CAREER COUNCELING
UACS offers a variety of career services as well as individual career counseling to undergraduate, graduate candidates, and alumni.
Career development is an on-going process of learning, following flexible steps related to self-discovery, research on work possibilities, decision-making actions and setting goals. It sometimes involves interventions like the ones mentioned earlier. As a rule, the stages of such a process involve:
• Gathering information about yourself (roles, interests, values, skills, aptitudes, personal style, preferred environments, and developmental needs).
• Gathering information (mass media, networking, and informational interviews) on work possibilities in existing occupations, industries, and the labor market.
• Making decisions (identifying and assessing the possibilities, exploring alternatives, choosing short, medium, or long-term options).
• Setting goals (projecting and developing necessary steps) and implementing action plans.
What is Career Counseling
A self-exploration process related to the individual career related fields, such as: values, interests and skills leading to choosing specific career paths. This process needs to be guided by a professional certified Career Counselor/Facilitator, trained to conduct structured one-on-one sessions, asking the relevant questions and applying a vast set of assessment tools. As a result from this process, the individual can develop academic and career plans, or prepare for specific steps (i.e. job searching, deciding on the education opportunities, etc) as a ground for a successful and fulfilling career.
Possible results are:
• Self-knowledge for identifying specific abilities and growth opportunities.
• Information and selection/orientation toward a new occupation or career.
• Improvement in one’s confidence in a career decision previously expressed.
• Strategies for work adjustment /adaptation to a new workplace.
• Stress reducing strategies for the workplace.
• Strategies for increasing the level of work satisfaction.
• Strategies for coordinating personal roles with professional ones.
• Achieving a personal and professional balance.
In house career counselor
UACS through its Career Center offers FREE individual career counseling to its students!
What to expect from a Career Counseling Session
The career counseling sessions can be arranged on an individual level.
Individual sessions (one-to-one appointment with a Certified Career Councilor/Facilitator) can derive as a follow-up of a group session or as a standalone activity. The duration of one session is usually up to 60 minutes and they can be scheduled as a series, depending on the questions addressed. Throughout the session, the Career Councilor guides the Client with questions and tools to the specific conclusion the client comes up with as the most relevant and applicable.
SCHEDULE AN APOINTMENT
Certified Career Counselor, Edi Smokvarski
Mobile: 078 455 – 120
Other Career counseling options
What to expect from a Career Counseling Session
The career counseling sessions can be arranged on a group or/ and individual level.
Group sessions (usually groups up to 10 people) treat specific career aspects (such as self assessment tools and techniques, skills and interests exploration inventories, preparation for internship applications, etc.) These sessions are set as interactive training and facilitating workshops in which specific career related documents are developed and discussed.
Individual sessions (one-to-one appointment with a Certified Career Councilor/Facilitator) can derive as a follow-up of a group session or as a standalone activity. The duration of one session is usually up to 60 minutes and they can be scheduled as a series, depending of the questions addressed. Throughout the session, the Career Councilor guides the Client with questions and tools to the specific conclusion the client comes up with as the most relevant and applicable.
Indicative Career Counseling Fees
Individual sessions can be scheduled for indicative minimal fees ranging 10-20 EUR/session (lower fees are usually charged to students and unemployed). Discounts can be arranged on a longer term/project cooperation.
How to contact a Career Councilor
They are trained and skilled to provide professional support to the interested individuals and organizations. These professionals can be contacted through the following organizations coordinating their activities: Moja Kariera and Association of Career Development Facilitators - ASK. Individual and group sessions can be arranged upon request.
The Association of Career Counselors in Macedonia
Who we are
The Association of Career Counselors of Macedonia (ASK) is an association of individuals with a passion and skills to assist individuals and groups in developing their careers in order to achieve full and rewarding lives.
Our leading thought: THROUGH PROFESSIONAL CAREER COUNSELING WE ASSIST INDIVIDUALS AND ORGANISATIONS FOR THE RIGHT HUMAN POTENTIAL TO BE REALISED AT THE RIGHT PLACE OF WORK.
Where do we come from?
ASK was registered in 2010 but the idea of gathering the skills, energies and enthusiasm of individuals working in career counseling started much earlier when a group of us in 2009 went through a process of certification of Global Career Development Facilitators (GCDF).
The GCDF credential was created to promote quality career guidance services in 1994 by NBCC. There are over 40,000 professionals certified in: Macedonia, Romania, Bulgaria, Portugal, Germany, Italy, Greece, US, Canada, New Zealand, China, Korea and Japan.
Core GCDF competencies:
Career Development Models, Helping Skills, Assessment, Counseling Diverse Populations, Program Management / Implementation, Training Clients and Peers, Promotion and Public Relations, Employability Skills, Labor Market Information and Resources and Ethical and Legal Issues.
Why ASK
- We have a sincere believe that Career counseling can greatly contribute to richer and more fulfilled lives, more successful organizations and better economies.
-Career counseling has still not received proper attention or institutional support in Macedonia, so the potential groups can not yet receive the true benefits
-Parents are the first to give advice on career guidance to their children; with a lack of adequate preparation or knowledge this advice lacks adequate guidance
-Building one’s own career is a process that lasts a lifetime, so career counseling is needed through all career steps.
- The benefits of this process are wide and support the economic growth of the country ASK is devoted to continuous promotion of the Career Counselor profession.
ASK also actively supports its members in the process of counseling, works on adaptation of assessment tests and tools and coordinates exchange of experience groups.
What we do
- Professional group and individual Career Counseling;
-Cooperation with organizations, institutions and career centers, educational institutions, universities, companies;
-Organizing round table discussions with the government representatives with the purpose of introducing career counseling in the long term strategies of the Ministry of Education;
-Projects, debates, public awareness events;
-Membership in related organizations and associations;
-Presentations for companies and clients for the goals and benefits of career counseling.
Our aims
Assist school children in planning their career paths - Improve employability skills of
Young people- Support unemployed and vulnerable groups to find job opportunities- Enhance employees’ career development