Coaches and career advisors are a dime a dozen. Some are excellent, others not so much, and in many cases it is important for the consultant to have one with his qualifications can support individually. 10 tips to find the best help.

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Why a career consultant

success, sure Income, satisfaction - that's what most people want People from her job. Because that's not always light can be achieved, career advisors or coaches promise a remedy. Especially in the study and Career choice more and more insecure parents are trying to help their children Consulting to help on the jumps.

But the promise of "a dream job through advice" can be like an all-round carefree package on one or the other act. I go to counseling and I get help. Is it really that simple? Or is the dream job for cash an unrealistic promise, a window dressing? 10 tips on how to find the best consultant.

Stiftung Warentest is testing consultants

Regularly, but not as often as it would need, the Stiftung Warentest tests further training and consulting offers of commercial consultants. In the past, she also compared her with the offers of the Federal Agency for Employment, for example with regard to career counseling. The commercial consultants were consistently better off, charlatans were not at work here. However, the consultation was also correspondingly expensive:

They had to pay 60-100 euros for an hour of advice or several hundred euros for a complete service package customers Pay here. For that you got individual and entirely on your own needs Tailored assistance with career planning or career choice. So are career counselors a worthwhile one Investment?

Problem: Choosing the right consultant

The problem is the selection the right consultant: Because there is no ranking and none checklist, with the help of which you can select the right consultant according to certain criteria. Also a nationwide uniform Vocational Training There is no such thing as an occupational or career counselor and the job title is not protected by law either. However, many consultants are specially trained, have training in Psychology, Human Resources or Pedagogy, or at least a university degree successfully completed.

But: Every consultant has his own thematic focus and his own method. Therefore, not every consultant suits everyone Customer and it is not enough to look in the yellow pages or simply take the cheapest or most expensive consultant. If you are looking for a career advisor, you should rather define exactly what you expect from advice. Then you should clarify with various consultants whether the expectations are realistic. It is important to agree exactly which ones in advance Tasks the consultant will take over. In addition, your guidance counselor should explain to you which method he will use or different ones Methods to choose from.

Objective quality criteria

There are also some objective quality criteria - for example membership in a professional association such as the German Association for Career and Educational Advice (DVB) or the International Association for School and Career Advice (IVSBB).
These require their members to adhere to high quality standards such as appropriate training, methodological knowledge and ongoing training.

For example, the members of DVB have to regularly evaluate their advice, ie to ask customers about their satisfaction. Consultants who meet the relevant criteria can be found in DVB's professional advisory board.

10 Tips: How to Find the Right Career Consultant

The agony of Choice will be a little easier if you know where and how to look for the right advisor. Hence some tips.

  1. Understand what you want from a consultant: For example, gather information about your career so far to show yourself and the counselor what you are all about.
  2. Talk to the consultant: Does the consultant know about the industry or the area? Does the consultant regularly discuss his / her focus and is his / her knowledge up-to-date? A good consultant should be on a regular basis, continually update his expertise and develop and improve his methodology and consultation.
  3. What are the qualifications of the consultant? Has the consultant completed a university degree? Does he have an education, eg in aptitude diagnostics, coaching, psychology, pedagogy, human resources or any other relevant area?
  4. Are there any references? Is the consultant regularly to meet at trade fairs, does he engage in a different way, eg honorary, or is there regularly in the press posts about him? Is the consultant a member of a network or an association whose members have to provide certain quality standards? Can you already consult clients for reference?
  5. Clarify the process of the consultation: How will the consultation process take place? What methods, procedures and materials are used? How many consultations will be held and how long will the talks take place?
  6. Talk about the services: What happens in the event of missed appointments? Are cancellations possible? How short-term? Do you still incur fees? Is agreed in writing exactly what services and ancillary services (eg aptitude tests and expert opinions or research) should provide the consultant.
  7. What about financing? What is the cost of the consultation? Are the costs of the consultation made transparent? Is there a written agreement on costs and lines?
  8. Clarify the payment modalities: What happens if you want to cancel the consultation before all the agreed call dates have been carried out? Are all costs still incurred? Do you have to pay for everything at once or in installments? Do you need to make an advance payment?
  9. Outcomes: Determine whether the counseling sessions and outcomes are documented in writing and edited so that you can always understand what came out of the counseling.
  10. Data protection: Make it clear that the content and results of the consultation are only accessible to you and are not passed on to third parties.