Guidance counselors are responsible for improving academic and personal skills in the students. They also provide counseling for the students having social and behavioral issues. Apart from giving counseling, they conduct interviews, aptitude tests and other techniques to evaluate the students. They will also consult with the parents about the results obtained from these tests and decide the further steps to improve the skills of the students. They will advise the teachers and parents to assess the weakness and strengths of the students to find the areas where the students need special attention.  Guidance counselors also give advice to the students about the procedures needed to get admission to the colleges. They will also help the students to develop professional skills like interview techniques and resume writing.

Qualifying Exam

Guidance counselor should have Master’s degree in Education or Psychology to pursue their career in any educational institution. Some institutions take up candidates having Bachelor’s degree in Education or Psychology if they possess enough experience in the related field.

Who are eligible to apply?

Candidates who want to pursue their career as guidance counselor should first pass plus two in any stream. They should complete graduation in any discipline after that. Then only they can apply for the entrance test conducted for the admission to B.Ed course. Candidates can pursue bachelor’s degree in Psychology after passing plus two. Those who want to pursue Master’s degree course in Education or Psychology should possess Bachelor’s degree in the same discipline.

Key elements in the process

• Pass plus two in any stream
• Complete graduation in any stream
• Obtain B.Ed degree (not applicable for the candidates having bachelor’s degree in Psychology)
• Obtain Master’s degree in Education or Psychology (optional)
• Apply for the job

Skills required for a Guidance Counselor

Guidance Counselor should possess excellent communication skills to interact with the students, teachers and parents. They should also possess good mediation skills.  They should have active listening skills to understand the problems of the students. They should need a strong sense to help others. They should possess good understanding about the different career building strategies. They should be easily adaptable with the people having different culture and behavior.