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Career counselors provide guidance on job changes.


OK, so you're an executive in a mid-career slump and you're thinking maybe it wasn't such a great idea to follow in your father's footsteps as a stock-broker.

The long hours are a killer, finding new clients isn't as easy as it used to be and, hey, you've always wondered what it would be like to be an advertising executive - or maybe a real estate agent.

If you're really serious about making the change - and you're ready to spend some cash exploring your options - your first step might be visiting a career counselor.

Although there are no hard numbers for how many career counselors practice in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. , the National Board for Certified Counselors The National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) is a private, non-profit organization, run by professional counselors, that administers a national professional certification program for people who hold graduate degrees in the field of counseling.  Inc. in Greensboro, N.C., lists more than 35 of its certified career counselors as being located in L.A. and surrounding cities.

There are countless other career counselors who may not be certified with the national board but who counsel in settings ranging from high schools and universities to private practices and out-placement firms.

Dean Porter, owner of Consultants in Career Development in Long Beach, said that most career counselors have master's degrees master's degree
n.
An academic degree conferred by a college or university upon those who complete at least one year of prescribed study beyond the bachelor's degree.

Noun 1.
 in counseling and have taken additional courses in the field.

Porter, who has been a career counselor for 18 years, said that executives interested in a career change are more likely to go to someone like her than to a college extension course or workshop.

"They're not going to have the time or the patience," Porter said. "Executives will probably want one-on-one consultation by appointment with a professional."

Porter, who sees about 20 people a week, said her plan for counseling varies significantly based on the needs of the client, hut typically involves six to seven sessions.

During those sessions, Porter identifies the client's needs, administers skill and interest tests, identifies the client's life goals and helps the client develop a plan for what he or she will do once counseling is complete.

A one-and-a-half-hour session with Porter runs $100, and a complete seven-session program typically runs $750, including test-taking and workbook work·book  
n.
1. A booklet containing problems and exercises that a student may work directly on the pages.

2. A manual containing operating instructions, as for an appliance or machine.

3.
 materials.

Susan W. Miller, a career counselor in L.A.'s Miracle Mile Miracle Mile can refer to the following places:
  • Miracle Mile is a main street in Stockton, California, outside the University of the Pacific
  • Miracle Mile
 district, said that a large number of clients she sees only need one or two sessions.

"In the course of a year, we see over 200 private practice career counseling Noun 1. career counseling - counseling on career opportunities
counseling, counselling, guidance, counsel, direction - something that provides direction or advice as to a decision or course of action
 clients," Miller said of her firm, Vocational Training Consulting Services Noun 1. consulting service - service provided by a professional advisor (e.g., a lawyer or doctor or CPA etc.)
service - work done by one person or group that benefits another; "budget separately for goods and services"
. "Career counseling by nature is short term."

Miller's rates are similar to Porter's - $75 an hour. Miller said that although her average client tends to visit her only a few times, she does have clients she works with for longer periods of time, including one she's been counseling for more than a year.

Miller and Porter - as well as other career counselors - rely on standardized tests A standardized test is a test administered and scored in a standard manner. The tests are designed in such a way that the "questions, conditions for administering, scoring procedures, and interpretations are consistent" [1]  to help them evaluate their clients' interests and preferences - the most common being the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Definition

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is a widely-used personality inventory, or test, employed in vocational, educational, and psychotherapy settings to evaluate personality type in adolescents and adults age 14
 and the Strong Interest Inventory. Some counselors also use a third test, the Career Beliefs Inventory.

Both Porter and Miller also ask their clients to fill out worksheets to help them assess their skills, identify their long-term goals Long-term goals

Financial goals expected to be accomplished in five years or longer.
 and decide what they are looking for Looking for

In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with.
 in a job.

For executives considering a career change but not ready to see a career counselor, other options exist.

Many university alumni associations hold annual or semi-annual career workshops and seminars.

UCLA's alumni association, for example, offers an annual career transition retreat, an annual career conference and job fair, and weekly workshops. Workshops cost between $15 and $30, while day-long seminars range from $65 to $85.

Cindy Chernow, director of alumni career services at UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles
UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University)
UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX
, said that hundreds of executives looking to make a career change visit the workshops and conferences each year.

"They're saying, 'I don't want to be a lawyer. I don't want to "I Don't Want To"/"I Love Me Some Him" is the third single released from Toni Braxton's multiplatinum second album, Secrets. Written and produced by R. Kelly, this ballad describes the agony of a break-up.  be in sales. Life's too short Life's Too Short is an episode of the HBO series Six Feet Under. Plot
Claire and Gabe reunite under tragic circumstances when Gabriel's little brother dies ffrom accidentally shooting himself while playing with a gun, and later ends up beaten up by his step-father during
, and this is not where I want to be,'" she said.

RELATED ARTICLE: Testing Your Career

Career counselors use three major tests to evaluate clients' interests and preferences. Here are sample questions from each of the three tests. There are no right or wrong answers.

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

* Do you prefer to

(A) arrange dates, parties, etc., well in advance, or

(B) be free to do whatever looks like fun when the times comes?

* What word in each pair appeals to you more?

(A) quick

(B) careful

* Are you

(A) easy to get to know, or

(B) hard to get to know?

Strong Interest Inventory

* Which activity do you prefer?

(A) dealing with things

(B) dealing with people

* Do the following personality traits describe you, yes or no?

1. prefer working alone rather than on committees

2. have patience when teaching others

3. can communicate easily with people of different cultures

Career Beliefs Inventory

Choose from responses ranging from "strongly agree" to "strongly disagree."

1. I want to become like a particular person I know.

2. Everything depends on my making the right career choice now.

3. Once I make a career decision, I will stick to it.

Source: Consulting Psychologists Press Inc.
COPYRIGHT 1997 CBJ, L.P.
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright 1997, Gale Group. All rights reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.

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Article Details
Printer friendly Cite/link Email Feedback
Author:Taub, Daniel
Publication:Los Angeles Business Journal
Date:Mar 31, 1997
Words:837
Previous Article:Starting over can mean forgoing a regular paycheck. (career change)
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