Profile -- by Robin Creech

What do you want to be when you grow up?

For the past six years, Emma Geoghegan has worked as a Career Counsellor at The City of Calgary's Youth Employment Centre helping young people discover the answer to this common question. Gone are the days when a person picked one career and worked in that job for the remainder of their life. In this day and age, the average person will change careers five to seven times. There are many career options available today and with so much pressure to plan for the future, the career planning process can be overwhelming for many people, especially youth. Enter Emma and the rest of the team at the Youth Employment Centre ­ a group that meets the demand for knowledgeable and friendly help when navigating important career decisions.

Career counsellors provide one-on-one help to their clients. A normal day includes meeting new clients, working and keeping in touch with existing clients, and maintaining paper and computer files that contain client information. When working with clients, Emma provides a variety of services. She listens to their career ideas and concerns, conducts interest assessments, helps with writing resumés, provides information on job interviews, helps research education options, and develops career action plans. Sometimes a client might have personal issues and basic needs that must be met before they can focus on getting a job. Occasionally she will help with these life planning issues, but often she will refer them to other services. She also develops and delivers workshops on career related topics to larger groups. Some of her clients make pre-scheduled appointments and others will drop-in without an appointment. Increasingly, more and more of her time is spent working with her clients through e-mail. She works on a 35 hour work week from Monday to Friday. Most days she starts at 8:00 a.m. and finishes at 4:30 p.m.

A career in counselling was natural for Emma because she had always possessed a strong desire to help people and had a keen interest in the field of psychology. "I knew I wanted to be a psychologist in junior high ­ probably even before I really knew what it was." After achieving an undergraduate degree in psychology, she took on a volunteer position at The Back Door, a youth employment organization that focuses on helping long-term street youth move back into mainstream society. The experience gained there later helped her succeed in attaining her current position at the City of Calgary.

There are many aspects Emma likes about her job. "I enjoy the interaction with people and working with youth. I also like to take people through the process. Many of my clients come in with no idea at all and they leave with a plan. I like the change I can make in a person's life." She also enjoys the variety of one-to-one counselling, as every individual is unique and has different career interests and goals. Finally, she enjoys developing and delivering workshops and curriculum. The only thing she could live without is the excessive administration and paperwork that is required when working in a government-funded organization. Much of the client information has to be recorded in both paper files and on the computer, which can be excessive and not very efficient.

The salary range for this type of work depends on how many years of experience you have and the organization you work for. In a government-funded position, the range is approximately $45,000 to $55,000 per year. A career counsellor working at a not-for-profit organization would likely earn less than that, while someone at a private company would probably earn much more.

What do you need to be a successful career counsellor? Emma identified several skills and qualifications that help her in her job. Some of these include strong communication skills, the ability to empathize, a social personality, a knack for building rapport with people, and a cultural sensitivity. Prioritizing and multi-tasking are also very important. Many job postings also ask for a high energy level, the ability to work effectively in a team, the knowledge to deal with stressful situations as they arise, and personal initiative. When working with groups and delivering workshops, public speaking skills are also required.

In terms of educational requirements, usually a four year bachelor degree in a related field, such as social work, psychology, or education is needed. Many counsellors also have a Masters level of education, which can be very helpful in moving up or taking on a supervisory role. Because career counselling is a new field and counsellors come from a variety of educational backgrounds, a certification program is being initiated by the Career Development Association of Alberta. This will help establish a level of standardization in the industry. Certificate programs are also available, such as the Career Development Certificate available at the Continuing Education department of the University of Calgary. Check out www.alis.gov.ab.ca and search under "Career Counsellor/Advisor" for more information on educational options in Alberta.

How easy will it be for you to find a job in this field? Although there are many opportunities in the career counselling field, it can be difficult to break in to the industry. This is because there isn't a lot of turnover in counsellor positions ­ a lot of employees are "long-termers." Many people Emma works with have been in their positions for seven years or more. So how do you get your foot in the door? Emma recommends volunteering as a great way to develop basic skills. Helping out at a relevant organization is great, but any position where you work on a one-to-one basis with people will help you develop communication and people skills. Computer skills are also necessary and can be obtained by working in a volunteer role. Even though unpaid work doesn't seem like a good deal at the start, it really pays off in the long run. Another idea is to network with people in the industry. Try to set up information interviews with career counsellors already in the field and contact associations. A good one to try is the Career Development Association of Alberta. They also have workshops and conferences that can be attended by young people and the general public ­ a fantastic networking opportunity.

The future outlook for career counselling is excellent. So long as people continue to change careers and seek guidance, career counsellors will exist. Career counsellors can be found in urban and rural areas all across Canada and around the world. The trend of globalization is increasing the international demand for career counselling services as well. Many companies now have offices all over the globe and more people are accepting positions in foreign countries. Another trend that is emerging in the career counselling field is the issue of work/life balance. Because of technological advances, people today can work from virtually anywhere. As Emma says, "Work is portable now." You can take your laptop home with you, make calls from your personal cell phone, and e-mail in to work. As a result, people are taking on more work and leaving less time for life. The need for career counsellors to address this issue is increasing. Finally, as employers and jobs become more sophisticated, the need to be more savvy about marketing ourselves is growing. Career counsellors assist with this subject as well, making them an important tool for landing that all-important job.

Alberta Occupational Profiles (OCCInfo) - Career Counsellor/Advisor

National Occupational Classification- 4213 - Employment Counsellors

Job Futures - Employment Counsellors

University of Calgary - Bachelor of Social Work

University of Alberta - master's and doctoral degree programs in psychology and educational psychology

Concordia University College - Career Development Course

Campus Alberta Graduate Program in Counselling

Athabasca University's Master of Counselling (MC) program

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