School counselor jobs do not just involve advisory sessions with students and parents; they also require an academic counselor to administer various tests and to be able to evaluate the results. Some test results can help determine the sort of career a student would be most suited to; others can help identify learning styles and academic abilities.
According to the Princeton Review, guidance counselors have the highest attrition rate of all the professions examined in their publication, with 60 percent of counselors leaving their positions in the first two years. However, those who remain in the profession have one of the highest levels of satisfaction of any profession covered in the Review.
Necessary Qualifications
To become a school counselor, most states require you to have a master’s degree in Counselor Education/Guidance and Counseling. Some states also require applicants for counseling positions to possess experience as a teacher. Even if it is not required, teaching experience is helpful for school counselors, in that it supports their ability to relate to teachers and work within the school context.
Forty-two states require the master’s degree mentioned, and there may be additional training requirements in some states covering special-education needs, gifted-and-talented students, and technology use. In twenty-one states, you can’t be employed as a school counselor unless you have previous counseling or teaching experience. You require a current teaching license in eight states. Furthermore, to become a school counselor in twenty-two states you must pass a professional Praxis exam. In areas where there are major shortages in school-counseling staff, states may offer emergency or alternative pathways to certification. State-licensing requirements vary from state to state. In some cases counselor certification is enough to gain a license, in others you need to jump through some additional hoops. It is important to fully investigate the requirements in the state in which you plan to work.
Personal Characteristics
One of the most important personal characteristics needed for school counselor jobs is the ability to relate to teenagers and to genuinely like them. You need to be able to listen to what a student is saying and to really hear them with an open mind. A good sense of humor is also a helpful quality for a school counselor to possess.
Finding School Counselor Jobs
Once you have completed the necessary qualifications to become an academic counselor and have obtained a state license to practice (if necessary), you are ready to begin your job search. Education jobs, including school-counselor positions, are advertised on education job Web sites as well as on the major job-boards. The Internet has made finding school guidance-counselor jobs easier and quicker than ever before. The larger job sites allow you to search by category, location, and salary or to do an advanced search using keywords of your choice. You can even request an email alert to let you know whenever a new job becomes available that meets your specifications. This can save a lot of time scouring job ads.
Specialist education-job sites often have a large number of high school counselor jobs to choose from. These sites not only give you immediate access to selection criteria and job descriptions, but they often also allow you to apply online. This increases the number of jobs you can easily apply for and maximizes your opportunities for employment.
Employment agencies which specialize in education positions can also be excellent sources of school guidance-counselor jobs. You can search for these sites on the Internet and then check the jobs they have listed. It is a good idea to contact them to see if they can help you locate a suitable position. Many school counselor jobs are still advertised in the traditional print media, so make sure you regularly check your major regional newspapers. A lot of these jobs will also be advertised online, but not all of them will be.
Become a member of relevant professional associations and regularly check their Web sites and read their journal or magazine. Not only does membership add credibility to your job application, academic counseling jobs are often advertised through these organizations. They also offer services to their members which can support their career development.
Join the American School Counselor’s Association and access online resources to help you find new school counselor jobs and to build online relationships with other counselors. These relationships can not only be supportive and educational, they can also lead to friendships and contacts within the profession which can result in job opportunities.
Getting the Job Offer
In order to have a chance at being offered a school counseling job, you need to be able to meet the specific selection criteria for the position. If you have prepared well for employment, you will probably have the requisite skills, experience, and qualifications for such a role. However, you need to be able to quickly convey this to a recruiter. Not only must your resume be professional, but your application letter must directly and clearly address all the selection criteria listed for the job. If you do this, you have an excellent chance of being an offered an interview.
At the interview, you will need to dress well, be relaxed, and manage to project a combination of professional competence and friendliness. If you do this, you have an excellent chance of being offered employment. Be willing to persist and don’t become discouraged if you don’t get the first job you apply for. Applying for jobs is as much a numbers game as anything else; if you don’t give up you will eventually win.
