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Our process generally involves discovering the answers to the following questions: who am I, what do I want, where am I going, and how do I get there?

Because everyone seeks assistance at different points in their life, the actual process is customized to your particular needs and you may touch on each of the four steps concurrently. This process reflects a typical career journey. 

Step 1: Who Am I?

This step involves clarifying your unique gifts and strengths, recognizing beliefs that may impact you in your life and career, identifying what motivates you, and deciding how you want to use your strengths.

As you prepare to seek out opportunities, this information will be the foundation of how you communicate about yourself to others. By focusing on your strengths and how you can solve problems, you shift the focus in your job search from “how can you help me” to “here’s how I can help you.”

If you are choosing or changing your career, your counselor can offer career development activities to help you clarify your preferences and interests and identify options to explore.

The process may include career assessments that will help you understand your personality, interests, strengths, and values.  This information points to specific careers or work environments.

Step 2: What Do I Want?

This step involves exploring how you would like your personal life to be and deciding what you want more of in your work life. A key aspect is identifying your most important values. 

Values serve as the anchor to what’s most important to us and provides a clear picture of what brings satisfaction in life and work. Values also move us in a direction away from fears. Clarifying what you want also includes practical issues and preferences, such as salary and which skills from your career history you want to build upon.

As you work towards clarifying what it is that you want for your career and take steps in that direction, you may find yourself getting stuck at certain points. This often has to do with lack of career information or fears arising along the way, which everyone possesses. You will learn to identify and address those fears and use your values to keep you focused and on track.

Resources such as the occupational outlook handbook can help you expand your career knowledge and learn more about the labor market. 

Really clarifying what you want occurs before you can begin to set tangible goals. The actions you take stem from knowing your desires and aspirations and deciding how your career and life work together to achieve them.

Step 3: Where Am I Going?

This step is career exploration. It involves exploring career options and life paths and opportunities. It also involves looking at how you do what you do so that you can increase the likelihood of achieving your goals. The key is to continue to move forward by taking committed action and setting tangible goals.

We will focus here on getting very clear and concrete about your plan and career direction. You might engage in informational interviewing to learn more about your options. Your career counselor can give you the tools to explore career alternatives so that you can be confident in your decision. 

Step 4: How Do I Get There?

This step involves practical strategies to find a job, change career, get started with your business ideas such as how to access the hidden job market, or focus your business goals. It might even involve developing additional competencies or taking on new roles in your current position to prepare for your next transition.

You might consider developing professional skills, pursuing career and education opportunities, or additional continuing education. 

In this stage of the process, we will get specific about concrete steps you can take to move forward as a job seeker, focusing on the simplest and most doable action steps.

A career counselor can also help you choose and take the next step in your career, or give you tools for dealing with, and in some cases, leaving a toxic work environment.

Career counseling services are based on the client’s individual needs. Length of time involved can range from a brief consultation on a specific question (i.e., how to address a gap in your resume, write a cover letter or linked in profile) to a complete individual personality, interest, strengths, and values assessment and assistance with making a career transition or job search campaign.

What career counseling is for you is largely related to what you want to get out of the process. Often, it can be exciting in the beginning to discover new possibilities for your career and insights about yourself.

However, it can get difficult when you begin to apply the steps to move into a new career direction. This can be where working with a career counselor is most beneficial.  

The process can begin with help to find a career and continue with help to keep forward momentum and realize your career potential. Career coaching success is often the result of completing both phases of career exploration: clarifying your career path and then seeing it through. 

Depending on your goals, you may meet more frequently over a shorter time duration, or over a longer period of time with less frequent meetings. A career coaching session is typically 45-60 minutes. 

You play the active role in managing your career and will be largely responsible for the outcome. A career expert does not tell you what to do or make decisions for you. However, you can expect motivation and support through the process as well as practical assistance in “how to get there”.

Collaboratively, goals will be set and action plans established to provide direction and help you achieve short and long-term career goals.

In order for you to get the most out of career counseling, it is helpful if you start thinking ahead about the things you want and don’t want out of your life.

Your career counseling experience will be unique and tailored to your specific needs and career goals.

To help you clarify your career path, career testing services are also available. Career assessments can help you identify your personality type and career options based on your career interests and strengths.

While the majority of our career counselors don’t write resumes and cover letters for you, we can refer you to our partners who can. If this is a service you need, please be sure to let our Client Care Coordinator know when you call.

Career Coaching

Career Coaches provide guidance and direction, but ultimately finding the best-fit and deciding which path to take is up to you. We will provide tools and resources to help you make those decisions. 

The career coaching process involves asking questions that facilitate self-discovery insight, commitment and action. Just like with counseling, it's important for you to feel there is a good fit in your coaching relationship. 

Career and leadership coaches help you cope with challenges in the workplace and increase leadership effectiveness. 

Yes, we offer the Myers Briggs Personality test for careers (MBTI) as well as the Strong Interest Inventory assessment for career exploration, career fit or career change.

A career skills and personality test for career direction can help you identify your personality strengths and areas of interest if you aren't clear about them. Studies show that people happiest with their jobs are those doing something they love and that comes naturally to them (natural gifts or strengths).

Career assessments and personality inventories are great tools for gaining insight about yourself though they are not aptitude tests. You may see patterns emerging or find some clues to follow. You may also discover both personal and career insights and possibilities you had never before imagined.

But remember, these personality tests are just part of the total self assessment process. It's unlikely that you'll suddenly discover your ideal career from taking a career test although it can be a great start in narrowing things down.

The assessment process is enhanced by working with one of our trained career coaches, bringing out additional information from the data and working with you to create a journey that is specifically tailored to you.

Myers Briggs Personality Inventory:

Personality Test & Type Profile, How You Interact With Others, Your Type at Work

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator personality test helps you identify your personality type, how you interact with others, your strengths, and areas for growth. Useful both personally, professionally and to enhance relationship communication. Online report with interactive interpretation.

Combined Strong Interest Inventory & MBTI Career Report 

Integrated Personality and Career Interest Assessments Providing In-depth Career Direction and Relevant Occupations

The Strong and MBTI® Career Report provides you with a complete career development picture based on a combined interpretation of your interests and personality. It integrates in-depth information from both assessments to offer career direction and identify relevant occupations, with emphasis on those suggested by both instruments.

This report along with your MBTI profile is offered in conjunction with career counseling. Your career counselor will validate and clarify what the results mean personally for you and will explain how to incorporate that knowledge to achieve your personal and career goals.

Results will be provided during scheduled appointment time and you can expect a minimum of two sessions to review the results of both assessments.

iStartStrong Online Interactive Report for High School Students & Young Adults

Career Interest Inventory and Link to Career Fields for Students and Young Adults

Interactive, online report for students and young adults to help identify a college major or career path. The personalized report shows how one’s interests and themes link to various jobs, work settings, and career fields.

Yes, if you are interested in completing the MBTI Personality Test online, you can order it here. 

Working with a counselor gives you access to a more in-depth interpretation and guide to applying your personality preferences to your relationships (at home and work), your career choices, and more. 

Yes, for high school students and early college students, we offer the iStart Strong career interest assessment online. This career test assists your student in identifying potential career paths and fields of study based on their interests. 

For in-depth assistance in choosing a major, career, or field of study, schedule an appointment with a career counselor. 

In weighing financial costs, also weigh desired outcomes and evaluate whether you have the time and energy to devote to working on your career goals.

If you are between careers or are contemplating quitting a job, it’s normal to worry about expenses. However, career counseling is a long-term investment in your future.

Consider how much time and money you might spend on switching college majors or moving from unfulfilling job to job. And, if you are miserable in your current career, you may not want to waste anymore years there.

You career counselor can save you hours of job-hunting, tuition cost of changing majors, help you find a better career, and help you learn to negotiate a salary so you can make more money in the future.

Career counseling is worth the investment. If you itemize your deductions, coaching costs can even be part of your job search expenses on your taxes.