Services: How can I help?

I use a powerful, contemporary and proven career search questionnaire that is suitable for 16+ year olds. This questionnaire isn’t a test! It’s an inventory of the things you like and don’t like doing, so there is no right or wrong answer. And the information in your results tells me so much about the career path that suits you best. The thing I love about the career search questionnaire is that you are telling me what is most exciting to you in the world of work (not your parents, or school, or me!)

I keep up to date with NZ tertiary courses across polytechnics and universities, so we can explore a suitable course for you, during our career coaching session. But I won’t suggest going to University just because the first year is free or because your parents think a degree “is something to fall back on”. Based on your results, a mix of study/work might work for you, or a certificate/diploma might be sufficient to get you into that job that you love. I keep open to the possibilities that your results show and my only aim is to identify a path that makes you happy.

Yes. While it’s not part of the Career Explorer Package, I can suggest some key information from your career profile that could support your application. Or, if you want me to help you with those applications from scratch, my Career Visibility Package could work for you. I know the New Zealand job market; I’m experienced in crafting CVs and can advise on internship applications too.

I can help in this area. Regardless of health or learning issues, we all have interests in the world of work that are identified through my career exploration questionnaire. Then, based on the results, we overlay your child’s personal circumstances such as academic ability, personal preferences, health/learning needs and any other challenges you are facing. A career path must be practical and realistic, not one that only works in theory. 

Absolutely. This is a key outcome from my career questionnaire. I know that 3 years of NCEA can feel like a long process. When you know your career path from the results of the questionnaire, you can see where all this is leading. I encourage each student to stay true to themselves, based on the results, embrace their uniqueness and get excited about their future. When you know where you are going then you can see that high school is a stepping stone to this, so you can get busy ticking it off.

For those students that complete my career questionnaire in Year 11, one great outcome from the results is that we can see which subjects best align with your career path. Based on your school’s list of available subjects, we can make a plan for which subjects suit you and then you don’t have to worry about making the wrong choice. If you complete the career questionnaire in Year 12, we can explore your subject list for Year 13 instead.

Your career search report identifies clearly which type of tertiary institute suits your interests and the way you like to work. And then I can advise the best institute for your study choice and your personal circumstances. For example, you may want to study near your family, or you may be keen to study away from your hometown in order to build your independence. The other thing I explore through the coaching session is your motivation level for tertiary study; if you are showing limited excitement for tertiary study, then let’s explore that and see if taking a gap year (or semester) might help you.

A gap year can be very helpful for some students and their career exploration report gives us a clear idea about this. For some students, by the time they have completed NCEA Level 3 they are needing a break from study! Or they might have health, personal or other challenges that need to be addressed before starting work or a tertiary course. I can help a student structure their gap year so that it is empowering, relevant and purposeful, in order to produce clear insights from the gap year experience. It’s important to have a plan so that the gap year doesn’t turn into a gap decade!