Best Websites for Career Counseling

 There are a lot of great websites aimed at helping people at different stages in their career development and planning.  The following are some of my favorites.  They are not ordered because many of them are unique to the type of career development (i.e. some help with choosing a college, some help with  job searching).

 

 

1.       Careeronestop.com

This is a comprehensive website that shows state job banks, as well as salary, education, and resume information.  People can also learn more about careers using  this website.  This is a great website for clients in many stages of career development, from those who want to learn about career options to those who are looking for specific jobs to apply for.

5 stars

 

2.       Salary.com

This website shows salaries of many types of positions.  This is great for clients who consider salary to be a large factor in their future position and for clients who want to negotiate salary within a company.

4 stars

 

3.       Forbes.com

This site has career opportunities listed, as well as gives a wealth of information and articles on all things related to business, leadership, and entrepreneurship.  This is a great site for people who want to be entrepreneurs or get into the corporate world.

4 stars

 

4.       Hoovers.com

This website contains a directory of companies with information and names of people employed within those companies.  It is great for clients who want to research specific companies or get into contact with certain people within an organization.

4 stars

 

5.       Indeed.com

This is a website with job listings in many categories and cities/states.  It pulls from other websites to get a huge list of job postings.  It is great for clients who are job searching.

4 stars

 

 

6.       Onetonline.org

 This website contains a wealth of information about occupations, and it also links to state websites to provide state-specific information.  It is good for clients who want to learn about occupations and check out similar occupations.

4 stars

 

7.       Collegenavigator.com

This website has information about colleges, and allows people to search by location, degree type, and type of institution among other things.  This is great for clients who have specific requirements about schools of interest.

5 stars 

8.       chamberofcommerce.com

    This site allows people to find business listings in specific locations.  This is great for clients who are moving to a new location and want to job search or see what types of businesses are in that city.

        4 stars

 

9.       idealist.org

This site shows job listings, internships, and volunteer opportunities for non-profits across the country.  This is good for clients who want to get experience with non-profits organizations.

4 stars

10.   employflorida.com

    This website has job listings for various places in Florida.  It is good for clients who want to job search only in Florida.

        4 stars

Top Ten Places in Second Life

These are my top 10 places in second life for career counseling individuals. 

1.       SL Entrepreneur Magazine

This is a place devoted to business stories and ideas.  This would be great for clients who are interested in becoming entrepreneurs.

3 stars

2.       Find a Job/Work

This is a place where people can go to find employment.  This could be good for clients who need jobs.

2 stars

3.       Sky Learning Center

Sky Learning Center is a place where individuals can go to learn and improve language skills.  This is a great place for clients who want help with their English because they are interviewing or job searching.

3 stars

4.       Learning Virtuale

This is a place where people can go to get education on various subjects.  This could be good for clients exploring certain career fields.

3 stars

5.  Any Real destination

The real destinations are places that simulate the environment of real cities across the world.  These would be great for clients who are considering moving to other cities to work, but are not familiar enough with the city, want to meet others in that city, etc.

4 stars

6. Secret Garden

This is a peaceful place where people can come to relax.  It can be good for clients who have a lot of stress in their lives.

4 stars

7. Info Island: CVL Reference Area

This is a library where people can go and also get help from librarians.  This can be helpful for people who want to learn about things or have questions.

3 stars

8. Music Island

Music Island hosts classical and jazz music and multimedia arts in a relaxing setting.  This could be beneficial for clients who like music to relax or work.

4 stars

9. Olds AFB

This is a place where people can go who want to learn to be fighter pilots.  As someone who wants to work with military, this could be a good introduction for my clients who want to learn more about going into the military as a fighter pilot or possibly switching career fields.

3 stars

10. Hobo Island

This is a place where people can meet others in a friendly and fun environment.  This could be a safer environment for clients who want friendships or people to talk with for support.

3 stars

Counseling by email

This week I tested out counseling sessions via email.  In one case I was the counselor, and in the other I was the client.  As the counselor, I felt that I was doing much more work than the client, which is the opposite of what it feels like in face to face counseling sessions.  As the client, I felt that I wouldn't really be getting the help I needed, because the emails from the counselor usually had questions about my situation and not much else.  If I had been a long term client who had already gone through a lot of counseling with the therapist, I think email would be better.  I would worry that my client wouldn't say very much and would only respond to the questions I ask and not say more.  In a face to face session it is much easier to get the client to say more by using silence and non-verbals, but these methods do not work for email.  Email counseling is something I would consider as a career counselor, most likely only for clients who I had been seeing for a while or who needed minimal counseling and more advising, resume critiquing, etc.

Top 10 Blogs for Career Counseling Clients

 Here are the top ten blogs I like for career counseling clients at various stages in their career development.

1.      Small Business Ideas and Resources for Entrepreneurs Inc.com

This website is designed to give advice to people who want to become or are currently entrepreneurs.  This website is great for clients who are considering starting their own business and need ideas and advice.  5 stars

2.      Riley Guide http://www.rileyguide.com/  This website provides information related to all aspects of career, from scholarships for college to career transition and job loss.  This website would be helpful for many clients who are going through all phases of their career development. 5 stars

3.      Glassdoor-An inside look at jobs and companies http://www.glassdoor.com/blog/ This website has great information about companies, including salary, company culture, interview questions and reviews.  This website is great for clients who are researching companies and preparing for interviews. 5 stars

4.      Jibber Jobber Career Management 2.0 http://www.jibberjobber.com/blog/ The Jibber Jobber website is designed for managing professional contacts and also has videos related to interviewing and other job-search issues. This website is best for clients who are beginning the job search phase of their career development.  4 stars

5.      Career Rocketeer http://www.careerrocketeer.com/ This resource has information about resumes, job searching, social media, and many other things related to career management.  This would be a great site for clients who are trying to begin careers as professionals.  4 stars

6.      Things Career Related-A Practical Look at the Job Search http://thingscareerrelated.com/

This resource provides many tips for job seekers and other career related management.  This would be great for clients who are currently job searching.  4 stars

7.      Career Hub http://www.careerhubblog.com/ On this website various career professionals offer advice related to the job search process.  This site would be best for people who are beginning their job searches. 3 stars

8.      Resume Resource-resource for resumes & cover letters http://www.resume-resource.com/

This resource provides samples and guidance on resume writing and cover letters.  It would be helpful for clients who are searching for internships or jobs. 3 stars

9.      State University http://www.stateuniversity.com/blog/ This blog is for students who are considering college, and gives information about financing college, rankings of schools, and information about getting into college.  This would be best for high school students who have not yet decided whether or not to attend college and need more information. 3 stars

10.  Escape from Corporate America http://www.escapefromcorporate.com/blog/ This resource has resources and articles related to changing careers, mostly away from corporate careers.  This site would be most beneficial for clients who are trying to transition out of their current jobs and into another career field. 3 stars

eportfolio

Eportfolio is something I am very familiar with, as I used it while teaching SDS3340.  If I were an employer I would want to see an Eportfolio in addition to a resume, especially when deciding between my top applicants.  One can see the activities that qualify the applicant for the job, and can also see the soft skills that are more challenging to prove.  Unfortunately I don't think many employers know about the Eportfolio.  It is a great tool for our program also, because we can document that we've learned the CACREP competencies.  It's also great to use as a summation of all the work we've done while in graduate school - in class and outside of class.

Distance Counseling with Eluminate, Skype, phone, or text

I have considered distance counseling as a service I would offer, should I ever own a career counseling business.  I have thought of using Skype or the telephone as part of distance counseling, and also email for some things.  I have never considered using text or Eluminate until we tried it for class.  Texting could be good for quick questions or if someone can't reach me by phone.  It would not be as beneficial for counseling and/or for beginning sessions or the usual 50 minute sessions.  In person is definitely my favorite, but I could see myself using Skype and Eluminate.  I would want to know more about Eluminate and have some sort of tutorial to send my client if we were going to use that method.