Career guidance involves assisting individuals in making informed educational and career choices that align with their interests and abilities. It is a developmental process that helps people identify career options and make decisions that lead to well-being. Career counseling benefits students from 9th grade through college/working professionals by helping them understand their goals, strengths, and options in a competitive landscape. It provides expert resources and advice to support confidence and informed decision making.

1. CAREER GUIDANCE AND COUNSELING
Dr. Harpal Kaur Aujla
(Associate Professor)

3. Career guidance can be defined as a
comprehensive, developmental program
designed to assist individuals in making and
implementing informed educational and
occupational choices.
In simple words, it is a journey on which
people develop to make mature and
informed decisions. It is the act of guiding or
showing the way; it is the act of seeking
advice.

4. Career guidance is the guidance given to
individuals to help them acquire the knowledge,
information, skills, and experience necessary to
identify career options, and narrow them down
to make one career decision. This career
decision then results in their social, financial and
emotional well-being throughout.

5. Who can benefit from Career Guidance?
Student Of Class 9th - 10th
Setting the basics right solves a lot of
confusions that might arise later. Whether
it is choosing the correct stream to the
correct board, and mapping career goals, a
right start at the right time makes all the
difference.

6. Student Of Class 11th - 12th
One chooses one’s stream out of the four
possible options (non-medical, medical,
humanities, commerce), however the
career options possible for a student to opt
for are more than hundreds. To make sure
that the entire process from choosing the
right career options to achieving those
goals goes smoothly, it is important that
one seek career guidance from an
informed (and experienced) mentor (read:
career guide)

7. College Going Students/ Working Professionals
For people who have already made a career decision
need to work towards it, to attain the maximum
results. A guide informs them of the best career
opportunities and ways to do the best in the field
they have chosen for themselves. Generally, people
end up taking the wrong paths in order to achieve
their goals. Either they realize that the career option
they have chosen isn’t meant for them, or it dawns
upon them that the option they have chosen isn’t
strong enough to keep them motivated or excited
throughout their professional lives.

13. Future Planning
For high school students, the future still
lies ahead. Students must sit down with
parents to discuss before taking the final
decision. Planning must start well in
advance.

14. Get Clarity on Your Future Goals
Every individual has a goal to achieve in life. What
ambitions or targets do you have? Where do you see
yourself 5 years from now? The best aspect of career
education and guidance provided in schools is that it
is objective and strategic. A clear picture of your goal
can be created informing you about where you will
head and what obstacles you will face on this journey.

15. Make the right choice from a myriad of options
With globalization comes a plethora of career
options, thereby it is but obvious for a beginner
to get lost. Deciding on an option that is suitable
becomes confusing since there are hundreds of
courses for a single field. Career counseling helps
easily clarify all the doubts of a student.
Don’t fall into the trap. Whenever an expert
gives you guidance related to education and the
future, make sure you do your own research and
read about it in books or on the Internet.

16. Ready to Face the Competition
Your friends may be aspiring to take on the
same career path as you. You have to internally
compete with your friends before you compete
with students from across the globe. How do
you come out winning in this competitive
world?
A counselor is aware of what’s happening latest
in which field and they will help you understand
what you should do.

17. Information about Ideal Courses in India and
Abroad
Do you want to stay in India or go abroad to
study? If you wish to stay in India, you may be
aware of the market, but if you want to go
overseas, you might not have all
the information related to that country’s market.
You do not know whether the future for that
field is growing or diminishing.
Career advice from an expert is the best way to
understand the prospects of an option in
different countries.

18. career guidance – assisting individuals
to make educational, training and
occupational choices and to manage
their careers and move from a general
understanding of life and work to a
specific understanding of the realistic
learning and work options that are
open to them.

19. Career education and guidance play an
important role in curriculum that
supports:
• students’ interests, strengths and
aspirations
• students’ achievements
• students at risk of poor outcomes
• students making informed decisions
about their subject choices and
pathways.

20. Career counseling is not only important for
students but for the parents as well. They need
to understand what their child actually likes,
what she or he is interested in and then support
their decision. It’s important to understand that
not everyone is cut out to be an engineer or a
doctor. If a child chooses a career path which
doesn’t align with his/her interests and ability, it
will only lead to dissatisfaction in the long run.

21. Career counseling starts right from class 10th. It starts
with guiding the students about picking the right stream
in class 11th to helping them choose the right courses
after class 12th. Career counseling doesn’t just stop at
school. It’s even needed for students in colleges and
universities; they need guidance on what specializations
they should pick up or what course they should go for in
their Master’s. When students reach college/university
they are more mature, their personality also changes a
bit. Since they are out of the protected environment
and undertake various activities/internships in college,
their interests might change and they need an
evaluation on what’s the best next step for them.

22. Many people are not aware that choosing
the right subjects, courses, careers or jobs is
a SCIENTIFIC PROCESS that can be arrived at
by using certain scientific tools like
psychometric tests and mapping a person’s
personal profile. Going through psychology
based career assessment and guidance helps
you to take a logical decision and find what
profession suits you the best.

23. Career Counselling is a process that focuses on
helping one understand one’s own self, as well
as work trends, so that one can take an
informed decision about career and
education. Career Counselling helps manage a
diverse range of problems such as low
concentration levels to poor time
management, trust issues with family to non-
agreement between parents and children on
which career to choose.

24. Helps Pick The Right Career
Career Counsellors are experts at
assessing your aptitude, personality,
interests, and other aspects of you.
They use this evaluation to suggest the
best career options from all the
available and relevant options.

25. Helps Provide Expert Resources
Career Counselling provides access to the
resources and knowledge that a career expert
possesses. This knowledge of Careers, their
scope and the paths to pursue them are most
important from the point of view of a parent
and child, since most of the times, parents or
guardians do not have that kind of
knowledge.

26. Helps Gain Confidence And Insight
Career Counselling helps a
counselee understand the hurdles
in his/her career path. This
knowledge helps to develop the
confidence to overcome these
hurdles. It is the duty of a good
counsellor to provide such insight
and confidence to the counselee.

27. Helps Change Unwanted Behavior Patterns
Students and professionals have habits that
are hard to break, such as procrastinating, not
keeping updated on latest developments in
their chosen career paths, neglecting
emotional and mental health, not trying to
self-motivate, etc. A Career Counsellor helps
break such behavioral patterns that lead to
unproductive activities, both at home and in
school/college/work.

28. Helps Remove Career-Related Frustration
Choosing a career can be a demanding task for
both parents and children. A lack of any source of
venting out emotions and thoughts may add to
the existing frustration. Career Counselling
provides a platform where such frustrations can
be reduced, and focus is re-directed to selecting
the best career options.

29. Provides A Role-Model
Career Counselling helps students connect
to experts who have enough life experiences
to share. They are role models who have
accomplished much, and helped people in
their life. This is why Career Counselling can
serve as an inspiration to those who require
it.

30. Helps Bring Stability In Thought
Career Counsellors can help you
remain calm when it comes to
taking a career decision.
Counselling helps bring about
focus, and maintain that focus
throughout in our activities.
Through proper scheduling and
planning, they try and make your
life more organized.

31. The perfect time for students to seek Career
Counselling is during the ages 13-17 years
(8th standard to 12th standard). This is a time
of many changes taking place in their life,
both physical and emotional, such as
transitioning from school to college, and
trying to “fit in” with peers. It is also a time
when career decisions are made. This is why
they need someone to guide them in the
right direction at this time.

32. Career Counselling helps them understand the career options that
they have, and how to pursue them.
Career Counselling helps them understand their own strengths and
weaknesses with regard to their present course or profession, and lets
them know what career they would be suited for.
Career Counselling gives them a platform to voice their opinion about
what they would like to pursue, as well as discuss the obstacles that
they may be worried about.
Career Counselling makes the transition from one field to another a
non-stressful event.
Career Counselling helps give them the required confidence to change
their domain, with the support of an experienced mentor.