CASE STUDY

STUDENT CLAUDIA BAHA

Create Your Personal Brand

BRAND

Identification

Selection

Communication

Differentiation

Agenda

Brief overview of the caseCounselling process structureClient’s barriers and strategies used to overcome themChallenges faced by the counsellor and strategies used

to overcome themPossible future strategies to overcome client’s barriersPossible future strategies to overcome the challenges

faced by the counsellorOpportunities for development

Brief Overview of the Case

Newcomer to CanadaImmigrated as a skilled workerExperiences culture shockFormer teacherStrong desire to make a career changeDoes not work in her desired fieldComes from a collectivist culture

Counselling Process Structure

First session: Rapport building

Assessed client’s needs and self-awarenessSecond session: Storytelling

Identified the skills and grouped them into

skill clusters Third session: Assisted client in identifying

accomplishments

Resume writingForth session: In depth analysis of the target job

Cover letter writing

Created the Self-Presentation Profile

Client’s Barriers/Strategies

Barrier Strategy•Lack of Career Management File

•Impact-Mining: Probing questions to help identify accomplishments

•Discomfort with the North American job search process

•Moderate self-disclosure

•Unfamiliarity with the resume formats used in North America

•Explained the major differences between the chronological and the functional format

•Uncomfortable with sharing personal experiences

•Extensive use of facilitative questions•Extensive use of encouraging, paraphrasing and summarizing

Challenges Faced by the Counsellor/Strategies

Challenge Strategy

•Personal relationship with the client

•Emphasized confidentiality and ensured privacy

•Non-employment related questions

•Suggested web-based resources

•Silence •Used body language to encourage client to speak

•Client wanted the counsellor to make the decision

•I made a suggestion

Future Strategies to Overcome Client’s Barriers

Barrier Future strategy•Lack of Career Management File •Impact-Mining: Probing questions to help

identify accomplishments•Provide examples of Career Management Files

•Discomfort with the North American job search process

• Moderate self-disclosure•Comparison Traditional Resumes/ Achievement Based Resumes. Which one of the two candidates she would hire?•Before and after Self-Presentation Profiles

•Unfamiliarity with the resume formats used in North America

•Explained the major differences between the chronological and the functional format•Provide examples of chronological, functional and combined resumes

•Uncomfortable with sharing personal experiences

•Extensive use of facilitative questions•Extensive use of encouraging, paraphrasing and summarizing•Moderate self-disclosure

Future Strategies to Overcome the Challenges Faced by the Counsellor

Challenge Future strategy•Personal relationship with the client •Emphasized confidentiality and

ensured privacy•Refer client to another counsellor

•Non-employment related questions •Suggested web-based resources•Refer to an external agency

•Silence •Used body language to encourage client to speak•Give the client the time to think. Silence is sometimes beneficial.

•Client wanted the counsellor to make the decision

•Suggested possible path to take•Guide the client through the decision-making process

Opportunities for development

What How

Develop my microskills

Improve my distributive attention

Feel more confident about my counselling skills

Develop a professional portfolio-supportive materials

Read specialized publications

Join a professional association

Join a mentorship program

Volunteer in a not-for-profit organization

PRACTICE WITH VOLUNTEER CLIENTS

“Practice is the best of all instructors” Publilius Syrus

“Too many people overvalue what they are not and undervalue what they are.“

- Malcolm Forbes

Rough Diamond/ Polished Diamond

Client’s statement:

“Thank you, I feel like a polished diamond now!”

Questions