Why get Careers Advice?
People sometimes wonder what careers advice is and if it would be any use for them. Hopefully the following will help you understand why getting careers advice could help you!
Lets start with what careers advice is and how it could help you. It’s a chance to think through your current situation - whether you are studying, working, caring for others or ‘in between’ any of these. Good careers advice will help you weigh up your future options, ideas, pathways and evaluate any potential ‘barriers’. Are these ‘barriers’ ones that can be overcome? For instance, training to be a pilot privately costs £10,000’s - for some people this could be achieveable, for others not so. A careers adviser will listen to you and discuss all the ‘if’s, buts and maybe's’ around your plans and potential opportunities. Then help you draw up an action plan to help you move towards achieving your plans.
There are some myths about careers advice. Here’s a quick look at some.
Some Myths
You need to have an idea about what you want to do before seeing a careers adviser. This isn’t accurate! Sometimes I see people who have ideas but just as often people don’t have any. Or they come with some half formed ideas which are ones they want to explore further. All these are fine, as part of the conversation will be about discussing possibilities with a qualified and informed adviser.
A careers adviser will tell you what you should do for a career. This isn’t accurate either! A careers adviser may well have some ideas to share with you after some discussion about your situation, your strengths and aptitudes. But these ideas will be for you to think about, which will be built on what you’ve said. The aim will be to enable you to make decisions about YOUR future, not to be told by a stranger how to live your best life!
A teacher/your mum/your best friend will be just as useful to talk to. This can be very true, but not the ‘whole’ picture. It’s right because all these people will have a real interest in your well being and future plans. They know you really well and will know what your strengths and aptitudes are. But they may not be up to date on what careers really involve, current education pathways, the latest labour market information (LMI) or how getting into particular careers has changed in the last few years. For instance - how much do you know about degree apprenticeships and which careers these are possible in?
Talking to a careers adviser has its benefits. They have experience and knowledge about different careers, LMI, educational and training routes. Knowing how certain issues can be ‘worked around’ will also be useful. For instance applying for a job with a disability or applying to university as an older applicant. This will help you make a more informed decision, about what’s best for you. Having this impartial conversation will be a different conversation than what you’ve had with your teacher, mum, best friend - not necassarily better or worse. You may need these people’s support to help you achieve your dreams!
Anyone can be a careers adviser. Again there is some truth in this - I’ve met careers advisers from a wide range of backgrounds, including those with a PhD to those who haven’t got a degree, all of whom have done some careers qualifications. The qualifications by the way are either level 7/postgraduate (i.e. after a degree) or level 6 (last year of a degree). For a list of qualified advisers, who follow a professional code of practise, you can look at the CDI professional register. Being on the register means undertaking a fair amount of CPD each year to keep up to date. Some careers advisers are also members of AGCAS too, which is a professional association for university careers services.
Careers advisers need to be very good at actively listening to people and using their skills and knowledge to enable others to make progress in their careers planning.
Getting careers advice - get planning your future!
So why get careers advice then?
It will help you clarify and review your current situation. There may be a need for radical change, due to redundancy, health issue or a new relationship amongst other reasons. Or you may be contemplating a more gradual change - e.g. undertaking a part time degree with the Open University or Birkbeck (University of London), with the aim of developing your qualifications, skills and career gradually.
Careers advice will help you decide what you want to do and just as importantly, what you don’t want to do! ‘I dont want to do x because…’ can be a very useful starting point with a careers adviser!
There will often be a range of possible options from the position you are in. Talking them through with an objective and impartial careers adviser will help you make your own choices. Usually those nearest to us do want the best for us, but are not always as well informed or impartial!
By getting a clear idea about your current situation, future plans and directions, you will be in a better position to manage your career and potentially earn more, or at least ensure your values and work align better. Ensuring your career matches your values and apptitudes, and meets your financial needs as best as possible should put you in a better place mentally too!
In summary to the question of ‘why get careers advice?’, the answer is that it will help you review the ‘now’ and constructively plan for the future in a Specific, Measureable, Achieveable, Realisitic and Timebound fashion.
If you want to do some careers research now, why not look at our resources page and then get in contact to discuss our services.
What are you waiting for?
Mark Yates
Member of the Careers Writers Association
