1. What are the different types of individuals who can help you within the career services field?

There are a variety of occupations in the career development field, including career counselor, career consultants and career coaches. You can use the National Career Development Association’s Career Providers Comparison Chart to understand these differences, including education, credentials, and practice focus.

2. How much can I expect to spend on the services of a career development professional?

Prices for services vary and may depend on a variety of factors including the type of service provider (coach vs. career counselor), the nature of the career issue, and the career development professional’s geographic location. The national average seems to be between $75-$150 for a particular service (for example, writing a CV) to $150-$500 for a series of services (assessment tools, 1:1 coaching, etc.). However, we recommend that you ask a career development professional about their fees during your initial consultation with them.

3. What services do career development professionals offer?

Career development professionals offer a variety of services and may be able to support you in the following career/professional development stages. Similar to many psychologists who may have expertise with a particular clinical issue or population, many career development professionals have expertise in a particular area (say self assessment and career exploration of your options, vs. positioning oneself for advancement at your organization), or subgroup as well (Working with APRNs positioning themselves for nurse leader jobs, physicians exploring career options, PhDs interested in careers outside of academe, etc.). While it's important to work with someone who knows where you've been, it's more valuable to work with someone who has experience with where you're going. For example, if you're a PharmD who wants to understand your options, it helps to work with a coach who has demonstrable experience in using assessment tools (including self awareness about which tools they use - e.g., MBTI vs Strengths Finder - and why), and an understanding of career options for pharmacists. If you're specifically interested in moving into entrepreneurial pursuits, it's useful to work with someone who has a track record or a well defined approach to helping pharmacists develop their goals and establish their brand, etc.).

In general, career development covers four areas: 

Self-Assessment

• Explore your values, interests, skills and personality/preferences.
• Articulate what is meaningful to you, the activities and tasks you find rewarding, your current strengths and growth areas, and how your preferences influence work behavior.

Career Exploration & Decision Making

• Learn more about career options for individuals with your interests, skills and training.
• Identify and research potential career paths, and to investigate specific positions.
• Gain the skills to network to explore careers, meet individuals in your professional communities, conduct informational interviews, and maintain professional relationships.
• Support you in the career decision making process, including helping you gain an awareness of the internal and external factors affecting your decision, identifying your options, and gaining an understanding of your decision-making style.

Positioning Yourself To Be Competitive & Organizing a Search

• Develop your ability to position and present yourself successfully for any opportunity.
• Gain the skills to organize a search for any opportunity , write persuasive application materials, interview successfully, evaluate and negotiate a compensation package, and accept or decline an offer professionally.

Professional Success Skills (Career Management)

• Develop the ability and skills required to excel in your field of choice.
• Identify the skills required to successfully transition into a new position, such as how to establish yourself in a position in the first 6 months; how to determine, meet and exceed work expectations; and how to assess a supervisor's work style (e.g., management, communication and conflict management styles).
• Develop your professional identity and brand.
• Articulate a personal definition of what it means to have work/life integration.

Depending on the career development professionals’ role and training, they may support you in the above areas through a variety of ways including:

• Administering and interpreting self-assessments
• Helping you develop a plan to meet your short and long term professional goals
• Informing you about career options for individuals with your training, experience and interests
• Assisting you with accessing resources, experiences, and opportunities that will help you meet your goals (For example, coaching you in networking/using LinkedIn/Doximity, etc., informational interviewing, tailoring CVs and cover letters, interviewing and compensation negotiation skills, etc.)
• Working with you to assess if you have gained and applied the relevant information and skills to move forward towards your definition of professional success

4. Where can I find career development professionals?

Besides the list of career development professionals on this website, other places to find career development professionals include:

• Seeking referrals from friends, family, and/or colleagues.
• Contacting your undergraduate career center.
• Identifying board certified counselors through using the “Counselor Find” function of the National Board for Certified Counselors. Refine the search by choosing “Career Development” as the area of practice.
• Requesting a list of licensed counselors from the board that oversees the licensing process in the state where you seek counseling services.
• Searching for career development professionals from the “Need Help” section of the NCDA Resource page.

5. What are some questions to ask myself before choosing a career development professional?

Before choosing a career development professional, here are several questions to ask yourself to help you assess your career needs:

• Why are my goals?
• What am I hoping to gain from the services of a career development professional?
• How much am I willing to spend on their services?
• How much time am I willing to devote to this process?

These are questions that a career services professional may also ask you to assess if their services can meet your needs.

6. How do I select a career development professional?

Often, prospective clients can schedule a preliminary conversation/consultation with a career development professional to see if they are a good match for each other. This is an excellent time to ask questions that address the career development professional’s qualifications, approach, areas of expertise and process, because choosing someone you are comfortable with is key. Below is a list of sample questions to inform your decision:

• Can you tell me about your qualifications (education, training, certification, licensure, credentials, etc.)?
• Which professional associations do you belong to?
• What Code(s) of Ethics do you adhere to?
• What is/are your area(s) of expertise?
• What techniques/strategies do you use in your sessions with clients?
• I have a professional/academic background in _______. What is your experience working with clients with this background?
• I would like to seek services from a career development professional to address _______ . What experience do you have with ________?
• What are your fees?
• What results can I anticipate from our work together?
• Are our sessions confidential? Can you provide me with information regarding the confidentiality and privacy of our sessions?

Disclaimer of Endorsement for third party services referenced

Reference herein to any third party services by trade name, trademark, or otherwise, does not constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the University of California, or any of its officers, board members, agents, employees, students or volunteers. The views and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the University, and shall not be used for advertising or product endorsement purposes. The University does not endorse any commercial product, process, service or activity identified by OCPD.