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School Counseling Through the Ages: How the Job Changes as Students Grow Up

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Most adults hardly remember their school counselors – if their schools offered any counseling services at all. In the past, school counselors did little more than proffer college brochures and chastise “problem” students. Yet, as educational institutions progressed, so did the school counseling position.

These days, school counselors take much more active roles in students’ academic and personal lives. However, how school counselors function – their daily and year-long responsibilities – vary depending on the age of their student populace. If you are on the verge of earning your master’s in school counseling online, you should consider which grade levels you are interested in serving and how that could affect your career.

Elementary School

Grades K Through 6 or 8 / Ages 4 Through 11 or 15

School CousnselorBecause younger children don’t often have academic concerns – on the level of “What courses should I take to prepare me for this career?” or “How will my college application benefit from this extracurricular activity?” – elementary school counselors often only see students when there are emotional or behavioral concerns from teachers and parents.

Usually, a counselor’s workload will depend largely on the socio-economic status of the district. Students coming from families of lower income tend to have more trouble at home, perhaps lacking essentials like electricity or regular access to food and clean water as well as experiencing drug and alcohol use, the incarceration of relatives, and noisy environments preventing study or even sleep. However, there are some issues that arise regardless of income, such as physical and sexual abuse, depression and anxiety, self-harm and peer pressure.

Counselors at this level tend to have more autonomy than counselors at more advanced educational institutions. You will likely be the only counselor serving a school, and you might serve several schools at once. Though you will answer to school administrators, like vice principals and principals, you will likely be able to schedule your own day.

Middle School/Junior High

Grades 6 or 7 Through 8 / Ages 11 Through 15

What is true of children at elementary schools is also true of middle school kids – with the added complexity of burgeoning hormones. Puberty begins for most modern adolescents between the ages of 10 and 14, so almost all students in these grade levels will begin experiencing physical and emotional changes that often translates to more trips to the school counselor. In addition to troubles seen at younger grade levels, social, romantic and sexual issues begin to appear as does experimentation with various substances. [Read more…] about School Counseling Through the Ages: How the Job Changes as Students Grow Up

6 Ways to Streamline Your Job Hunt

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Searching for a new job can be overwhelming, especially when the search for a job stretches on for a long time. Between preparing your resume, crafting cover letters, and jumping through interview hoops, embarking on a job search can be one of the most frazzling and anxiety-ridden parts of modern adult life.

If you’re on the hunt for a new job, or facing the prospect of embarking on a job hunt, use these tips to streamline the search. This will not only make your job search more manageable, but could hopefully shorten the duration as well.

1) Treat a Job Search as Your New Full Time Job

You must treat finding a job as if it were your full time job. So you need a place to work where you can concentrate without distractions. Along the same lines you need to work full time hours. When you get laid off it is too easy to get into the habit of staying up late and then “sleeping in”. If you are going to be successful you need to be organized and spend your “work hours” creating a resume ( and then constantly tweaking it), seeking out potential employers, submitting resumes, interviewing and following up.

2) Be Selective

You should definitely apply to any job you feel you’re qualified for, but you only have so much time and energy to devote to job searching, so don’t waste any of it by applying for jobs you know you have no chance of even being interviewed for. Be realistic, but don’t sell yourself short, either. If you’re missing one or two of the qualifications asked for in the job posting, you might still have a chance of getting an interview, because companies know they may not find a candidate with all of the experience and skills they’re looking for. But if you’re missing several of the company’s desired qualifications, move on to the next job.

Apply this strategy to interviewing, too, so you don’t waste your time interviewing for a job that pays significantly less than your desired salary, offers fewer opportunities for advancement, or is otherwise not advanced enough for your skill set. Be honest when interviewers ask about your desired salary range, and if they don’t ask, don’t be afraid to ask the salary range during an initial phone screening. This might put off some employers, but most will understand that you need a certain salary or certain benefits and don’t want to waste theirs or your time by interviewing for a position that can’t compensate you as you require.

 

3) Use Your Network

Many people get jobs through [Read more…] about 6 Ways to Streamline Your Job Hunt