‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’
‘Where do you see yourself in the next 10 years?’
No, Career coaching does not answer these questions on your behalf. It rather helps you find the answers yourself, and in a more structured manner.
Career coaches are mentors who communicate and assess you based on your psychological abilities. From teaching time management, and boosting concentration to resolving career conflicts between the family and the child- career coaches are trained and certified professionals who are expert career managers.
But when does a child need career guidance? And should career counseling be a choice given to the student or a mandatory session for them?
We are seeking out answers in this blog while covering –
- The dilemma faced by students and parents
- How do Career coaches work?
- Do you need an expert or not?
- Should it be a choice or a definite compulsion?
The Dilemma In Decision Making
From high school to job places – a student in this decade faces a variety of challenges: new career opportunities are on the horizon, lack of self-awareness, confusion, choosing the wrong subject, and the list goes on. Whether to stick to a conventional career path or go for an unconventional one, you have a lot of things to factor in.
In India, most of the time we get to see parents pushing their children to choose a career that neither matches their aspirations, nor intellect. A 2019 Mindler survey including 10,000 students of ages 14-21 has clearly stated that –
93% of students are only aware of 7 career options! Where there are more than 250 career choices that are pursuable in India. And that is also for 40 different domains that cover almost 5,000 job categories. As Career coaching has not become mainstream yet.
Can you guess these 7 options?
Well, these are all the conventional career paths-
- Law
- Engineering
- Medicine
- Accounts and finance
- Design
- Computer applications and IT
- Management.
The result? Major college dropouts, career setbacks, job insecurity, job losses, and millions of young students losing any interest in pursuing their career paths. Parental pressure and lack of knowledge and self-awareness are the 2 most common reasons behind these setbacks.
The decision-making can be scary even for working professionals standing at career crossroads. Imagine how lost a student or their parents might feel in these situations. Effective career planning includes multiple factors, schooling, teachers, parents, mentors, friends, students’ interests, and intellect.
What parents can do in helping their kids make career decisions is to be supportive and build their awareness around it. Students will have more confidence in their careers if parents can understand what would be the perfect fit for their child.
How Does Career Coaching Work, Exactly?
In a nutshell, it is about assisting individuals with the right tools and techniques to make them realize and reach their full potential. Knowing what you are supposed to do and what you are good at will make setting up the goal and working towards it much easier. IT is a psychological approach to finding what career path will be the perfect fit for you.
Here is a quick rundown of what Career coaching offers:
- Proper assessment of your interests and intellect
- Guiding the process of achieving career goals
- Building a portfolio
- Providing help for test preparation, admissions
- Helping you prepare for interviews
- Guiding you through the follow-up process after interviews
- Helping you navigate your post-school/college career path
Do You Need A Career Coach?
The wrong career choice can cost you most of your life. But what does ‘Wrong career choice’ mean?
You know you have chosen the wrong career when it is causing you distress, your performance is going down, and you are very unhappy and having regrets at a later point in time. There are several defining factors behind making wrong decisions: the student, parents, societal norms, and other circumstances.
If we churn out any external reasons, what is the role that student plays?
1. Young Students Do Not Understand the Importance of a Career
Sometimes children fail to understand that a career is going to affect every aspect of their lives and setting up focused career goals at a very early stage will higher the chances of success.
2. Timing is Everything
Most students only give a career a thought after reaching XII boards, when in reality 9th standard is the time to start getting serious and that will provide you with the time you need to explore and analyze your career options.
3. Peer Pressure
Teenagers are highly impressionable, many students end up compromising career choices under the influence of friends.
4. Lack of Awareness of Career Choices
Referring back to the same Mindler survey, there is only a little effort made to explore the career options available for students, on the student’s and of course the parent’s behalf. They also lack effort in understanding long terms aspects of making a decision. Parents must learn how to cope with their kid’s unconventional career choices.
5. Limited Knowledge of Professions of the Future
The professional world is ever-evolving and we can not stay blindsided by these changes even as parents. There are so many future careers on the horizon, the less ventured paths are not necessarily bad for our kids.
6. Lack of Self-Awareness and Reflection
Interest, Personality & Aptitude – these 3 are the pillars of choosing a career! Understanding a student’s interests, personality, and also aptitude makes a clearer picture of what an ideal career should look like.
But most schools lack implementation of such systems, and that is where Career coaching comes into the picture. Another Mindler survey showed that our country is in a serious need of counselors – a whopping 15 lakh for 315 million students, in 2019.
The importance of career coaching has become more essential than ever!
With rising competition, blinding career aspects, and a confused youth – seeking expert guidance feels more normal these days.
But Will it Be a Choice or Compulsion?
Self-reflection can be a career guidance tool, but there is a limit – you are going to need some expert feedback to validate your career choice.
Whether you take it by choice or by compulsion, a mentor’s guidance will help you to think clearly. Yes, the struggle is a part of life
Career coaching was developed to address such dilemmas in choosing a career path, and carving a journey towards discovering your true potential.
But the question is should you go along with a career coach by choice or by compulsion?
Well, the answer is very different for different people. Sometimes a career coach is all you need to guide you to push you towards your goals. Self-reflection would be strong enough to save you from making career mistakes, in rare times.
Conclusion
Your career coach will be there throughout the process to push your limits further. But you have to keep in mind that a career coach is only there to assist you in identifying your goals. It is you who will be leading the road towards the discovery. And it is you who will be making a choice and facing the challenges.
Confused about whether to ask for help or not? We have the experts to answer your every query!
