A talented career consultant can be an excellent investment for those who have established careers and want to take them in a new direction. Particularly in cases of downsizing, rapid industry change, or even the gradual decline of a field, the consultant offers an important resource for those in transition.

What They Do

Consultants objectively assess their clients’ education, training, and experience and identify new options for their career. This can be a very exciting process, as it involves rediscovering skills and strengths in a new light, finding possibilities that are often surprising. The career consultant will pinpoint effective ways to enter new fields, clarifying and refining any further training needed to market the client to a new field of prospective employers.

Assess the client. A career consultant will help determine the industries and positions that suit the client at that point in their career.

Brainstorm work ideas. This is the fun part–career counselors shake their clients up, awakening them to new ideas and encouraging them to think creatively about their work possibilities.

Determine desired path. The consultant and client work together to decide on a particular new career path and strategize to reach these new goals.

Develop qualifications. Often, the client will be coached on where and how to develop the training and skills needed to enter a new professional area. The consultant will help create an educational plan to achieve these qualifications.

Develop professional connections and experience. The client will need to make new connections in a new field. The consultant will know where to start the often-confusing task of seeking work that may be below or incomparable with the client’s current employment level, with an eye toward career development and advancement.

Support the transition. It can be tricky–not to mention scary–to change a work routine without disrupting one’s life, which is why so many people stay in one position for so long.  Career consultants make their clients comfortable with the transition period by making rock-solid and comfortable plans to change career.

The Client Comes First

Career consultants intensely focus not only on a client’s career goals, but also on his or her personal aspirations. The decision to seek out the services of a career consultant is frequently based on the desire to increase personal as well as financial career rewards. Other job-industry professionals such as recruiters and hiring managers operate with the needs of companies in mind. Working with a consultant is a unique opportunity to focus on the needs of the client, a chance to give serious thought to important personal considerations and job satisfaction and lifestyle.

The decision to make a drastic or even minor career change is an important one, and often confusing. Many people resist making such a change and stay in a familiar but dissatisfying position or industry for the entire length of their careers. The services of a good career consultant can make the difference between a trial-an-error approach and a smooth and optimal transition, or simply give the client the confidence and tools to make a bold move.

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