How to Choose the Right Career Counselling Service

The report is not the outcome

A career counselling engagement produces two things: an assessment and a plan. The assessment tells a student what they are inclined towards. The plan tells them which entrance exam to register for, by when, which institutions are realistic, and what the family will need to fund. Services that stop at the assessment are selling half the work.

Four checks before you pay

First, ask who conducts the assessment and what their qualification is. Second, ask whether the service earns a commission from any institution — if it does, the shortlist is not neutral. Third, ask to see a sample report with the personal details removed. Fourth, ask what happens after the report: is there a follow-up session when results arrive and the plan needs revising?

Aptitude is a starting point, not a verdict

Aptitude tests are useful for narrowing a field from twenty options to five. They are not accurate enough to pick one. A good counsellor treats the result as evidence to discuss with the student, alongside academic record, interest, family circumstances and the actual employment picture in that field.

Involve the student in the decision

The most common failure we see is a decision made by parents on a counsellor's recommendation, with the student present but not consulted. Those decisions unwind in the second year of a degree, expensively. A counselling process that does not spend time alone with the student is missing the most important input it has.

Where to go from here

If this touches a decision you are currently making, our education consulting team can look at your specific situation. A first consultation is confidential and carries no obligation.