FAQs

What is Career Consultancy?

Career Consultancy offers a supportive and facilitative environment to help you think through any current and pertinent career issues. It can help you to recognise and utilise your own resources to make career related decisions, in order to successfully manage career-related problems. Career consultancy can provide a virtual mirror which you can helpfully use to consider your perspectives of yourself and your preferences. You can then match this information against the world of work to determine and refine your career options. You know the best solutions to your own situation - career consultancy helps you to clarify these for yourself.

How does the process work?

An introductory discussion (by phone or face-to-face meeting) allows us to talk through the process and your career issues. After this, you will receive a report outlining the issues and proposing how assistance can be provided, including the expected duration. If you decide to proceed, you can then make your first consultancy session appointment. Subsequent sessions are often at weekly intervals. At the first consultancy session, we will take time to agree your overall goals. We will continually revisit these goals to determine the aim(s) of each subsequent session to make sure our work stays on track. Session content will depend on your particular objectives. Often we start by reviewing your career resources ( personality, interests, values, skills etc.) and using this basic information to generate appropriate and alternative options to help you move forward in the world of work. Reflection and challenging will help you draw your own conclusions on your career future. We can plan your route, define the necessary actions and help you tailor your CV and interview technique as necessary.

What are the potential outcomes?

Career consultancy can lead to:

  • Better self-understanding
  • Enhanced awareness of work or training options
  • Improved work/life balance
  • Improved confidence and optimism
  • Better career decisions and smoother work transitions
  • Improved self-marketing abilities

What career consultancy is not

Career consultancy will not provide a directive diagnosis of your career issue, an expert opinion on what you should do next, or a recommendation on your future direction. Career consultancy is also not a job search or work placement service. Whilst career consultancy is highly effective in advising you on where and how to access appropriate sources of relevant information and how best to promote yourself into the work roles you are seeking, securing a suitable work role is still your own responsibility.

Professional services

  • Each consultancy session would normally last between 1 and 1 1/2 hours . Charges are by the hour and will be agreed at the outset depending on the services required.
  • Psychometric tests and indicators are available if required. Costs vary depending on the instrument used, but would be agreed in advance.
  • Interview preparation and CV writing support can be arranged as required.

How do I know if I need personal career consultancy?

  1. Are you unhappy or experiencing problems in your current work situation?
  2. Are you actively considering a change of direction in your work or career?
  3. Are you attempting a return to work after redundancy or childcare responsibilities?
  4. Are you considering your options as you approach retirement?
  5. Could you do with some independent assistance in progressing your career future?

If you have answered "YES" to any of the above questions then personal career consultancy may be assistance to you.

What to do next

Call to arrange a 'no obligation' introductory discussion about your work/career issue. Provided that a quiet and private area is available, meetings can be held at a location convenient to yourself.

What are Psychometrics?

Psychometrics help to assess job fit. Employers use them to understand if you will meet the requirements of the job on offer or not. If you get comfortable with them, not only will you do better in selection processes, but you can also use them to manage your career proactively.

There are two main types of psychometrics - 'Performance' and 'Preference'.

Performance tests are designed to determine a candidate's level of reasoning skill across three main areas - verbal, numerical and spatial. They are used when the job role requires significant skills with words, numbers or longer term thinking. The good news about these tests is that you can practice them. 'Kogan Page' allows you to practice performance tests for free

Preference tests have no right or wrong answers and are better referred to as assessments. They determine your own perspective of your Personality, Interests or Work Motivators. The output is in the form of individual preferences on personality trait or work interest scales. Employers use these to identify if you will fit the job role they have on offer both personality and interest-wise. A good fit means that you'll like the job and do well at it.

Completing Preference assessments can provide extremely useful information in terms of career direction. If you are an outgoing, extraverted person, you will need a lively, group environment to work in. Likewise, intuitive people will require more future orientated work roles with a strategic element. The output of these assessments can also suggest 'best fit' work roles for you, actual job titles, where you'd be best satisfied and therefore likely to perform well. They can also identify 'blind spots' where you may need to put some energy into developing if you're to further your career.

A career consultant can help you analyse your psychometric results. He/she can help you link them to personally profitable career directions which also make best use of the key skills, experience and qualifications you've collected in your work-life so far. Psychometrics can be invaluable in helping you develop your career

You can access professional psychometric and career consultancy services via Online Career Manager - www.onlinecareermanager.com.