I’ve never been one to understand what a career counselor does. Any description of services makes it sound like a class for finding jobs you take in college. I’m sure I can’t be the only one who suffered through a number of classes that stressed resume writing, career development and the lot. So who needs a career counselor?

It all boils down to a few basic things:

• Get to know “who” you are
• Get to know who “you” are
• Define the types of jobs or careers you think you might like
• Find out the skills and traits required of the type of job you want
• Steer your course towards acquiring those skills to land the job you want

You really don’t need a career counselor to help you with these things. What you do need is a bit of organization and a few ticks of the clock to set yourself up.

So ask yourself these questions:

- What do you do, day in and day out, that doesn’t seem monotonous – you can do this type of work over and over again and you rather like it no matter how hard it is or how big the job is?

- What skills does it take to accomplish the first item? Does it require a lot of work with your hands or are you challenged by trying to figure out how to program a web site?

- Where is your knowledge gap? What slows you down doing the things you like to do? What can you do to overcome these gaps?

- Will education further your skills? Is extending your education in your budget? Can you afford to take time away from something else to further your own interest?

- Take a few free quizzes out there on careers. I don’t really think they help that much if you don’t answer them honestly.