VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE: CHARACTERISTICS, WHAT IT IS FOR AND PROCESS - ECONOMÍA - 2025

The vocational guidance is a set of processes and tools used to help a person discover what to do with your life and what path to take, depending on their values, preferences, tastes and inclinations. It is generally used in the workplace, but it can also be used in totally different areas.

Finding which way to go can be really difficult for some people, as a multitude of factors come into play. Thus, the vocational guidance process involves the use of many tools and techniques, with objectives as different as promoting self-awareness or discovering which professions best suit one's personality.

Vocational guidance is generally aimed at young adults, who are the people who usually have the most difficulties with choosing a path. However, individuals of all ages and conditions can benefit from participating in a process of this nature whenever they need greater clarity about what they are doing.

If this process is carried out correctly, vocational guidance will help the person to identify a path with concrete steps to follow that will allow them to enter the workforce by performing an activity that fits their personality and preferences, and that also has specific reasonable chances of success.

Characteristics of vocational guidance

- Understands very different processes

Finding out what we want to do with our life can be very complicated. There are many factors that must be taken into account, both internal (such as our abilities, our personality, our age or our knowledge) and external (the most demanded professions or existing job offers).

Because of this, a good vocational guidance process has to include tools and processes of very different natures that help us clarify all these fields. The counselor will then help the person to make sense of everything they have discovered and will give them an answer that indicates what paths they could follow.

- The counselor has a companion role

When a person undergoes a career counseling process, they must bear in mind that there are no right or wrong answers and no single possible path. Because of this, the counselor can only perform a companion role, but the final decision must be made by the client himself.

Thus, during the vocational orientation the professional will carry out all kinds of tests and tests to help the client to know himself better. On the other hand, it will also show you different possibilities, it will give you all the information you request, and it will show you all the paths that could fit both the environment and your interests.

However, once the entire vocational guidance process has been completed, the client will be the one who has to make a decision and choose which path they would like to take.

- Can be applied in many contexts

Most of the people who seek to participate in a career guidance process have a very similar profile. These are generally young adults who have just finished their studies but are not satisfied with what they have done, and are looking for a path that satisfies them.

However, vocational guidance can be very helpful in all kinds of vital moments. Thus, it is common for people of all ages and conditions to seek to benefit from a process of this type.

For example, high school seniors might find career guidance helpful in deciding what to study, or even whether or not they should go to college. The same would happen with an adult who has been working for several years but is not satisfied with what he is doing.

What is career guidance for?

Today's world is more full of possibilities than ever, and traditional life models no longer work as clearly as they once did. Older generations typically worked in the family business or pursued a career, and then found a job "for life."

Today, the reality is very different. It is very common for people to change careers several times throughout their lives, and the options are much wider. At present, an individual has to face a lot of decisions regarding his professional life.

Unfortunately the traditional educational system does not prepare students to face these important decisions. According to the latest research in this regard, most young people feel lost and do not know what to do with their life, a phenomenon that becomes even more acute after completing official studies.

Vocational guidance seeks to fill this gap and help both young people and adults to achieve greater clarity in their path and to find a professional goal that allows them to fulfill themselves and achieve a good position in the workplace. Therefore, it can be very helpful for all people who feel lost or who feel they need some kind of change.

Vocational guidance process

As we have already seen, vocational guidance involves the use of a multitude of strategies, tools, and processes. However, all of them can be divided into two very different categories: those that help the person to know herself better, and those that allow her to understand her environment.

Professional analysis

The counseling process begins with the professional helping the client to better understand some key aspects of their own personality, such as their preferences, abilities, strengths and weaknesses, and interests. In this way, the person becomes more aware of what professional fields they could be successful in and which ones motivate them the most.

Labor market analysis

Once all these internal factors have been analyzed, the professional and the client together analyze the current job market and try to find a career that is not only interesting for the person and in which they can be successful, but that is in demand and has possibilities of growing.

Action plan

Lastly, in many cases the career counselor will also help the person create a personalized action plan and take the first steps to be successful in the career they have chosen together.

References

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2. "What is career guidance and what is it for?" in: Educoway. Retrieved on: April 25, 2020 from Educoway: educoway.com.
3. "Vocational guidance: what it is and what it is for" in: Psychology and Mind. Retrieved on: April 25, 2020 from Psychology and Mind: psicologiaymente.com.
4. "Vocational guidance" in: Definition Of. Retrieved on: April 25, 2020 from Definition Of: definicion.de.
5. "Vocational guidance" in: Wikipedia. Retrieved on: April 25, 2020 from Wikipedia: es.wikipedia.org.