Personal Narrative: A Career As A Career Assistant

The timeline in Fig 1.2 showing “events, high points and key moments in counseling history” since the beginning of the 20th century both interested and surprised me in several ways. Firstly, I was surprised to learn that, rather than evolving slowly in parallel with the medical profession in general in response to the needs of the mentally ill (perhaps more descriptive of the field of psychiatry), counseling as a profession was in fact pioneered by Frank Parsons, or at least by the vocational guidance movement that he represented (Granello, 2012, p. 14). It is interesting to me that career guidance is still an important part of counseling, (Granello, 2012, p. 18) since Frank Parsons struggled with this personally and identified it as a need in society. On consideration, I realize that it makes a great deal of sense that finding an enjoyable and appropriate career has a huge impact on personal well-being, and therefore one’s mental health. Frank Parsons identified an important aspect of society (lack of education regarding suitable professions) that he felt might contribute to its dysfunction, and wrote a number of books, including “Choosing a Vocation” (Granello, 2012, p. 14). Although at first this seemed to me a surprising initiator of the Counseling profession, it is probably quite a natural one.

Imperative 5 – There must be an interactive approach between student, advisors, faculty, and parents to create a collaborative goal to further the student’s career development. This for sure was not a strong point. Academic advising was separate from the career services department. It was very much two different worlds, advising and career development. After recently touring the University of Wisconsin-Parkside and seeking how their integrated academic and career development departments were one, it dawned upon me how that integration is valuable. UW-Parkside really noted how the two areas go hand in hand and they capitalized upon that change, in terms of student success. The Career / Academic center at Parkside is very well noted for that very reason. Obviously, that was such a great shortfall of the undergraduate institution I attended.

What I have learned over the time in this course is career counseling incorporates all aspects of the individual. Yes, career counseling is focused on helping people find that career that fits them best matching their interests and personality but deals with other issues in the individuals’ life. The theory that resonates most with me is Holland’s theory and the use of Self-Directed Search (SDS) to identify interests, abilities, and personality (Sharf, 2013). When we were able to complete the Strong Interest Inventory and Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Career Report and compare the result with the SDS to recognize the consistencies. These assessments reinforced my choice of becoming a professional counselor, although with my past career history

I have chosen to become a counseling psychologist who specializes in helping people choose their careers. I chose this career because I would like to help people who are struggling to find the career that is right for them. According to the American Psychological Association, counseling psychologists assist people in understanding and taking action on career and work issues, they notice how issues and human beings vary across the lifespan, and they have a huge appreciation for the “influence of differences” among people (race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, disability status) on mental well-being (n.p). I wish to help people choose the best career for them based on their interests.

However, like many of my peers in the undergraduate community, I had a declared major but a persisting uncertainty and indecision about my future and career. Nevertheless, I continued to see myself in a personal setting with clients, where I could share psychological insight to those willing to open up and partake in personal growth. Through years of information, coursework, wise words from professors, and much personal insight, I decided to pursue a career in counseling

In the beginning, career counseling was strictly developed to help with job placement, but it became so much more than that after the career development was further researched by a group of theorist that focused on career process. What is it that drives us to choose a specific career path? According to Zunker (2012), different theorists such as Parsons, Holland, Krumboltz, Bandura, Super, and Gottfredson all developed theories on career development and their perspective on the importance of occupational process. Throughout this paper one will discuss the John Holland’s Typology and the significance of this particular career theory. Some of the points that will be covered in this paper include: history of theory, strengths and weaknesses, assessments used, population best fit for this theory, and diversity and

Currently, I am working as a graduate assistant to Dr Melody Eaton, associate director of the graduate program. Dr Eaton is an inspiring woman and provided me many interesting projects to complete. In addition to graduate assistantship, I am doing my practicum at the family practice and pediatric office. This semester I had an opportunity to work with MD and nurse practitioner (NP). This was the first time I had MD as my preceptor. This was definitely an eye opener to me because I noticed a difference in the approach of MDs and NPs. For instance, MD preceptor focused more on diagnosis and treatment while NP on connecting with their patient. Also, I noticed NPs were better able to convince the patient and MDs had deeper understanding of pathophysiology

A professional who holds a Master’s degree in counseling my also chose to have a career as a Vocational counselors. They may also be referred to as a career or employment counselors. These counselors offer counseling services in places other than the school setting. Their main objective is to help individuals with career choices, examine an educational background, employment history, skill and abilities, personalities and other aspects to help them. Additionally, career counselors may offer support services to people who have lost their jobs or experiencing career change issues (Baxter, 1997).

I have been working for the Alameda county social services since 01/1994 as an eligibility technician (ET) I, II and III and I was promoted to the employment counselor (EC) in 09/1998. As the employment counselor, I have got a lot of experience by working in different units such as Orientation, Assessment, Case management and Community Base Organization programs (CBO). With my responsibilities to assist individuals to become self-sufficient, I have been using The California Welfare Information system (Cal WIN) to issue support services for their activities such as attending schools, looking for jobs and going to work. At the current time, working in the case management unit, each month I have been using the system to issue electronic benefit

My major at the Bryant&Stratton Online College is Business Administration and when I graduate I will pursue employment in the Administrative Assistant career field. In addition to this, Business Administrative courses can also lead students to work as sales Representatives or Customer Service Representatives. Administrative Assistant career fields need employees to oversee general office management responsibilities that include creating, managing, updating and supervising essential business records for corporations. This career field also requires employees to carry out employment tasks that aid employers with operating and maintaining their corporation in the global market .This presented business document shows the education requirements

Throughout high school, I continuously explored a wide variety of courses in an attempt to figure out what career path I may want to pursue. As senior year drew closer, the business field became more enticing. Furthermore, my aspirations were significantly impacted on the evening of September 14, 2016. I woke up that day and left for school as if it were any other day. After school, I drove to the softball field because we had a game and it just so happened to be Senior Night: the last home game. When it came time for my first at bat, I stepped up to the plate and hit a line drive between the first and second basemen, successfully making it to first base. The next player up to bat hit a double; I rounded second and sprinted for third. I clearly remember my coach kneeling on the ground to signal me to slide into third base. For some unknown reason, I hesitated and slid too late. I knew it was a bad slide, but I was focusing on whether or not I was safe. Then reality set in, I was safe, but I was not physically capable of standing up.

For seven years, while I was going to school to obtain my Master’s Degree in Psychology, I was a personal assistant for friends, family, mentors, and their referrals. I have always enjoyed helping people in any aspect, whether it was organizing their home or office or listening to people’s wants or problems. I have found that compassion, empathy, mixed with the appropriate humor is one of the best forms of psychological remedies (Davies, 2013). While working as a personal assistant, I was referred to help organize a well-known psychologist firm in the area. Since I completed the paper filing assignment ahead of the end date, they found additional duties, such as maintaining their data and filing system on their computer system and moved one

With all of the topics discussed by Dr. Capuzzi and participating students (2017) on the conference call, the most meaningful topic for myself that was covered was the need to take a holistic approach to career counseling. Dr. Capuzzi stated that, even as career counselors, we are “dealing with the whole person –their physical health, their mental health, and their spirituality,” (2017, 21:20). He also noted similarities between career counseling and mental health counseling, and made a direct correlation and connection between the two. One way I will incorporate this into future work with clients is to seek understanding of an individual’s entire worldview, life experiences, and culture, as opposed to narrowing the focus simply to discussions surrounding career exploration and difficulties (or successes). Helping

It was very exciting to see the Administrative Secretary job posting last spring at Twindly Bridge Charter School! Then I was even more excited to receive a phone call from Mr. Weetman offering the position. Now, I’m ever more engaged and everyday amazed by the dedicated families of Twindly Bridge.

I have been trained to become a chemist since the first year of my high school. This is a challenging career, requiring analytical thinking, attention to details, and adaptability. It is also a well-paying and promising career. However, chemistry is not what I have always dreamt of doing the rest of my life. As someone who is concerned about the development of sub-Saharan Africa, I came to a conclusion that what this region needs is not only scientists but also people who know and understand leadership and international affairs. In this paper, I compare my strengths and abilities to the qualities that one should have in order to excel as a chemist and a diplomat.