Facilitating Career Development – New Certification Course
Training Course that leads to the GCDF and CCSP Certifications
Facilitating Career Development Training – For Your Career and Your Clients
This year I decided to get certified to teach a new course, Facilitating Career Development, and also acquire a couple of career certifications that are well known in the industry – CSSP and GCDF. It was a little bit of work, but I added it into my Federal Career Coaching and teaching schedule. And now I can even offer Facilitating Career Development as a career certification course along with my popular Certified Federal Job Search Trainer / Certified Federal Career Coach program.
Our work in Employment Counseling is really tough. Some clients don’t have any idea of what they want to do next, some clients want to land a job that might not be a fit for their background, and some clients don’t know where to start. It takes patience, knowledge, and genuine caring to help your clients land on their feet. I know because I have been doing this work since I wrote the first book on Federal Resume Writing in 1996. This was the REAL beginning of my career as a Federal Career Coach®.
In 2021, I decided I should expand my knowledge to include general career counseling strategies and become an instructor for Facilitating Career Development and apply for the two certifications. I’m proud of what I have done in 2021! And I am now implementing the first FCD course by Resume Place, Inc. in Fall 2022. Mark Danaher, Janet Wall and I are going to share the instruction of the 10-week webinar course. With Mark, Janet, and I, you will be getting the best career counselor instructors in the business.
The National Career Development Association has created Facilitating Career Development as a 120 CEU course with 25 classroom hours and 95 hours of time reading the text; doing the activities, research, group work; and implementing the course in your career counseling/employment transition job. After you take the class, you can apply for the CSSP certification – sponsored by NCDA – and the GCDF – which is sponsored by CCE. I applied for both of these certifications and got them. I have them posted on my LinkedIn.
Some Lessons Learned From My FCD Instructor course:
Here’s what I learned in the course. Mark Danaher was my instructor. He will be the instructor for some of the classes by Resume Place, Inc.
You will take the DISC Assessment before the class begins
RP FCD is offering the DISC Assessment for all of our class attendees. It’s great to know your strengths and competencies. I took the DISC assessment, and I am offering this assessment to you – if you take the course. DISC Assessment – we will send you the assessment after you register. The price of the assessment is included in the course. I agree with my results. I can see the real value of an assessment for a client who is out there marketing their skills. This is a confidence builder for sure.
My top takeaways from my 10-week FCD course with Mark Danaher:
Journaling was fun. Through each chapter of the book and each webinar, I wrote my thoughts and ideas and how I would apply each lesson in the journal that Mark could read and we could talk about.
Class 1 – SOLER – This was all new to me. And learning SOLER is critical for passing the CSSP Certification Examination, so pay attention. SOLER – A Counseling Skill. SOLER is not a misspelling of SOLAR, but a method used in counseling. It is a method of actively listening to the people. It can be a very effective way of listening to people in a counseling situation, but also in conversation generally. Developed by Gerald Egan, in his book, The Skilled Helper, this acronym details the essential parts of communication –
S stands for sitting squarely. So you sit and face the person that you are talking to. We should sit attentively at an angle to the person, so that we can look at them directly and show that we are listening to them and paying attention to them.
O stands for having an open posture. Do not cross your arms as this can make us appear anxious or defensive.
L stands for – Lean forward to show we are interested in what the person is talking about. It also means that the person can lower their voice if they wish to, if they are talking about personal issues, for example.
E stands for eye contact. Maintaining eye contact again shows that we are interested and listening to what the person has to say. It doesn’t mean stare at the person as this can make them feel uncomfortable, but maintain good, positive eye contact.
R stands for relaxed body language. This shows the person that you are not in a rush to get away, but are letting them talk at their own pace.
Helping Skills – I like this list. I use these skills when coaching my federal jobseeker clients. It can be very challenging with complex requests. This 5-competency list is GREAT!
Definition of Helping Skills:
- Attending – Describes how he/she will orient themselves to the client, given the modality of their meeting (face to face, telephonic, video conferencing).
- Reflecting, summarizing, paraphrasing – Reflects content or emotions by restating or summarizing the main point of what a client has said.
- Listening – Involves paying attention to the content and feeling of what a client has said.
- Encouraging – Lets a client know you are listening and involved in the conversation through actions such as nodding of the head and smiling.
- Questioning – Uses both open and closed ended questions as tools in gathering information from clients and build relationships with them.
Class 2. Training and Leading Groups – well, this is actually my FAVORITE part of my work. Coaching is SECOND believe it or not. I love teaching -0 because I am a coach teacher. I am a very participatory instructor and I know how to make very clear and important points that will become major takeaways – and result in career success. So, this sessions is invaluable since most everyone who is a coach is an instructor also.
Class 3. Career Theory and the Life Span exercise. I mapped my career and activities over my 30 or more years career. It was amazing. Basically my career is mapped by my books, office locations and technology. And I only had one job – President of Resume Place, Inc, but that job changed a lot through the years. When I wrote the Federal Resume Guidebook in 1996, we became almost 100% federal career services. My timeline was dramatically affected by technology for our services – I worked through the IBM Standalone typesetting equipment, Compugraphic, Offset printing, Xerox Coping (equipment as big as a room), FAX, Internet, PCs, and Apple Mac. A lot has happened in the last 30 years. I could map my career by technology too. And then there is VIRTUAL training!
Class 4. The Role of Assessments. I really liked this chapter and I am a believer now. That’s why I included the DISC Assessment in the program for the attendees. I think it’s very important to know your strengths in your career, and especially for someone searching for a new job or career! This builds confidence in their abilities.
Class 5. Work with people and disabilities – I am a Schedule A Career Coach. I am very familiar with the hiring programs and accommodations offered by the government and by law for employees with disabilities. I really enjoy coaching individuals with disabilities to land rewarding careers and GET PROMOTED too. I coach for promotions as well as first-time hires.
Class 8. Job seeking and Employability Skills, including Career Change Strategies. Intake Interview Evaluation – There is an exercise where you interview a client and another FCD class member view your interview and scores you on your communication, recommendation and approach. This was very good for me. I did get a good score, but this was a first for me. You will like this “test” and evaluation. You can always improve your interview and coaching skills.
Class 9. Developing and Implementing Career Planning Services and Managing Business Services and Employer Relations
Class 10. Business Services – The business operations are important. Collecting data, emails, ensuring customer services. Critical for the success of a career services organization.
Course fee: $1,750 includes the NCDA EBOOK TEXT for the FCD Course (300 pages) and the DISC Assessment
Facilitating Career Development – NCDA course that will involve 120 hours of study, research, and 25 hours of class time.
10 CLASSES, MOSTLY EVERY OTHER WEEK – WEDNESDAYS 9 AM TO 11:30 AM ET – BEGINNING SEPTEMBER 7, 2022
- September 7 – Developing a Helping Relationship – Mark Danaher
- September 21 – Training and Leading Groups – Mark Danaher
- October 5 – Career Development Theory – Janet Wall
- October 19 – Role of Assessments – Janet Wall
- November 2 – Ethics and Business Services for Clients with Disabilities – Janet Wall
- November 16 – Providing Career Services to Multicultural Populations – Kathryn Troutman
- November 30 – The Role of Career Information – Janet Wall
- December 14 – Jobseeking and Employability Skills, including Career Change Strategies – Janet Wall
- December 28 – Developing and Implementing Career Planning Services and Managing Business Services and Employer Relations – Mark Danaher
- January 11 – Business Services and Employee Relations – Mark Danaher
You can write a great CCAR story too! Use our handy, excellent CCAR Builder:
Jobseekers Guide: Ten Steps to a Federal Job, 9th Edition
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The Author: Kathryn Troutman is the author of many award-winning career guides including the best-selling Federal Resume Guidebook, 7th Edition (Best Reference Book/Gold in the Independent Press Awards and more) and The Stars are Lined Up for Military Spouses, 2nd Edition. Troutman is the Founder and President of The Resume Place, a groundbreaking Federal resume writing and job coaching service in Baltimore, MD.