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Mountain Lake

Career Counseling Process

The career counseling process involves five linear steps:

  • Initiation

    • Establishing an effective counseling relationship

    • Determining current motivation for career counseling

    • Building relevance for career planning


  • Exploration

    • Help clients to implement aspects of their personal vision while simultaneously attending to issues of meaning and vocation

    • Formal assessments and occupational information sources

    • Information interviewing

    • Relational networking

    • Job shadowing


  • Decision-Making

    • Determine the most appropriate option from the alternatives that have been explored to this point.

    • Create a comfort with a normal level of ambiguity involved in the job search.

    • Implement formal decision making models.

    • Utilize “what if?” scenarios for appropriate alternatives.

    • Create a consequences matrix for top options. 


  • Preparation

    • Plan the specific steps required to implement choices determined in decision-making process.

    • Develop an action plan

      • Create contract between counselor and client for agreed upon next steps.

    • Develop prerequisite skills and resources for implementation.


  • Implementation

    • Carry out the action plan

      • Develop support through nurturing facilitative relationships.

      • Develop systems for feedback and reward.



Magnusson, K. C. (1995). Five processes of career planning. Eric Digests. 95(65), EDO-CG.

Career Counseling Process: About
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