 | Counseling Sessions: $75-$1,200+ |
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 | Written and Graded Assessments: $125-$450 |
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| Also called career coaching or consulting, career counseling is a service available to help people increase their job satisfaction, discover a new vocation, or move from one career to another. | | |
| Typical costs: | - Career counseling sessions typically cost $75 -$150 per hour. Someone seeking resume help or general career advice may settle on one or two sessions, while a person looking for a career change might attend 4-8 career counseling sessions. For example, the Career Management Institute in University Place, WA, provides career counseling for $95 per hour. Counselor Ruthann Reim McCaffree also offers a package of eight personal assessments for an additional $240, which helps define the client's interests, personality and values.
- Written and graded assessments are often billed separately from career counseling and typically cost $125 -$450 for a package of tests. Popular assessments include the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and Strong Interest Inventory. For $125, Professional Career Counseling of Lakewood, CO, offers a personalized testing package to help identify a client's suitable occupations.
- Many colleges or universities offer career counseling and other services for free or at a discount to alumni. Augusta State University in Georgia offers alumni a package of three career counseling sessions, two written assessments and a results packet for $99.
What should be included: | - Counselors should be certified through the National Board for Certified Counselors and hold a master's degree in counseling.
- A career counselor should provide an initial consultation to discuss the services available. For example, Linda Rolie of Career Services in Ashland, OR, gives the client an initial questionnaire and offers her first consultation in-person, over the phone, or via email.
- Career counselors are trained to help people identify their talents as well as career goals. If a person is unhappy in their current vocational path, a career counselor will ask questions to find out why and may use a variety of tools to suggest a career change. Likewise, a career counselor may advise a student who is trying to determine the best course of study or help an employee transition into retirement.
- The counselor can typically offer practical advice on how to implement a career change. This may or may not include services such as resume writing or job searching. However, a career counselor's job is not to offer career placement services; this is the job of an employment agency.
- Career assessments should include testing as well as a printout of the results. The counselor should be available to analyze and discuss the results with the client.
Shopping for career counseling: | - The National Career Development Association offers a searchable database of career counselors who hold master's degrees and are certified.
- Ask the Headhunter explains what job seekers should look for in a career counselor, and advises that a client should check the counselor's references and look for a "pay-as-you-go" deal rather than buy a large counseling package all at once.
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Article updated June 2011 |
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