Assessment in Counselling
and Guidance UNIT 3 COUNSELING AND GUIDANCE
FOR CAREER PLANNING AND
DECISION MAKING
Structure
3.0 Introduction
3.1 Objectives
3.2 Counseling and Guidance
3.2.1 Counseling
3.2.2 Guidance
3.3 Career Planning
3.3.1 Interrelation between Counseling and Career Planning
3.3.2 Interrelation between Guidance and Career Planning
3.4 Decision Making
3.4.1 Declare a Decision
3.4.2 Work a Decision
3.5 Let Us Sum Up
3.6 Unit End Questions
3.7 Suggested Readings
3.0 INTRODUCTION
In this unit we will be dealing with counseling and guidance for career planning
and decision making. We start with definition and description of counseling and
guidance. Then we take up career planning and within this present the inter
relationship between counseling and career planning followed by presenting of
inter relationship between guidance and career planning. Then we take up decision
making and within this we put forward two principles viz., declaring a decision
and working a decision. Within declaring a decision we discuss the framing of
the decision, the right people and the right choice to make. Following this we
take up working a decision within which we discuss a complete set of alternatives,
values against which to make trade off and information that describes the value
of each alternative.
3.1 OBJECTIVES
After completing this unit, you will be able to:
• Define counseling and guidance;
• Differentiate between counseling and guidance;
• Explain the concept of career planning;
• Elucidate the relationship between counselling and career planning;
• Explain the relationship between guidance and career planning; and
• Discuss and understand the process of decision making.
44
, Counseling and Guidance
3.2 COUNSELING AND GUIDANCE for Career Planning and
Decision Making
Counselling is a process that focuses on enhancing the psychological well being
of the client, such that the client is then able to reach their full potential. This is
achieved by the counsellor facilitating your personal growth, development, and
self understanding, which in turn empowers you to adopt more constructive life
practices.
The purpose of guidance is to provide ‘learning experiences to enable clients to
acquire knowledge, skills and competencies related to making personal,
educational and career decisions’
Guidance includes, but is not limited to, educational guidance and counselling
services staffed by trained professionals.
Career planning is a lifelong process, which includes choosing an occupation,
getting a job, growing in our job, possibly changing careers, and eventually
retiring. We will focus on career choice and the process one goes through in
selecting an occupation. This may happen once in our lifetimes, but it is more
likely to happen several times as we first define and then redefine ourselves and
our goals.
Career development and the career planning process include a number of specific
steps that help to identify personal skills and attributes. Finding out how those
skills can be utilised in the job market is accomplished by researching a number
of career fields that are of interest to you and then by gaining experience in those
fields and/or speaking to people currently working in the field.
Career counselors provide mainly career counseling outside the school setting.
Their chief focus is helping individuals with career decisions. Vocational
counselors explore and evaluate the client’s education, training, work history,
interests, skills, and personality traits. They may arrange for aptitude and
achievement tests to help the client make career decisions. They also work with
individuals to develop their job search skills and assist clients in locating and
applying for jobs. In addition, career counselors provide support to people
experiencing job loss, job stress, or other career transition issues.
Career guidance refers to services and activities intended to assist individuals of
any age and at any point throughout their lives, to make educational, training
and occupational choices and to manage their careers. Such services may be
found in schools, universities and colleges, in training institutions, in public
employment services, in the workplace, in the voluntary or community sector
and in the private sector. The activities may take place on an individual or group
basis and may be face to face or at a distance.
A decision is a choice between two or more alternatives. If you only have one
alternative, you do not have a decision.
Decision making can be regarded as the mental processes (cognitive process)
resulting in the selection of a course of action among several alternative scenarios.
Every decision making process produces a final choice. The output can be an
action or an opinion of choice.
45
and Guidance UNIT 3 COUNSELING AND GUIDANCE
FOR CAREER PLANNING AND
DECISION MAKING
Structure
3.0 Introduction
3.1 Objectives
3.2 Counseling and Guidance
3.2.1 Counseling
3.2.2 Guidance
3.3 Career Planning
3.3.1 Interrelation between Counseling and Career Planning
3.3.2 Interrelation between Guidance and Career Planning
3.4 Decision Making
3.4.1 Declare a Decision
3.4.2 Work a Decision
3.5 Let Us Sum Up
3.6 Unit End Questions
3.7 Suggested Readings
3.0 INTRODUCTION
In this unit we will be dealing with counseling and guidance for career planning
and decision making. We start with definition and description of counseling and
guidance. Then we take up career planning and within this present the inter
relationship between counseling and career planning followed by presenting of
inter relationship between guidance and career planning. Then we take up decision
making and within this we put forward two principles viz., declaring a decision
and working a decision. Within declaring a decision we discuss the framing of
the decision, the right people and the right choice to make. Following this we
take up working a decision within which we discuss a complete set of alternatives,
values against which to make trade off and information that describes the value
of each alternative.
3.1 OBJECTIVES
After completing this unit, you will be able to:
• Define counseling and guidance;
• Differentiate between counseling and guidance;
• Explain the concept of career planning;
• Elucidate the relationship between counselling and career planning;
• Explain the relationship between guidance and career planning; and
• Discuss and understand the process of decision making.
44
, Counseling and Guidance
3.2 COUNSELING AND GUIDANCE for Career Planning and
Decision Making
Counselling is a process that focuses on enhancing the psychological well being
of the client, such that the client is then able to reach their full potential. This is
achieved by the counsellor facilitating your personal growth, development, and
self understanding, which in turn empowers you to adopt more constructive life
practices.
The purpose of guidance is to provide ‘learning experiences to enable clients to
acquire knowledge, skills and competencies related to making personal,
educational and career decisions’
Guidance includes, but is not limited to, educational guidance and counselling
services staffed by trained professionals.
Career planning is a lifelong process, which includes choosing an occupation,
getting a job, growing in our job, possibly changing careers, and eventually
retiring. We will focus on career choice and the process one goes through in
selecting an occupation. This may happen once in our lifetimes, but it is more
likely to happen several times as we first define and then redefine ourselves and
our goals.
Career development and the career planning process include a number of specific
steps that help to identify personal skills and attributes. Finding out how those
skills can be utilised in the job market is accomplished by researching a number
of career fields that are of interest to you and then by gaining experience in those
fields and/or speaking to people currently working in the field.
Career counselors provide mainly career counseling outside the school setting.
Their chief focus is helping individuals with career decisions. Vocational
counselors explore and evaluate the client’s education, training, work history,
interests, skills, and personality traits. They may arrange for aptitude and
achievement tests to help the client make career decisions. They also work with
individuals to develop their job search skills and assist clients in locating and
applying for jobs. In addition, career counselors provide support to people
experiencing job loss, job stress, or other career transition issues.
Career guidance refers to services and activities intended to assist individuals of
any age and at any point throughout their lives, to make educational, training
and occupational choices and to manage their careers. Such services may be
found in schools, universities and colleges, in training institutions, in public
employment services, in the workplace, in the voluntary or community sector
and in the private sector. The activities may take place on an individual or group
basis and may be face to face or at a distance.
A decision is a choice between two or more alternatives. If you only have one
alternative, you do not have a decision.
Decision making can be regarded as the mental processes (cognitive process)
resulting in the selection of a course of action among several alternative scenarios.
Every decision making process produces a final choice. The output can be an
action or an opinion of choice.
45
