Thinking of career counseling in Chicago? Here’s some insight and guidance.
By: Costa Provis, LCPC
Career Counseling is a somewhat loaded concept, usually viewed as figuring out ways to enhance or maybe even radically change a career. This is certainly a major part of the process, but I like to think of Career Counseling as a slightly more complicated concept that typically involves a few layers or waves of both external and internal hurdles to overcome.
A process of looking both outward at the steps to take as well as taking a look inward, peeking behind the curtain so to speak.
It is very common for people to bring up job/career dissatisfaction as a major problem in life, and often report feeling bogged down or overwhelmed with the question of “what do I want to do with my life (or career)?”
And if the answer is “I have no ****ing idea!” the stress can be palpable. If this applies to you, please take a deep breath and keep reading. The challenges will be out there, but trust that you’ll be able to manage them one at a time while keeping your eyes set at your bigger picture goals.
For starters please stop focusing on this awful question of what do I want to do? and instead of asking what you want to do, start thinking about why instead. Why am I not satisfied with my current position?
Why did I get into this profession initially? Why am I looking to make a change? Why am I good at my profession and where can I improve? Gaining some insight and self-awareness about your likes and dislikes, and the things that inspired you can potentially help you tap in to a new brand of motivation – focusing on likes and strengths instead of dislikes and worries.
Now that you are thinking about your career in this new light, identifying the aspects you like and the reasons you decided to go down this path in the first place, it becomes a little easier to face the challenges ahead.
As you already know, the prospect of changing or enhancing your career will have many hurdles, both external (like having a solid resume, connecting with good employment service companies specific to your profession, good habits for reviewing job ads, etc.) and internal challenges (like better understanding your self-concept, core beliefs, stressors and coping mechanisms, etc.).
When you are feeling more self-aware and confident as a result of learning more about your internal hurdles, then suddenly the external hurdles become a list of tasks that are manageable, measurable, and doable. It’s learning how to overcome the internal hurdles that really make Career Counseling a difference-maker!
With this new lens on your career it’s time to take the three key steps in enhancing your career:
Step 1: Identify your goals. Think about your long term goals first; maybe that is 1, 5, or 10 years down the road, but it is extremely important to work hard on identifying your goals. With your long-term goals identified we can now work together to break those down into smaller manageable, measurable and doable goals, working backwards until we get to the present. Are your actions today aligned with your overall goals?
Are you tuned in to the impact of your day to day decisions and actions and how they impact your larger goals? Career Counseling can help you gain clarity on this, and make plans to keep the day to day actions aligned with your greater purpose.
Step 2: Identify barriers to your success. Again, try to divide this up into external and internal barriers. Maybe you need more education, or a specific certification, or more experience in order to really be able to meet your goal. These would be external barriers. With each new barrier we will create a plan to overcome it and find more success along your path.
Then consider some of the internal barriers that are standing in your way. Quite often it is things like your self-concept and narrative that become your greatest hurdle. Changing your mental outlook can be critical. What are your current attitudes and perspectives about your situation? Is your glass half full or half empty? Are you more focused on the pros or the cons of the options you are considering?
There are a lot of things to understand about yourself in this process, and Career Counseling can be really helpful in this pursuit of self-awareness.
Step 3: Being honest with yourself. This might be the toughest one of all. What are you REALLY willing to ACTUALLY do to TRULY make your goals a reality? What sacrifices are you prepared to make? Have you considered how you’ll manage new hurdles that pop up along the way?
This is not meant to be pessimistic but rather realistic in looking at the complete picture of the path towards your goals. If you are not willing to change your actions (or input) it will be really difficult to change your outcome (or output).
Remember, Career Counseling will help you peel back the top layers and take a deeper look at yourself to not only figure out your goals, but more importantly how to overcome the challenges that stand in your way.
By understanding the external and internal challenges, and having a strategy for day to day plans that connect to your bigger long-term goals, I am confident that you will be able to enhance your career and achieve all of your professional goals.
Is Career Counseling right for you? If you are tired of feeling stagnant in your current career, then it just might be!
