Guidance counselors are invaluable assets to school districts, operating at the elementary, middle and high school levels. A school guidance counselor usually has a Master’s degree, and most states require counselors to be licensed.

Guidance counselors have to balance multiple roles when relating to students. They are a primary advocate for students, in both the students personal and academic lives.

Preparing students for the future:

It’s important for counselors to be able to make regular assessments of each student’s academic progress, so that they can be familiar with individual needs and goals. Advising a student on which classes to take and how to prepare for their academic and career futures is a cornerstone of a guidance counselor’s function. Giving out assessment tests, consulting with students regarding career goals and reminding them about scholarship and application deadlines are all regular duties for high school guidance counselors in particular.

Helping students with the present:

One of the hardest and most rewarding aspects of being a guidance counselor is helping students today. Whether it’s giving them the confidence they need to sign up for a particular class, or helping them through a troubled period in their lives, guidance counselors are important. Children coping with family issues, such as divorce, or social issues, such as peer pressure or bullying, often turn to their guidance counselor for advice. Even more importantly, a guidance counselor should be attuned enough to their students that they notice shifts in behavior or attitude even before the student brings it up!

But for somebody who is interested in helping others, who can really listen and wants to help guide children and young adults – for that person, a career as a guidance counselor can be a wonderful and rewarding occupation.

As mentioned on MSN Careers in the article Job Outlook for Class of 2007, the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) predicts college hiring will increase by 17.4 percent in 2007. This is the fourth straight year that new graduate hiring is expected to grow by a double-digit percentage.

According to the fall preview of NACE’s “Job Outlook 2007″ survey, employers cite company growth, retiring employees and high job turnover as key reasons for the rise in hiring.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ “2004-2014 Job Outlook for College Graduates” identifies seven prominent career fields that will have significant openings in the years ahead two of which tie in closely to school guidance counseling. (more…)

If you are a prospective School Counselor about to go on your first interview, it’s normal to feel nervous and unsure of what might be asked of you. Courtesy of Counselor Companion reader Tina, we present you with this guide to how a typical School Counselor interview might go. Tina has been a counselor with a special education focus, a counselor at a large public middle school and at a private high school. In addition to brushing up on your general interviewing skills, read about Tina’s experiences in School Counselor interviews. (more…)

Story by TeensHealth

Overwhelmed by classwork? Scared because your parents are splitting up? Worried about a friend? Feel like you don’t fit in?

Sometimes it’s just not possible to sort through tough times alone. Problems can build up and you may lose sleep, find you can’t concentrate on homework, or even become depressed. When you need to talk to someone, your school counselor (sometimes called a guidance counselor) can be a great place to start. (more…)

If you are on the path to becoming a guidance counselor, you’re heading toward a position that involves a great deal of interaction with others. Elementary-level school counselors through college-level guidance counselors work with students to promote and support their academic, personal and social development. It is essential for guidance counselors to be effective communicators, able to provide educational advice, career recommendations, and even help to those who may not be heading in the right direction at all.

Before you can secure your place in this field, you’ll have to successfully complete a different type of interaction process the job interview. Interviewing skills are important for any career field. However, guidance counselors not only need to excel to land a job, they should also be able to help future job-seekers with interview tips.

Learn from common mistakes made by others instead of committing an interview no-no. After all, as Kiplinger’s writer Peter Phelan states, the last thing you want to do is leave the wrong impression.

In his article, What Not to Say at a Job Interview, Phelan outlines 12 gaffes that could cost you a job. (more…)

Being a Guidance Counselor- Also known as school counselors, elementary- through college-level guidance counselors work with students to promote and support their academic, personal and social development. Guidance counselors help students at all stages of their educations to assess their abilities, interests, and personalities in order to develop healthy academic goals and emotional development.
Although being a guidance counselor is extremely rewarding, it can potentially become emotionally taxing. For that reason, potential counselors should have high emotional energy to handle the problems and stresses they may come across. An effective school counselor should want to help others and be able to inspire respect, trust, and confidence. Additionally, guidance counselors must follow a stringent code of ethics and privacy in accordance to their licenses and certifications.

Responsibilities and Duties- School guidance counselors emphasize preventive and developmental counseling to provide students with life skills and enhance students personal, social, and academic growth. They use dialogue, therapy sessions, tests and other methods to help students individually, in small groups, or in entire classes. (more…)

“Students in a handful of big-city school districts have a less than 50-50 chance of graduating from high school with their peers, and a few cities graduate far fewer than half each spring according to researcher Christopher B. Swanson.”

The study estimates the likelihood that a ninth grader will complete high school on time and with a regular diploma. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation sponsored the study.
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High school guidance counselors have one of the most noble and challenging jobs in the education system. Guidance counselors assist students and support teachers in a number of ways ranging from college or career preparation to health and safety issues to sensitive personal counseling and development. High school guidance counselors fill many shoes. Learn about the job of high school guidance counselor from the description included below.

Counselors assist people with personal, family, educational, mental health, and career decisions and problems. Their duties depend on the individuals they serve and on the settings in which they work.
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The Detroit News recently published an article online addressing the counselor shortage in Michigan’s high schools. Michigan ranks the fifth worse for high school guidance counselors. There are many students, particularly first-generation college students and low-income students who are hurt by a lack of qualified high school guidance counselors.

Read about the problem facing schools with a guidance counselor shortage, and the students who will have to figure out the college admissions process without the help of a high school guidance counselor.

Tell us what you think. How can we get more qualified high school guidance counselors? What are some of the best things you can do for students who struggle with the college process? Are there resources and tools available to help over-worked high school guidance counselors?

High school counselors are an important part of the entire high school experience. While most people never visit their high school counselor until they start preparing for college, high school counselors are involved in many aspects of students’ lives.

Most high school counselors assist students with personal, family, educational and mental health problems and career decisions. Serving as leaders, as well as effective team members, high school counselors work with teachers, administrators and other school personnel to make sure every student succeeds. Although a noble profession, becoming a high school counselor is not for the faint at heart.
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