The Most Important Thing for the Career Consultant Practical Exam

As the following article suggests, I felt like I had really messed up, but now I will try to write down again what kind of perspective was needed.

Thoroughly Reconstruct the "Reason for the Consultation"

When practicing for the practical exam, I feel like I end up worrying about "what should I ask?" or "what kind of response is the correct one?"

However, there is something I consider even more important than that. (At the time of my study, it was a bit shaky as mentioned in the article above...)

Whether you can reconstruct the "reason for the consultation," which is the start of the practical exam, as an event the client truly experienced.

I believe this is what determines the outcome of the entire practical exam.

The "Reason for the Consultation" is Not Just a Setting

The practical exam begins by asking the person playing the client, "What is your consultation about today?"

I feel that the content spoken here is not just a mere setting.

The client must have come to that place with an "experience" of:

・What happened
・What kind of event it was
・Why they thought about consulting

In other words, I think it is important to reconstruct that experience in your head together while listening to the client's story.

If You Cannot See the Event, You Cannot See the Emotions

For example, suppose the client says,

“I was transferred, and I lost my confidence...”

At this time, you might be tempted to just chase after the emotions, saying,

“You lost your confidence.”

“How do you feel about that...”
But I feel there are things I want to confirm before that.

・What kind of transfer was it

・When was it decided

・Why was it an event that caused you to lose confidence
・What actually happened
Only after these things become visible can you perhaps begin to understand that person's emotions little by little.
If you try to deal with emotions while the experience is still vague, I feel it inevitably becomes a superficial response.

Visualize the Client's Experience "As If Watching a Movie"

When I listen to a client's story, I want to be conscious of:

“Visualizing the client's story in my head like a scene from a movie.”

The appearance of the workplace.

The interaction with the boss.

The feelings when returning home.

I hope to be able to reconstruct the client's experience together until such scenes come to mind.

Once the images start to emerge, questions like,

“What happened at that time?”

“What was the actual interaction like?”

will likely come out naturally.

And I think that as that experience becomes more concrete, the client's thoughts and values will also gradually become visible.

Not "Why?" but "What Happened?"

When practicing as an examinee, you often want to ask, "Why did you think that?" in order to know the cause.

But for me, I think what is needed before that is to carefully trace "what happened."

If the experience is sufficiently told, the client themselves might begin to organize their own feelings and thoughts.

I understand that the career consultant is there to support that organization.

There is Only One Thing to Be Conscious of in the Practical Exam

If I were to be conscious of only one thing in the practical exam, I would choose this without hesitation.

“Reconstruct the experience that led to the consultation together.”

If you have an attitude of trying to concretely understand the events the client experienced, I think both your questions and responses will become natural.

Rather than increasing your techniques, first, carefully trace the client's experience.

I feel that accumulating this will, as a result, lead to client understanding and also lead to a high evaluation in the practical exam.

This was written with self-admonition, based on my own lackluster performance. It's just a little more to go. Good luck to all the examinees!