A whopping 30 million students graduate from high schools in India every year. That is 10 million students waiting to be admitted into various college programs in India, as well as around the world. 93% of these students are only aware of 7 broad career options. However, research suggests that India has a variety of over 250 career options available spanning thousands of career paths. In the present time, where these options are continuously evolving, it has become important to make students aware so that they can see beyond the horizon. Thus, in such cases, Career Counselling is something that could be of great help for the future generation!
Are you one of those students who is facing difficulty in deciding your career path? If yes, then seeking guidance from Career Counsellors is one of the best options for you. You can look out for someone who has experience in steering you in the right direction. Having a professional guide can help you see the pros and cons of various career domains. With the help of trained professionals, you will be able to know better about the career choices that will fit well with your skillset. Besides, this will make your future-ready and hence become the need of the hour. But before discussing how career counselling will help you become ready for the future, let us first discuss the role career counselling plays in deciding the career path of future generation.
Why is career counselling important for the future generation?
Career counselling is the need of the hour especially for the future generation, and one cannot deny that. When it comes to deciding the career path, it is beneficial to begin the process of career counselling at an early stage. This is because it allows students to recognise and develop necessary traits such as their personality, work orientation, and interests from an early age itself. Administered at the right time, career counselling can considerably help students to gain clarity on their future careers.
It goes without saying that one cannot choose their career at one go. Once chosen, it can change any time down the line, including after taking up the first job. Hence, seeking guidance and support from the career counsellors at the early stages of building a career path gives a child the chance to understand their strengths, weaknesses, and the corresponding career options before they narrow down their choices. It not only helps the student get a clearer image of their professional future but also gives the parents a realistic image of the expenditure that will be needed when the time comes for their child’s college education. This will help the child secure a safer future.
How can early Career Counselling help students become future-ready?
Ideally, the right time for students to seek guidance from a Career Counsellor is during their 8th to 12th standards. There is no doubt that getting them to start thinking and planning can be quite cumbersome. But a good career counsellor would pave the way for them to make the right decision. Besides, having a guide will allow future generation to explore without being judgemental. Below, we have listed a few areas that students would get to know about by seeking guidance from the career counsellor. Read further to know about these areas!
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Identifying the strengths and weaknesses
A good career coach can help a student recognise their strengths and weaknesses through various activities and one-on-one sessions. Once they know about these two major aspects of life, the decision-making process would become much easier. A career counsellor can identify the student’s areas of interest in extracurricular activities such as debating, dramatics, arts, and so on. The counsellor will also guide the student in identifying their strong academic inclinations and allow them to work on their weaker subject areas, helping them grow.
Also, this can allow the student to learn or pick up new activities, allowing them to escape from their comfort bubble, instilling in them the soft skill of adaptability. Through this, both the student and the parent become aware about the career direction that will suit them best, and allow them to prepare for it as well.
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Get better insights through a Psychometric Assessment
A psychometric assessment is a scientifically designed tool that helps in assessing and evaluating a candidate’s performances across multiple domains. Some of these domains include orientation, interests, aptitude, and personality. Keeping in mind the current situation due to COVID19 pandemic , this assessment will also help assess students’ emotional quotient (EQ). Besides, it gives a clearer picture to the future generation in terms of how well they can deal with the stress and anxiety.
With the help of a psychometric assessment, not only the students but their parents as well will get a holistic view of their skills. This would help the career coach to guide the student more effectively and efficiently. Having an assessment at an early stage will help students decide what streams they might want to choose to shape a better future.
Recommended read: How can a professional from any background become a career coach?
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Development of life-skills
There are certain life skills that plays vital role in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Thus, it is necessary that students acquire and develop these skills from a very young age. Also, there are other skills such as self-realisation, self-esteem, self-respect, emotional control, and so on that plays a major role in making the right career choice. Through their time in the school curriculum, a student also needs guidance and counselling to develop these skills.
Normally a teacher would help students developing these skills. The students would not be able to receive the kind of input from schools that they can receive from a career counsellor. Possibly, they are not able to make that connection with teachers in schools that they can have with a career counsellor. Good career counselling will help the student confide with the career coach. This will result in their willingness to accept and learn these skills. It is no surprise that these skills are important in any industry today. Not only this, but these will continue to be important in the forthcoming future.
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Learn time management from the beginning
When a student is in Grade 8 or 9, they are always under the impression that they have enough time. Thus, they usually throw that time away just sitting idle, or watching television, or just anything unproductive. The examination time arrives and they often find themselves in a difficult situation where they struggle to find the time. Going through a proper career counselling process can help students acquire time-management skills right from a very early age. This will help them in preventing situations like those. Time management is a lifelong skill that is valued at every step of life. Besides, it act as a foundation block of a confident future.
Wrapping it Up!
The importance of career counselling at an early stage cannot be emphasised enough. But there is no doubt that one can definitely see its impact in the future. It is the future that we need to secure amidst this pandemic. Are you still wondering how a career counsellor can help such a young student? If yes, then just hold back and think; if a young plant had not been watered, would it have grown to become a massive fruit-bearing tree? Well, this real-life metaphor depicts why it is essential to have a career coach in the early stages of education. Having a career coach in the early stages enable future generation reach their full potential and fulfill all their career goals.
At Mindler, we have acknowledged the importance of Career Counselling. Thus, we offer various career counselling services to students of Grade 8 and upwards. We have a team of industry leading experts that strives to deliver the best guidance to students. Besides, they ensure that students learn as much from their experience as possible. So what are you waiting for? Get the best career counselling services online for the future generation from Mindler and get them on the best career path.
Mindler also offers Career Counseling Certification for career coaches to upskill their career!