confessions of a career counselor
Sometimes I wonder if I’m a good career counselor. Or even a real one.
All signs seem to indicate that I’m at least decent. Students keep coming back. Feedback surveys return with full marks. (That’s literally years of hard data.) I’ve gotten thank you cards and flowers and chocolates. Even some people I’ve never met before who have read my career articles on The Muse have reached out to me to tell me I’ve been helpful. (Thank you kind readers!)
But, career counseling is not a very regulated field. In fact, anyone can decide that they’re a career counselor, throw together a website, and start accepting clients with no education, experience, or credentials.
That’s part of the problem. I don’t have an official certification that deems me a worthy career counselor and it drives me nuts. I want legitimacy. It’s a weakness of mine. I’ve read everything related to career counseling and job searching that I could get my hands on. I’ve been to all sorts of trainings—Global Career Development Facilitator training, Strong Interest Inventory training, MBTI training, etc.—and loads of industry conferences, but nothing feels the same as getting a diploma.
This makes no sense. I do have a diploma in sociology and another in education, but I’m a far better career counselor than I am a sociologist or teacher. Still, every time I come across a hack career coach, a pang of fear strikes me. Is that what I am?
It doesn’t help that my “counseling” is about 50% giving pep talks and 50% asking questions and listening. That’s it.
Okay, maybe 25% pep talks, 25% industry knowledge, and 50% asking questions and listening. Does that count as counseling? Can I call myself a career counselor?
Imposter syndrome is everywhere, but it seems especially rampant at MIT. I see it all over the place here, but not always where you might expect. Students definitely have it, but I see it in staff, too. And, even though I’ve given at least a thousand pep talks at this point, maybe I’m not quite as immune to it as I think.
It’s a tough nut to crack. Feeling like a phony or that you’re going to be “found out” has huge ramifications when it comes to work. You might be less likely to go for promotions. Or perhaps you work longer hours than your colleagues in an attempt to “prove yourself.” Maybe you don’t negotiate, even when you’re in a position to. You probably seem less confident, because, well, you are. It’s likely you don’t toot your own horn, which frequently is the only way for people to know how much work you’ve put in on something. You could start thinking you don’t deserve a seat at the table. The list goes on.
Here’s what I try to remind myself. I’m certainly not a mental health counselor or a therapist or any kind of certified counselor. I know that. And maybe it’s not right for me to call myself a career counselor. Whatever you want to call it though—career counseling or career coaching or professional development management—I am good at it.
It’s important for me to stop trying to seek external validation as a way to determine whether or not I’m worthy of my profession. Instead of grasping at the tendrils of something intangible like legitimacy, I need to define what success is and then focus on the results. Which is great, because mine are good. It’s all the same stuff I say to students, but man is it hard to take your own advice.
Yes, my counseling is rather simple. I ask a question. I listen. Then I ask another. I repeat back what I think I heard. Sometimes I sprinkle in a bit of pep. Rinse and repeat. It’s not complicated. But, something about this process works. Students leave with a clearer sense of purpose and a few actionable next steps. They feel better. Honestly, I don’t even know why it works—which is another part of the problem. If I did, maybe I wouldn’t feel like an imposter when I tell people I’m a career counselor.
So, why am I telling you all this? Lately, I’ve been wondering if this little bit of magic—and it does feel magical since I don’t know how it happens—might translate via the written word.
I’ve just been dying to write. Or, perhaps more accurately, I’ve been dying to write something other than the stuff I’m supposed to be writing. (Read: manuscript I haven’t touched in months.) I’ve written about careers before and gotten a lot of love for it, so here’s hoping.
Thanks for reading this pep talk I wrote to convince myself I am qualified enough to have a newsletter even though I don’t have any experience with this medium. I hope you’ll come back next week when I attempt to address another career conundrum in an overly personal and rambling way. Agh, go away imposter syndrome! I mean, tune in next week for my incisive take on another career quandary. :)
interesting reads
Adam Grant writes about why we shouldn’t ask kids, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Read on.
One of my favorite career articles that covers how a couple of kooky questions can get you thinking about your career in a whole new way. Here you go.
cool jobs
Apple has a role for an AR Prototyping Engineer. Augmented reality + throwing prototypes together = a pretty cool job. Apply here.
Work with me! The MIT Media Lab is looking for an Academic Administrator for our Program in Media Arts & Sciences. More info here.