WHOLISTIC APTITUDE TEST & COUNSELING

Career Counselling Career counselling is a focused process of counselling that enables an individual to gauge his abilities, interests, aptitude and personality dispositions and, based on these make informed choices regarding education and career. Although career counselling can provide useful inputs to an individual at any stage of life, it can provide immensely important inputs for the adolescents who are poised at the verge of making crucial decisions regarding choice of academic subjects for higher education or choice of vocation. Every individual is bestowed with certain abilities and skills, which can be used at best in certain careers. Identifying correctly which career one is best fit for will help individuals, parents and trainers in making informed decisions about the career selection for a son, daughter or a student.

Career counselling can often be used as a generic term for many processes that may or may not actually mean career counselling, for example the parents convincing their child to opt for a particular academic stream or a professional course based on their own experience and knowledge; or a school putting the students in science/ commerce/ arts streams in the class 11th based solely on their academic performance. In both the instances, the well-meaning adults make the adolescents comply by their decisions, which may or may not be actually commensurate with the child’s true potential. A career counselling process based on sound psychometric testing process and supportive counselling can provide the answer in this regard, by helping the child realise his or her true potential. In today’s competitive environment, knowing about one’s potential is crucial for success. And the earlier one attains this awareness the better he/ she can groom his /her true talents and move with zest towards the chosen career goals. Further, academic and training institutions also require the same knowledge to judge who among their students are fit for certain careers and who are not. On the basis of such information, they can teach, guide and place students in the careers/specializations best suitable for each student.

THE PROCESS OF CAREER COUNSELLING

The process of career counselling can be easily understood through the following steps:

1. Career and Educational Awareness Session:

A lecture or seminar that provides information regarding the choices available to the students at different junctures. This includes an informative session regarding career/academic choices available, and an interactive session about queries that the students/ parents may have.

2. Aptitude Testing:

This is the most important step in the process of career counselling. In this step the students undergo a certain number of psychological tests that bring out their interests, abilities, aptitudes and personality dispositions.

3. Aptitude Feedback:

As the next essential step, the students are provided a feedback based on their test responses regarding their academic potential and choice of careers commensurate with their interest, aptitude and personality.

4. Career Counselling:

The final step in the process of career counselling is one-to-one counselling session, during which the student and his/her parents are given a detailed feedback about the student’s specific abilities and aptitudes. All doubts and queries are answered by a trained professional psychologist, who has a sound insight into the individual dispositions as well as knowledge about the professional fields available.

Packages

Career counselling can be provided in two formats-

5. As a group session, wherein the students undergo psychometric testing following a career awareness lecture session. A written feedback is provided to each student in a few days’ time after their responses have been evaluated.

6. As individual counselling session, wherein the students are given a detailed feedback and a one-to-one counselling session with a professional psychologist to answer all their queries.

(The financial implications for the two kinds of sessions may vary to cover for the logistics.)