There is a saying that one can be happy when they believe “I get to do this” instead of “I have to do this,” so I try to greet each day with a sense of excitement. While there are regular patterns within my work, each day also holds unexpected surprises, which has kept my work fresh and interesting throughout the 10 years I have worked for Jewish Family Services of WNY as a career counselor. 

My title is Career Services Counselor. I describe my job as “helping people think differently about themselves and their working life.” This involves facilitating career decisions, strategizing a job search, reconceptualizing their self-image after work difficulties, and much more. I’m excited to share what a day on the job can look like for me! 

Keep reading to take a peek into what one day in the life of a Career Services Counselor at JFS is like!

Today, my first appointment of the day is on Zoom. This client is “fee-for-service,” which means they pay by-the–hour for career counseling services (we charge modest rates on a sliding scale). They were referred by their therapist– they have long felt underemployed and are ready to find a career path. We have used well-known career assessments to uncover their interests, skills, values, preferred work environment, and personality. The goal in assisting career decision-making clients is to help them know themselves better, including realizing their strengths, and how this translates to work and career opportunities. This particular client is gaining confidence in their abilities and future as we uncover strengths and a pattern of effective contributions that they had not noticed previously. 

My next client is an experienced professional job–searching through ACCES-VR, which is New York State’s vocational rehabilitation agency. This is a division of NYS Department of Education dedicated to helping people with disabilities discover, find, and keep employment. JFS serves a wide range of clients through this program, of all ages, backgrounds, and experience levels. This client is preparing for an interview in management with a government agency, and we’re working to strategize their approach to describing their career history.

It is time for some of my own professional development! Western New York Collegiate Consortium of Disability Advocates (WNYCCDA) members are Accessibility Services officers supporting organizations (like JFS). We meet monthly to discuss issues related to colleges and students, such as trends, new laws & campus policies, technologies, and approaches. We also plan and host educational events for the community and high school professionals. This is a wonderfully supportive group. I can better help my clients advocate for themselves through the knowledge and professional contacts I have gained there.

I am meeting in-person with a high school senior in a private study room at a local library. They’re working on choosing a college and major, along with developing their self-advocacy skills, at the request of ACCES-VR. While they have done well in an academically demanding high school, they are also anxious about managing college given some aspects of ADHD that they struggle with. I am guiding them through how this impairment affects them, what accommodations might work for them, and how college may be different for them than high school.

Another in-person session with a fee-for-service client, a mid-career individual who is distressed in their current job. They have been feeling poorly about themselves and discouraged about their job prospects. We discuss ways to stay effective at work under stress, analyze how long to stay (or when to quit), but primarily focus on developing plans for a fresh career direction. They left saying, “Our meeting was just what I needed tonight.” 

Everyone is writing their own life story, and what each of us contributes through work of all types is a part of that. I feel honored that people come to JFS and allow me to help them craft a chapter of that tale. 

Click the button below to learn more about JFS’ Career Services programming. We’re here to help.