can take a psychometric test from the comfort of their homes. This is a major benefit while availing of career counselling online, as the students needed to travel to a particular centre to take the test previously.

The psychometric test will provide an analysis of their:

1) Personality type, 2) Career interests, 3) Aptitude, 4) Career motivators/values, and 5) Learning Style.

This helps the career counsellor in determining your career profile and suggest jobs that would suit you.

The second step is exploring various career paths that interest you. The career counsellor will be able to guide you towards the various choices you have. There are 20+ career clusters and 1000’s of career options. Based on where you are currently: school, college, graduate, or professional you can explore various options. Check out this career library with information about the plethora of career options.

The third step which is the most crucial step is matching your profile with a career path that is suitable. How is this done? Based on industry standards, career counsellors are well aware of the roles and responsibilities needed for various career paths. Each career or job profile will require a certain set of qualities.

So, while taking into consideration the requirements of the job, career counsellors can match your profile and suggest suitable career paths. With the current advancements in technology, the results of the psychometric tests are analysed with Artificial intelligence programs which can provide career path suggestions after matching it with thousands of possible career options.

Career counsellors will further review the reports and give a career path on the most suitable options based on current industry trends. Not only does the chosen career path be suitable but it should also have good scope. Here is where career counselling online is very useful by making the student self-aware and showing them a clear career path. Once the student has clarity about their own potential, interests, and aptitude, they can make an informed career choice.

Career counselling online doesn’t stop there. They give pointers on how to achieve their career goals by showing the career path clearly.

The final step in career counselling online is defining clear goals. Asking the students questions like how do I get there (Goal)? what am I willing to do to get there? Career counselling online is not complete without drawing out a clear and actionable plan. Some professional courses/premier institutes are extremely competitive to get in. However, when the student is clear in their goal, they can work towards achieving it, as there is focus and clarity.

Educational counselling for Professional courses

After deciding your career path, the next step is to take action to realise the path. If you have decided to pursue a professional course it is of utmost importance to choose an institution which can prepare you well. There are 1.5 million engineering graduates passing out every year but only around 20% get a job in their core domain. This is because of the gap in the selection process where the right candidates are not opting for the right courses. The colleges are not focused on getting the best fit but are focused on filling the seats.

We have a huge population that both presents us with a challenge and an opportunity. We need so many qualified doctors, engineers, teachers, knowledge workers, etc,. When the allotted seat goes to a deserving student who is also passionate about the career of choice, the colleges get the right student to the right course. The students are motivated to learn and excel in the chosen courses. In turn, the industry gets qualified and skilled persons for the right job opportunities.

How to decide the right fit?

Let us consider the example of an Architect:

They should enjoy technology & problem solving (Investigative) / Like designing (Artistic) / Hands-on practice (Realistic). When it comes to personality, they should have more of an intuitive personality who can focus and come up with plans/designs.

Or let’s take another example of a Doctor:

Investigative interest should be very high along with an interest in helping/serving people (social ), combined with a realistic interest (Ex – doing science experiments, dissection, etc). They should be very observant with excellent judgement and critical thinking personality type.

Benefits of Career Counselling online

Where do I want to go? This is an important question that students should decide before choosing a career path. The career path is one of the journeys that defines the purpose of our life. There are a lot of crossroads in this journey and you need to make a lot of choices. Students face making career decisions by chance or choice. Read our blog post on this topic to know how it affects your life. We face this dilemma because we are spoilt for choices. Yes, there are many options that we have at every stage in our career. Is the trial and error method an efficient method of making career choices? These career decisions have consequences: it could be the difference in making you a success or an also-ran.

A well known career counsellor Mr. Jaishankar in a tedx talks about the PomPoms – Peace of mind vs Plenty of money. If you choose a career for plenty of money you may or may not have peace of mind. If you choose a career based on interest, personality and aptitude you can have peace of mind and eventually the money will follow.

Myths about career counselling online

Free Career counselling

You may have come across free career counselling sessions organised by various platforms. They promote the courses offered by the sponsors of the event. These events are sponsored by colleges and the main focus of these events is educating the audience about various courses offered by them. The suitability of the students profile to the course is not measured or analysed.

Sometimes, the organisers of these free career counselling sessions promote courses that are offering an affiliate commission. The interest of the students is not the focus of such free career counselling events. Ultimately students have to pay a much higher price in their future because of such free career counselling.

Career counselling is the same as Academic Counselling

Academic counselling is done by teachers, admission coordinators and counsellors attached to educational institutions. They can provide detailed information on the courses available, what is the process to get admission, etc, . Students often get confused by information from various influences in their lives. Who are the people influencing our important career decisions? Parents, Friends, Relatives, and Teachers. Are they the best equipped to know all the information about arriving at a proper career decision? A trained career counsellor can not only analyse the candidate’s profile but also has other relevant information like industry trends, admission processes and provide a holistic approach to arrive at the correct decision.

I can get all the required information on the internet

There is an infinite source of information on the internet and this is a problem of plenty. The information overload causes a decision paralysis in students and parents and keeps them exploring options forever and there is a wastage of time and opportunity.

DMIT as a career counselling tool

DMIT – dermatoglyphics multiple intelligence test is a tool that is often coming up when searching for career counselling options. What is DMIT? It is a fingerprint-based analysis that draws a conclusion between abilities/intelligence and the fingerprint of a person. This has come under severe criticism by various professional bodies such as the Indian Psychiatric Society and many doctors in this article in the newspaper The Hindu. Please check the linked resources about the validity of the claims made by DMIT. A better approach to career counselling based on the works of Myers Briggs, Carl Jung, Howard Gardner, Goldberg, Flemming, etc., who are the Pillars of modern psychology is the widely accepted norm across the globe. This approach is based on scientifically researched and proven psychological theories.

Conclusion

How many times have you heard about students dropping out of college due to disinterest/misguidance? All the fees and expenses paid are a huge waste of resources. It’s not only the money but their precious time and confidence in the future is at stake. We can greatly avoid such situations through proper career counselling and guidance. In turn, your child can pursue their chosen career path with great passion and excel in it.

When you avail career counselling online from a trained professional, you get a customised career analysis report with multidimensional analysis. The multidimensional analysis measures a student’s strengths, aptitudes, personality traits, interests, leadership styles, and motivation factors. It makes the student excel at what they do and be successful in their career and also feel fulfilled, satisfied, happy and productive.

Our Psychometric tests take into account 33+ factors covering aptitude, personality , career interests, career motivators and learning style. Please check the sample career report to understand all the factors used for assessment.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to prepare before the tests?

The test consists of general questions that are related to everyday choices that you make. There are no right or wrong answers. The best answer is the one you most identify with. This is not a test of knowledge. No preparation required.

What is the duration of these tests?

The assessment can take between 45 mins – 1 hour. There is no time limit for personality and career interest sections of the test. You can take your time to think about each scenario and answer in a relaxed manner. For the skills and abilities section there will be time limit for each question after which it expires. Please check the time before starting each question.

What happens if my test session is interrupted?

It is recommended to take the assessment in 1 sitting. Incase there is a disruption due to any reason you can continue the same session if you login within 30 mins. If it goes beyond that you need to start a new session.

Do you provide the list of all suitable career paths?

Based on the candidates psychometric profile a list of all the matching career paths are given along with degree of suitability.

Do you provide the list of all suitable career paths?

Based on the candidates psychometric profile a list of all the matching career paths are given along with degree of suitability.

Do you provide a career path with a detailed plan?

Yes. A detailed career plan with courses to study in graduate, postgraduate and additional certificate courses which are useful for career development are provided.

Do you provide details for college admissions?

Yes. Based on the career path a list of top colleges with the required eligibility criterion are suggested. Milestone report with admission deadlines, entrance test information is also provided.

Can parent/s accompany the child for the counselling session? Are parents required for the testing?

It is recommended that both parents are present for the counselling session. If thats not possible at least 1 parent should be present during the counselling. Individuals over 18 years can attend the counselling session independently. The parent/s need not be present during the psychometric test.

Should I make the payment before starting the test?

It is not necessary to make the payment before the test. Payment can be made after completing the test successfully. Career report can be activated only after making the payment.

Career Counselling Online – 4 Steps to get the best results