Hope and Career Counseling

The reasons one might recognize the helpfulness of career counseling are many, as individuals find themselves in any number of situations. Comments and questions we often hear include:

• I need to find a new job or career, but don’t know what I can do next.
• Would I be good at that?
• I hate my job and feel like I need to make a change. I am looking for a good fit.
• I need help with my resume, and don’t really know how to look for a job.
• I am unemployed - can you help?
• I’d like to understand my calling better, and want to do work that really matters.
• How do I make a career change?
• Am I a good candidate for starting my own business?
• I’m in college, and don’t know what to major in.

If you find yourself stating or asking similar things, Covenant Counseling may be able to help.

Our Approach to Help and Healing

While the needs and goals of each individual are different, the career counseling process usually begins with an initial session. Based on the discussion and the need, the counselor will make recommendations on how to proceed. The entire process may require several sessions.

Whether the participant is an unemployed job seeker, or a person who is employed but wants to make a career change, the principles covered in these phases will help. While there are seldom easy answers, there are proven principles to help individuals gain the confidence and skill they need to manage effectively their own search process. To give you some idea of what you may expect, a possible outline of content to be covered in individual sessions includes four phases:

Many times we recommend that clients take career assessment tests and exercises. These are intended to shed light on how God has designed each person. We explore motivation, interests, personality, skills, and experience in order to help individuals be better “shoppers” for the next career move. In this phase, you may take various career assessment instruments or self-assessment surveys, in order to help you decide on a direction.

Here, you may begin to work with your counselor on developing and honing concrete skills, such as preparing a resume, developing verbal communication strategies, writing effective letters, and utilizing social media effectively.

With those skills refined, the next phase will help you move into the areas of interest you have identified. Areas in this phase may include researching specific positions or areas for more effective results, developing a proactive plan, and recognizing what networking is and is not. Further areas may include consideration of whether and how to respond to advertisements, how to use internet sites effectively, and how to work with search firms and staffing agencies.

Lastly, you may gain guidance on how to prepare for the interview and negotiate your package.

There is much to consider when considering career counseling. If you would like to make an appointment with one of our counselors, or have any questions, please call 205-879-7500. If you would like to email us, please complete the contact form below.