Career Counsellor vs Career Mentor- Who is the better Guide?

This has always been an issue of discourse/debate- who can help us identify & plan the appropriate career path/whom should we approach,

Before we know the answer to this, let us get to know more about a counsellor & a mentor.

1) Counsellor-

A counsellor is someone who provides people with advice and information about what type of work they can do or how they can get a better job.

A career counsellor is trained to help us figure out everything to consider and helpful tips to help us make the right decisions by telling us which jobs are suitable for you & which universities or institutes are the best ones.

A career counsellor is responsible for understanding the skills required in each field, the average salary in each field, and the requirements of each field. After evaluating the customer, the counsellor will match the customer to the field that suits their skills and personality, thereby creating the most profitable combination in terms of job satisfaction and monetary income.

2) Mentor-

A career mentor is someone who shares their knowledge and expertise with you in order to help you set goals, fix problems, and make good choices along your career path.

A career mentor can share information about their own career path with the mentee (or disciple) and provide guidance, motivation, emotional support, and role models. Mentors can help explore careers, set goals, develop connections, and identify resources.

Mentors become trusted advisors and role models—people who “have” and “done”. They support and encourage learners by providing general and specific advice and knowledge. The goal is to help apprentices improve their skills and hopefully make progress in their careers.

1) Counsellor- Attending and active listening:

In other people’s companies, being able to concentrate on their art and participate without distractions makes the client feel supported and important, this is essential for the counsellor to establish a therapeutic relationship with the client, and the same happens with active listening.

Questions and problems are recognized and understood by considerate but impartial people like a counsellor. By actively listening, you can not only accept what your customers are saying, but you can also encourage them to keep talking.

During a conversation with a customer, you, as a counsellor, need to be able to strike a balance between speaking and listening, and knowing when to take what action.

To “serve” successfully, a counsellor needs to pay attention to the client’s body language, listen to pauses and silence, maintain eye contact to show the client that you value what you are saying, and soften your tone so that the client does not feel they rushed.

2) Counsellor- A non-judgemental approach:

A counsellor is not here to make judgments or provide suggestions about clients’ behaviour or feelings; Instead, the goal of a counsellor is to help clients see things clearly from a different and more optimistic perspective. To do this, clients must be able to express their thoughts and feelings freely without judgment, criticism, or rejection. As a counsellor, you must monitor and manage your reactions in a caring and professional way.

3) Counsellor- Respect for confidentiality and professional boundaries:

Confidentiality issues must be strictly observed by a counsellor. A counsellor must also quickly understand and understand your moral and legal responsibilities to clients. In terms of professional boundaries, visitors should be supported by the counsellor to make their own decisions and conclusions without being affected by advice from the counsellor.

4) Counsellor- Job Search Strategies:

Job search strategies of a counsellor refer to techniques used by a counsellor to increase job opportunities. Knowing how to search for and apply for jobs will help streamline the process through a counsellor.

Also, a counsellor:

Work one-on-one with undergraduates to teach job search strategies, interview techniques, resume production and personal goal setting.

Develops PowerPoint presentations and teaches courses on resumes, job search strategies, interviews, job fairs, and networking.

Organizes for students in the graduate cooperative.

Advises traditional and online graduate students on resume preparation, interview techniques, job search strategies and educational planning.

5) Counsellor- Career Services:

Class demonstrations are conducted by the counsellor to improve students’ understanding of professional services and their motivation to obtain these services.

A counsellor designs and promotes career service presentations, including meeting scope request requirements.

A counsellor develops career services and career guidance methods for a constantly changing student population.

A counsellor develops a comprehensive monitoring system for the professional services provided by students.

1) Mentor- Listening Actively:

Active listening is the most basic mentoring skill; other skills are developed and needed. When the mentor listens carefully, he/she shows the students that their concerns have been heard and understood. As a result, feel accepted by the mentor and trust is established, means that the mentor is listening carefully performing various observable behaviours. For example, if the mentor can listen, students will show genuine interest in giving encouraging responses, such as “Good. … “And interesting. …” Or it sometimes reflects (paraphrases) certain comments to show that the mentor has grasped the meaning and feelings behind the message.

2) Mentor- Building Trust:

The more mentees trust the mentors, the more loyal they will be to the mentor’s association with them. This trust will develop over time, if the students observe some of mentor’s appropriate behaviours. To be a trustworthy person, the mentor must:

1. Maintain the trust of tutors and students;
2. Spend appropriate time together;
3. Fulfil the promise of students;
4. Respect the boundaries of their students with him/her;
5. Admit mistakes and be responsible for correcting
6. Intelligently tell your partners

3) Mentor- Encouraging:

The most valuable training technique is encouraging/cheering. This includes giving honest and positive verbal feedback and recognition to students.

4) Mentor- Willingness to share skills, knowledge and expertise:

A good mentor is willing to teach what he knows and is willing to accept students who are currently in the professional development stage. Good mentors can remember how they felt on the field at first. Mentors will not take mentoring lightly, they will understand that good guidance takes time and commitment, and they are willing to continue to share information and your ongoing support with the mentee.

5) Mentor- Demonstrates a positive attitude and acts as a positive role model:

A good mentor demonstrates the personal qualities necessary to succeed in the field. By showing learners the conditions required for efficiency and success, you can demonstrate the specific behaviours and actions required to succeed in the field.

6) Mentor- Takes a personal interest in the mentoring relationship:

A good mentor will not take the responsibility of a mentor lightly. They feel they have invested in the success of the apprentices. Usually this requires someone who is knowledgeable, compassionate, and possesses the qualities of a good teacher or trainer. Excellent communication skills are also required. A good mentor is dedicated to helping his students find success and satisfaction in their chosen career. Generally speaking, good guidance requires empowering learners to develop their personal strengths, beliefs, and attributes.

& many, many more!!!

Following are some of the universities/institutions for a budding archaeologist:

1) Counsellor-

For those who want to achieve something but don’t know the ins and outs, a career counsellor uses informative and instructive methods to create job search resources. A professional counsellor will help you reach your short-term goals.

A career counsellor helps you produce resumes and cover letters more effectively to find a job.

A career counsellor proposes a well-structured plan based on individual talents to help clients realize their dreams.

A career counsellor provides you with all the information you need on current industry trends and prospects.

A career counsellor is a certified professional and expert. The counsellor can give you guidance advice. Also, if you are not sure what you want to pursue, the counsellor can quickly provide you with the most advantageous career option & job based on your age, abilities, preferences, and behaviour. A career counsellor can change the entire direction of your life and transform you into a whole new person.

2) Mentor-

A career mentor is a professional who treats mentees as experts in life or work, and believes that their clients are creative, productive, unique and resourceful. Professional career mentors are excellent advocates for professional & holistic development; its goal is to mentor mentees to achieve their goals. In the process of professional mentoring, the mentors will discover and clarify all doubts about the future goals of the mentees.

Mentors will help the mentees to take the best path to achieve their objectives.

Mentors encourage mentees to discover their dreams.

Mentors encourage customers to discover their strengths and weaknesses by themselves. The mentor will not feed you everything; on the contrary, he/she will encourage you to find yourself and motivate you to follow your dreams. They will provide you with the perfect action plan and necessary guidance to help you achieve your long-term goals and succeed in life.

Only after a few meetings with the mentors can you understand your goals more clearly. And professional mentoring will make you fall in love with your job and turn your job into your career. The main goal of mentoring is to give you the ability to make important decisions and stay motivated about the right career path entirely based on your innate skills, abilities, strengths and personality.

Now, the main question- Counsellor or Mentor?

A career counsellor will only help you short-term in your career.

For example, if you want to pursue engineering, a counsellor, based on an aptitude test, will only tell you about your personality and what jobs might be suitable for you,

whereas,

A career mentor not only sets the appropriate career direction for you, but also stays with you throughout your entire career journey.

Considering the above example, a mentor will stay with you till you end our career period completely.

Hence, a career mentor is always better than a counsellor!!!