Friday, December 7, 2012

Career Counseling services

Career Counseling


Professional career counselors are available to assist you with a range of career-related issues on an individual basis, such as:
Together you may decide to use career assessments, use resources in our career libraries, or explore information online. These activities will help you make good career decisions. The number of appointments scheduled with a counselor will vary depending on the career issue(s) needing attention.

Top Reasons for Making a Counseling Appointment with a Creighton Career Counselor
  1. Get help with choosing the best major for you.
  2. Decide whether a job or graduate school is the best choice at this time.
  3. Take career, skill, interest, and value assessments in consultation with a career counselor.
  4. Build connections to the world of work.
  5. Develop your resume and cover letter, or personal statement for graduate school.
  6. Learn how to network with alumni and how to contact alumni mentors.
  7. Get help with interview skills and finding a job/internship.
  8. Evaluate job offers and learn negotiating skills and strategies

Fees

Fees

Introductory conversation
via email at: CreightonCareerCounseling@gmail.com - about half an hour

Please note: All additional consultation  programmes will be conducted via face-to-face/text Skype or email for your convenience. Payment instructions will be provided during introductory conversation.


Initial Single consultation: It includes preparatory exercises, one and a half hours, plus preparation time
£200
Career Counseling Programme: Finding Career Fulfilment
Four meetings plus psychometric questionnaires and self assessment exercises
£800
Career Counselling Programme: Boost your Job Search
Four meetings, plus CCS job search guide and networking companion and email and telephone support between meetings
£800
Further consultationsCharged on an hourly basis
£100
Transition Coaching 
Six meetings
£1000


Note: The above fees apply when sponsoring yourself. If you are sponsored by your employer, a different fee structure operates. All fees are subject to VAT. All payments are secure via PayPal.

Questionnaires and Self-Appraisal Exercises

Questionnaires and Self-Appraisal Exercises

At CCC, we make use of several questionnaires and self-appraisal exercises to stimulate and focus discussion. No single questionnaire or exercise can produce the ‘right’ answer. However, it may contribute significantly to the overall picture. Your Career Counsellor will help you identify recurring themes from the different exercises, thereby increasing your clarity and confidence in the results. This acts as a sound basis for developing a picture of your future direction.

Interest Questionnaires

These act as a basis for discussing what really motivates you. Your interests are the key to your energy, and your likely commitment.

Personality Questionnaires

Personality questionnaires can be important as they give you ideas on your suitability for a variety of work environments, your strengths for coping with different people in differing situations, and whether you are likely to work better in a team or in a more self-sufficient role.

Self-Appraisal Exercises and Other Questionnaires

These exercises may reveal important themes relevant to career choice, change or development. They include:
  • Transferable skills
  • Life achievements
  • When do I thrive?
  • Work values
  • Career anchors
  • Job satisfiers.

Introductory Discussions

Introductory Discussions

Introductory discussions are free of charge, and last up to half an hour. You may have this in person or on the telephone.
They give you an opportunity to talk to a CCC Career Counselor, ask questions, and hear more about our approach to helping you in your career. They also enable us to match you with an appropriate career counselor. And to recommend the best programme for you.

I would like a free, Introductory Meeting or Discussion (half hour)


Please indicate whether you prefer a face-to face meeting at our offices or a discussioy telephone:
 Face-to-face  Telephone
Please indicate when you will be available:
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Name: *
Company:
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Telephone:
Which CCC programme are you interested in?: *
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Please indicate whether you prefer a face-to face meeting at our offices or a discussion by telephone:
 Face-to-face  Telephone
Please indicate when you will be available:
First Choice
Second Choice
Third Choice
* required fields
Name: *
Company:
Email: *
Telephone:
Which CCC programme are you interested in?: *
Please type in this box * 

Please indicate whether you prefer a face-to-face meeting at our offices or a discussion by telephone:

Please indicate when you will be availab
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Name:*    ____________________________________________

Company:  ___________________________________________

Email:*    ____________________________________________

Telephone: ___________________________________________

Which CCC programme are you interested in?* _____________________________

Please submit your inquiries to: CreightonCareerCounseling@gmail.com

Transition Coaching

Transition Coaching

Making a Success of Your Next Job Role

No matter how ‘right’ a job or employer seems ‘on paper’, the reality can be very different from what you expect. There are proven ways to prepare yourself, which can be crucial in contributing to a successful job move.
Some of the following situations may apply to you:
  • I am just about to start a new role, and am keen to adjust quickly to the new environment. Can you coach me to develop strategies, tools or techniques that will enable me to do so?
  • I’ve recently moved to a new role and I’m finding the adjustment hard. I’m wondering if I’ve made the right choice. Can you explore with me what is holding me back, and coach me in ways to get on top of this job?
  • My organisation has recently been through significant change, resulting in a shift in key personnel. I am keen to adapt swiftly to the new situation. Can you enable me to identify ways of demonstrating my strengths to respond to the demands of the new structure?
This CCC coaching programme will enable you to:
  • understand the transition you are facing, its impact on you and the critical skills and strategies to apply
  • envisage what success means to you in your new role
  • be clearer about how you function ‘at your best’
  • find ways to understand the informal culture of the new environment
  • capitalise on your strengths and identify ways to manage your vulnerabilities
  • address ways to accelerate your learning in the new job
  • plan to establish early successes
  • develop ways to work effectively with the key people around you.
This programme will enable you to adapt and be effective in your new role more quickly. Both you and your employer will gain.
After your initial meeting, we will agree how many further meetings are needed. The usual number is four-eight over a 3-6 month period.

Boost your Job Search

Creighton Career Counseling Programmes

Boost your Job Search

Stage 4: Ensure you Get What you Want

At this stage, you will want to devise the best ways of achieving your goals, the CCS boost your job search programme consists of four meetings, each about 1.5 hours.
These are the areas you might cover with your Career Counsellor:

Job Search Strategy

  • targeting employers
  • setting yourself daily and weekly goals
  • considering alternative plans of action
  • keeping resilient in the face of setbacks
  • using your support networks

Developing an Effective Curriculum Vitae

  • making your CV stand out from the crowd
  • using language effectively
  • using layout to highlight your key strengths.
We will give you exercises from the CCS Job Search Guide, which contains model CVs and many tips, tools and practical exercises. We will help you to develop at least one excellent CV. You will also learn how to produce your own CV for the future.

Powerful Networking

  • identifying job leads
  • building bridges with others
  • gathering information
  • networking to solve problems
  • generating ideas
  • developing your listening and questioning skills.
The CCS Networking Guide gives you many tips and guidelines on networking. Your career counsellor will coach you in how to use them effectively.

Making Interviews Work for you

  • improving your interview technique
  • presenting yourself confidently
  • matching your responses to the job
  • dealing with tricky questions.
Your Career Counsellor may decide with you to do a practice interview session. This may also be recorded and reviewed. This enables you to see the improvements you make.
We will also use exercises from The CCS Job Search Guide, which includes typical interview questions and suggested responses.
By this time, you will feel more ‘in control’ when going for your next interview.

Finding Career Fulfillment

Creighton Career Counseling Programmes

Finding Career Fulfillment

Stage 1: Know Yourself
Stage 2: Explore Ideas and Opportunities
Stage 3: Make a Career Decision
How the Programme Works

Many people risk the danger of making a rash decision about their future work, without doing the crucial preparatory work of Stages 1 and 2.
Stage 1 prepares you to make more focused plans for your future, and ensures the groundwork to produce better CVs and interview results. Stage 2 gives you the ideas and targets designed to motivate you to succeed. You will achieve success at Stage 3 with a combination of CCS exercises and personal reflection and research. In Stage 4 Boost your Job Search we help you to make your goals happen with some sound coaching on CV and interview preparation, job search strategy and networking.

Stage 1: Know Yourself

This is the fundamental preparation which should be undertaken prior to making a decision about your career and personal development. It enables you to address the questions ‘who am I?’ and ‘what do I want?’ It may include the use of tests, questionnaires and self-appraisal exercises to help you address your:
  • Transferable Skills (what am I good at?)
  • Interests (what am I motivated to do?)
  • Values (what is most important to me?)
  • Personality (what work roles and environments would suit me?)
  • Career Drivers’ (what are my key career needs?)
  • ‘Past Positives’ (what activities & environments enable me to thrive and be at my best?)
Further exercises will enable you to clarify these results, leading to the creation of a ‘Job Template’, a summary of those key elements you must have in your work life.

Stage 2: Explore Ideas and Opportunities

With the increased clarity and confidence which Stage 1 can provide, you will be in the best possible frame of mind to think about and brainstorm ideas for your future. These could be about:
  • ways to improve your prospects
  • how to develop your potential
  • alternative roles
  • different work environments
  • new or complementary careers
During the meeting with your Career Counsellor, you will first ensure that your Job Template (what you must have in a job) is as accurate and specific as possible – so that you can pass the employer test – in other words, be able to answer clearly a prospective employer’s question: “So what is it you are wanting from a job?
Stage 2 can also help you develop a clearer vision for your future .

Stage 3: Make a Career Decision

We will give you exercises to help you assess the suitability of different options, and decide on the ‘best fit’. We will also help you to set realistic goals and devise small and relevant action steps to achieve them.
After your ‘ideas’ meeting, you will need to read materials and talk to employers and contacts who know about your areas of interest. CCS can give you details of relevant websites and other relevant sources of information. We have an extensive knowledge of relevant web based material and will give you concrete information to take away, where possible. This may include further information on diverse careers, training courses and grant-giving bodies.
During Stage 3 we will work with you to develop realistic Action Plans. You will also have gained a decision-making toolkit to use again and again.

How the Programme Works

Introductory Discussions

We always invite you to talk through your situation with one of our Career Counsellors so we can decide on the most appropriate programme to suit your needs.

Stage 1

Written preparation

Stage 2

Consultation: Exploring (approx 1.5 hours)
  • Exploring your career, education and training to-date
  • Reviewing other life issues relevant to your career development
  • Agreeing general objectives for career counselling, for example:
    • do I need a change of career or just a different employer?
    • what are my strengths and weaknesses for those occupations which interest me?
  • Agreeing any specific objectives for career counselling, for example:
    • would I be happier in a larger or smaller organisation or unit?
    • would I fit better into a commercial or not-for-profit organisation?
    • would my strengths and qualities indicate a more generalist managerial, or specialist /technical, role?
    • how suited am I for running my own business?
    • am I more a ‘number one’ or ‘number two’?
    • how can I better use my creativity?
    • what kind of work activities would I enjoy more?
  • Agreeing written self-appraisal exercisesand questionnaires(most completed in your own time)

Stage 3

Questionnaires and Assigments undertaken between the meetings (allow up to 6 hours)

Stage 4

Consultation: Review (up to 2 hours)
  • Discussion of self-appraisal exercises and questionnaires(tape recorded, if desired). Our experience shows that using tapes is most helpful in enabling you to reflect on the discussion, the results and possible implications of exercises and questionnaires. The tape is, of course, yours to use as you wish. You might, for example, want to share it with a partner or friend
  • Exploration of your strengths, weaknesses and development needs
  • Agreeing ‘home assignments’ to aid your further reflection

Stage 5

Consultation: Planning and Action (about 1.5 hours)
Could include the following:
  • summarising your ‘Job Template’ - key elements for job satisfaction
  • identifying career and personal development opportunities and ideas
  • ‘reality testing’ : an initial consideration of resources and obstacles
  • agreeing ‘Action Plan ‘, including deadlines, if appropriate
  • identifying areas to research further, and ways to achieve this

Stage 6

Progress Review (up to 1.5 hours)
This meeting can be taken up to six months after Meeting 4, without extra charge.
This could include:
  • Reviewing your action plan(s)
  • staying resilient
  • making a decision
    • maintaining your progress
    • identifying new action steps

Introduction to Creighton Career Counseling for Individuals

Job search and career management in the 21st century require more thorough preparation than ever before. At CCC we use a four stage approach: Chart of CCS Stage Approach
CCC career counseling enables you to gain clarity on what motivates you at work, your transferable skills and when you function ‘at your best’. The unique CCC Job Template guides you to seeking work opportunities most likely to suit you.

Above all, you will gain control of your career development and direction.
Have a read of the statements below. If any apply to you, go to Finding Career Fulfillment. If you are already clear about what you want from work, you may be ready for our Boost your Job Search programme. If you are about to move into a new role, you will find our Transition Coaching programme invaluable.
  • I want a fulfilling career. Can you help me clarify my strengths and weaknesses, so that I will make my choice wisely?
  • I am stagnating in my current role, but there are limited opportunities in the current economic climate. Can you help me to think through what I really want and could do, so I will be better prepared?
  • I have never had the chance to talk over my career aims objectively. Can you help me do this?
  • I feel at a career crossroads. Can you help me decide which way to go?
  • I’ve always drifted into my jobs. It now seems the right time to make a definite decision for myself. Can you help me gain a sense of direction?
  • I am fairly sure I want to leave my current job. But I am not certain whether to change career, seek a new employer or move within my current organisation. Can you help me decide?
  • I’m good at my job, but I don’t enjoy it. Can you help me explore what really motivates me?
  • I am uncertain whether the next ‘step up the ladder’ is suited to me. Can you enable me to gain a more independent view of my situation?
  • I’m interested in so many things. Can you help me focus?
  • My work life balance is currently out of kilter. Can you help me to regain some perspective, and consequently a more satisfying balance?
  • My skills and interests are currently underutilised. Can you help me to think through ways of better using them in or out of work?