I am excited to be included in the list of career coaches in Portland’s new career resource – Mac’s List. The terms ‘career coach’ and ‘career counselor’ are often used interchangeably. The key difference may be in the training and experience that each person brings to this role. A career counselor who is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) learned Career Counseling in graduate school and had to complete hundreds of supervised hours practicing their skills in an internship, followed by thousands of supervised hours after graduating. Altogether, an LPC in Oregon completed 3000 counseling hours under appropriate supervision. In addition, an LPC who is also a National Certified Counselor (NCC) passed a National Board exam that includes a large number of questions related to career counseling. Finally, an LPC is bound by ethical and professional standards set by the US State Board. A career coach, on the other hand, is not required to have any specific education, hours, or follow any ethical standards.
A career counselor takes the time to really listen to you. A career counselor uses a variety of tools, exercises and activities to help you identify your career goals and, critically, take action toward achieving them. After only a few sessions, you will have a much clearer sense of what type of career will give you the most joy and satisfaction, at which point you’ll be in the position to start developing an action plan to get there. Career counseling focuses on your personal strengths, talents and values and helps you build your ideal career path based on these fundamental factors. A career counselor works with you to find your true calling in the workplace – the career that will give you true meaning and purpose. Career counseling and career coaching is based on the premise that if you are going to spend eight hours a day or more in your job, it might as well be something that you love.
I am a Licensed Professional Counselor and a National Certified Counselor. In my private practice, I work with clients on issues such as:
- Choosing a career path
- Changing careers
- Deciding whether to leave a company
- Managing office politics
- Dealing with layoffs and finding a new job
- Creating work and life balance
- Interacting with difficult colleagues
- Dealing with stress and emotions at work
Some of the work we do together is similar to what you would do with a career coach. Contact me to learn more.