Our Approach to Career Counseling and Coaching

We know what it’s like to be in a job that is not a good fit, leaving you feeling confused, stressed, unhappy, or stuck. We can help you sort out your questions about work, figure out your criteria to make decisions and move forward more confidently, while mapping out a plan for next steps. The purpose of coaching is for you to achieve a new perspective on your situation. This helps provide clarity and direction.

We take a customized approach towards our clients; while clients have similarities, there are also unique factors that need to be addressed such as what’s meaningful for you, your financial situation, your responsibilities outside of work, and your physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being, to name a few. 

Learn about aptitude testing

Career Counseling and Career Coaching General FAQ’s

See our company specific FAQ’s

Is it worth seeing a career counselor? 

Many people are unhappy or unfulfilled  in their jobs because they are not sure if they’re in the right place.

1,680. That’s the number of hours in ONE year …if you work 35 hours per week, 48 weeks. That’s quite a chunk of your life.

Think of your daily investment of time, energy, and money into your job. It makes sense to meet with a trained professional who specializes in career guidance to ensure you are making the most of your working hours in service to your overall wellness. The benefits of seeing a career counselor include:

• The opportunity to think about a career, not just a job.

• A greater awareness of potential career paths that are a good fit for you

• Connecting your values, interests, and skills to additional work options

• Setting realistic goals and support to achieve them as you think along the longer career trajectory

  More questions? See our blog on the benefits of career counseling and coaching.

What do career counselors do? 

We help you understand which roles, environments, and tasks are a good fit for you. We provide general support on finding, applying, and interviewing for jobs. We’re not an expert in everything, so we’ll let you know if your goals are not a good fit for our services. We help people explore the question “What else is out there?” and better develop a career path, leaving clients feeling more satisfied with their professional lives. In addition, we provide general guidance on best practices in resume writing, networking, and interviewing to support you along the way towards your professional goals.

How do I find the right career counselor? 

In the DC , Arlington, Fairfax, Montgomery County area? See our blog on how to find a career counselor in DC.

This is an investment of your time, energy, and money, and it’s important to find the right fit.

First evaluate: Training and credentials - if this is important for you, look on an association page like the National Career Development Association for someone who can assist you. Read their bios and look for their education, work experience, and additional relevant training that helps them be up to date on best practices. See below for additional information on training and credentials.

Verify experience - how long have they been doing this work?

Previous client reviews - what can you learn from others who have worked with this person?

Here’s some questions to ask to see if you feel comfortable with the professional:

• What is your career guidance philosophy? 

• How do you determine a good outcome for clients?

• What other questions should I ask that I haven’t asked? 

What’s the difference between a career coach and a career counselor?

Please know that neither a career counselor or a career coach will jump to “fix” your issue and tell you what job to pursue.  We provide you with information and support to understand how you fit into various options and make decisions based on the other variables in your life both now and the future. 

Career Counselor Training: Often a Master of Arts degree in Counseling (which entails studies and practice on working with diverse individuals from various life background experiences, special training in how to listen, understand adult development, counseling theories, best practices, and various frameworks of implementation). In addition, career counselors take additional coursework in career counseling and may pursue additional training or certifications in career development. 

Career Coach Training: There are certified coaching programs which specialize in helping people in their career advancement. Not all career coaches seek education and training; some use their prior professional experience in Human Resources, recruiting, hiring, resume writing, etc. as a platform for their career coaching services. You can also find a credentialed coach through the International Coach Federation.

Certifications: Career development training to better understand how one’s personal attributes (interests, values, life stage, skills, natural aptitudes, personality, and strengths) come to align in the world of work. Certifications also provide information about the different industries in demand and the training, skills, and education that go along each pathway, resume development, interviewing techniques, and network building; helping clients build those skills for themselves. This is beneficial for most career counselors or coaches to have.

Coaching Philosophy: Career coaching is not like sports coaching where the coach is the expert - instructing the players on how and when to make a move. Career coaches meet their clients where they are and not where they think they should be. Actually, we come to the conversation with very few preconceived notions - you have a blank page to write your story. Coaches ask powerful questions to help you understand your situation better, and create awareness to think critically of how you are perceiving your circumstances, identify other “right ways,” to engage you in opportunities for small mindset shifts that can add up to create a larger, more transformational impact in your life. 

How do I get started?  

If you’d like to see if we’re a fit, please fill out the inquiry form on the Contact Us page and tell us more about you and what you’re looking for. Even if we can’t help, we’ll provide you with the information of someone that can. We take pride in providing an individualized response to all legitimate inquiries through the website!