A humanistic approach to career counseling for youth

Includes bibliographical references (pages 74-76)Young people need assistance in career planning. The role of a Career Counselor is to help young people assess their skills and potentials for jobs as well as to train them to seek and secure the job they desire. The relationship that is set up by the career counselor is a key element to the success of the interchange. An open, warm, caring relationship is essential, especially in a career counseling relationship. Young people can easily be ???turned off??? by career information and leave their futures up to fate. This happens when they feel they are not encouraged to explore various alternatives. There are two major categories of career counseling. The first, called career assessment, is a process where the counselor begins to develop the counseling relationship. The young person, too, begins to trust and share with the counselor his/her life???s history. Assessment is a combination of the past (work experience, educational history, hobbies and interests), the present (motivation to work, work values, present needs for money), and the future (what do I want to be?, long-range planning, short-term goals). The second major category is called career skills. These are skills that are essential for a young person to learn in order to obtain and keep a job. These skills include: interviewing, assertive behavior, how to fill out applications properly, and writing a resume. In this project I will discuss career development theory, career assessment, career skills, and the history of the career education movement. My intent is to help young people and career counselors to better explore options. I will mention games that have helped young people in the past. I hope this can be helpful to others in the career education field