Exploring Self-Reflection: A Career Advisor's Perspective

This essay explores the crucial role of self-reflection for a career advisor. It highlights how self-evaluation and awareness of one's skills, biases, and assumptions are essential for providing effective career guidance. The essay emphasizes the importance of understanding a client's strengths, weaknesses, interests, and potential, and how self-reflection enables the advisor to offer personalized and impactful advice. It further discusses the significance of active listening, communication, and the ability to motivate clients positively, ultimately contributing to their personal and professional development. The conclusion underscores that self-regulation and introspection are key to helping clients make informed career choices and achieve their goals.

SELF-REFLECTION 0
SELF-REFLECTION
CAREER ADVISOR
7/24/2018

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INTRODUCTION
Just as mirror gives us reflection of our image similarly self-reflection helps to
identify and self-evaluate our capability, capacity and skills honestly without any kind of
bias. In order to understand an individual’s skills and ability self-reflection is a crucial
concept. It helps us to understand who we are and what do we want to achieve in life? It
involves a thorough examination of one’s own mental abilities and emotions. To some people
self-reflection is just like GPS without which an individual cannot find that he/she is heading
towards wrong path or right path. In other words our aim can be achieved by accessing or
abilities and skills from time to time (Unstuck, 2018).
CAREER ADVISOR
The education system which prevails in the society gives more focus on delivering
academic knowledge of various disciplines to children (The Guardian, 2015). Very less focus
is given on a child to know who he is and what are his qualities and abilities. Although to
explore ourselves and to know our strengths and weakness is very important to achieve our
goal in life (Ramsay & Sweet, 2009). In order to get best in life it is important to get a better
understanding of yourself. Developing the concept of self-awareness of oneself is a starting
point of self-reflection (Bisson, 2017). It is very easy to judge and criticize the conduct and
behaviour of others but when it comes to us we hardly know about us. We feel that we are
always right and flawless. So to remove such misconception from our mind self-examination
is a must (Krech, 2010).
I am a career advisor or counsellor being a professional person my main aim is to
understand and assesses the ability, capability, capacity, skills and interest on an individual
and based on that gives him relevant suggestions and advice. My clients may be any person
he may be a student, adult, young person, unemployed person and many more. I by assessing
the personal skills and characteristics of a person give appropriate help and advice. To
understand these characteristics of an individual self-reflection concept plays a vital role.
Self-reflection means self-evaluation or it can be said that evaluation of an individual by
himself. This concept helps in advancement and overall development of an individual
throughout his life. I acts as a guide and mentor in making right choice about one’s career. As
per the ability of a candidate career opportunities are suggested by me.My role is to remove
any kind of confusion taking place in the mind of an individual and motivate them positively.
I identity the passion, willingness, concentration power and attention of an individual and
give their passion and interest a boost which helps in improving their morale. Career planning
is a crucial phase of life and confuses us a lot. One decision can change our whole life. It may
take us to the right path or it may lead us to wrong path. The choice is totally ours (Atd,
2014).
Being a career advisor some questions are always asked on priority basis from an
individual by me who has come for taking a piece of advice or for counselling. These
questions focuses on strength, weakness, skills, achievements, problems and their possible
solutions associated with an individual. For example: After completing high school a
candidate approached me for taking advice on what to opt in college. So the first thing I will
do is to try to know his interest, strength and weaknesses. Based on that only I can give a
valuable advice which can affect his life and career choice positively. Some candidates

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without accessing or evaluating their skills and interest randomly choose their career which
affects them lifelong. Therefore, it is very important to take decisions and plan career
accordingly only after proper self-examination of one self by itself. An individual conscience
helps him in self-regulation without involving any kind of bias attitude. Self-regulations help
to reveal the ability to question one’s own biases, preconception, stereotypes and assumptions
of an individual (Walsh & Osipow, 2014). For giving effective career advice proper listening,
questioning, communication and interaction process is a must by me. The aim of being a
career advisor is to enhance the interest of the client in which he can give excel performance
and serve as an asset to mankind. To give career related advice is a dynamic learning process
that can significantly contributes to my client’s development. I can contribute towards
effective development and decision making of my client by nurturing his passion and love for
something which he wants to achieve in life (Hughey, Nelson. Damminger & Wriggins,
2012). I should be the person with confidence, active listening and excellent verbal
communication skills in order to influence his client in a better way. I help in giving the
reflection of inner image and making aware about the potentials of a client his conceptions,
misconceptions, preconceptions, bias and many more. So that after knowing that he can make
a decision for his life.
CONCLUSION
Self-reflection is a key to evaluating, identifying and knowing one’s strength and
weakness. This can be said on the basis of above reading. An overall conclusion can be
derived that self-regulation helps in thorough inspection to answer the question of one’s own
biases, preconception, misconception, stereotypes and assumptions of an individual. I have
helped my clients by showing the mirror which gives a true and honest picture of their
abilities, strength, passion, weakness and willingness. Even I can only help my client when
my client himself demonstrate or reveal all his abilities, conceptions, assumptions and many
more characteristics of himself truly to me.

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REFERENCES
Atd. (2014). Fundamental importance of self-regulation. Retrieved from:
https://www.td.org/insights/fundamental-importance-of-self-regulation
Bisson. M (2017). Coach yourself first: A coach’s guide to self-reflection. UK: Troubadour
Publishing Ltd.
Hughey, K.F., Nelson, D., Damminger, J.K., & Wriggins, B.C. (2012). The handbook of
career advising. San Francisco: John Wiley & sons.
Krech, G. (2010). Naikan: Gratitude, Grace, and the Japanese art of self-reflection. USA:
Readhowyouwant.com.
Ransay, G., & Sweet, H. (2009). A creative guide to exploring your life: self-reflection using
photography, art and writing. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
The Guardian. (2015). What role should teacher play in career guidance? Retrieved from:
https://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2015/mar/26/role-teachers-career-
guidance
Unstuck. (2018). The ultimate guide to successful self-reflection. Retrieved from:
https://www.unstuck.com/advice/ultimate-guide-successful-self-reflection/
Walsh, W.B., & Osipow, S.H. (2014). Career counselling: Contemporary topics in
vocational psychology. New York: Routledge.

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