Working with teenagers in career guidance is difficult, but working with adults is a different story, where new challenges appear.
An adult comes to you with a baggage of experience, stereotypes and often with inner fears and doubts.
How can a professional help such clients? And what pitfalls can we expect?
The main pain is that an adult client often already has a career, education and established beliefs. They may also be afraid that it is too late to change. The job of a professional is not just to offer tests or strength analysis, but to break down fears and build confidence that change is possible at any age. It’s important to show that rethinking your career is not a step backward, but an opportunity to start a new, more informed chapter.
The mistake that is often made is to work with adults as well as young people. Adult clients don’t just need proclivities analysis or advice on where to go to study. It requires in-depth analysis of past achievements, reassessment of skills and help to integrate new career decisions into an existing life context.
What do I do? The strategy of working with adults should include the following stages:
Talking about past experiences
Do not neglect this, even if the client says that he wants to change his profession. Analyze his successes, skills, what brought satisfaction and what - burnout.
Working with Persuasion
Many adults feel that it’s “late to change things.” Show examples of successful transitions to a new field, help emphasize the strengths that are relevant in any industry.
→ Preparing for the Reality of the Labour Market
It is important not only to choose a new field, but also to help the adult client adapt to the competition with young professionals. Here, your advice on networking and self-presentation will be invaluable.
Lifehack:
Be a mirror for adult clients. They often fail to see their achievements and potential. Your task is to help them look at themselves from a new perspective, find the resources to grow in the same career, or boldly move in a new direction.
Your experience and tact will help customers realize that change is not a barrier, but a new opportunity.