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As a counselor advising clients or students in career decisions, you will use assessments and inventories to help them create career plans. For this assignment, you will consider yourself as the client, interpret the assessments you completed in Units 3, 4, and 6 in the Career Exploration Workbook, and create a career plan with actionable steps. Use your completed Career Exploration Workbook as a reference to complete this paper. Although you are using yourself as the client, be sure to write from the third-person point of view. Address the following aspects in your assignment:

Sample Paper For Above instruction

Client Profile

The client is a 28-year-old Caucasian female college graduate currently pursuing her master's degree in social work. She is single, living independently, and works part-time at a nonprofit organization. Her family background includes supportive parents and a younger sibling. She has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and is actively exploring her career options to align with her values and skills.

Presenting issues include uncertainty about career direction, desire for work that aligns with her personal values, and some stress related to balancing school, work, and personal life. These issues were identified through an intake interview process, reflecting her desire for clarity in her career path and fulfillment in her professional endeavors.

Results of Assessments

Personality: 16-Type Jungian Personality Test

The client's preferences are INFJ—Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling, Judging. This indicates a personality that is introspective, empathetic, and values meaningful work and deep relationships.

Big 5 Personality Theory

• Extroversion: Moderate – prefers meaningful solitude but enjoys collaborative environments.
• Openness: High – receptive to new experiences and innovative ideas.
• Agreeableness: Very high – empathetic, cooperative, and caring towards others.
• Neuroticism: Low – emotionally stable and resilient.
• Conscientiousness: High – organized, dependable, and goal-oriented.

Values

The top five values identified through the card sort are empathy, integrity, intellectual growth, social justice, and creativity.

Interest Assessment

• Realistic: Low
• Investigative: Very high
• Artistic: Moderate
• Social: High
• Enterprising: Moderate
• Conventional: Low

Interpretation of Assessments

The assessment results reveal a client with a strong inclination toward investigative and social interests, coupled with a personality suggesting a meaningful and empathetic approach to work. The INFJ personality type correlates with her values of empathy and social justice, indicating a potential alignment with careers that involve helping others, advocacy, or research. Her high openness suggests she may thrive in dynamic environments that involve problem-solving and innovative thinking.

These themes point towards career options in social services, community advocacy, or counseling, which align with her values and personality. The assessments are appropriate for her developmental stage, as she is exploring options and seeking meaningful work that aligns with her core values and interests.

Professional Assets

The client has a bachelor's degree in psychology, volunteer experience with mental health organizations, and part-time work in the nonprofit sector. Her ongoing master's program in social work enhances her qualifications for a career in social services. Her experience and education are relevant to her career goals of becoming a licensed clinical social worker or community advocate.

Career Options

1. Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW)
   • Education/Training: Master’s in Social Work (MSW), licensure requirements vary by state
   • Employment Trends: Growing demand in mental health, healthcare, and community services sectors
   • Expected Salary: $50,000–$80,000 annually (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2022)
2. Community Service Manager
   • Education/Training: Bachelor’s or master's degree in social work, public administration, or related field
   • Employment Trends: Increasing need for community leaders and social program managers
   • Expected Salary: $65,000–$90,000 annually (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2022)
3. Career Counselor
   • Education/Training: Master’s degree in counseling, psychology, or related field
   • Employment Trends: Growing demand in educational institutions, private practice, and corporations
   • Expected Salary: $45,000–$75,000 annually

Individual Career Plan

The client's career plan emphasizes completing her MSW with specialization in clinical or community practice. She aims to obtain licensure as an LCSW within the next two years by fulfilling internship, supervised practice, and licensing exam requirements. Her short-term goals include gaining relevant experience through internships and volunteer work in mental health settings. Long-term goals encompass establishing a counseling practice or working in an advocacy organization that promotes social justice issues.

Actions steps include networking with professionals in her selected career fields, seeking mentorship, engaging in continuous professional development, and applying for licensure upon graduation. She will also explore part-time roles related to her interests to build experience while completing her degree.

Personal Reflection

Through this exercise, the client learned the importance of aligning her career with her core values, personality traits, and interests. She recognized her strong empathetic and investigative qualities as assets that can guide her toward meaningful work. This process heightened her self-awareness and clarified her career direction, empowering her to pursue her goals with confidence.

As a future counselor, she is aware of her professional limitations, including the need to continually develop her knowledge of licensing requirements, cultural competence, and ethical considerations in counseling practice. She acknowledges the importance of supervision, ongoing education, and self-reflection to provide effective support to clients and avoid burnout.

References

• Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2022). Occupational outlook handbook: Social workers. U.S. Department of Labor.
• Holland, J. L. (1993). Making vocational choices: A theory of vocational personalities and work environments. Psychological Assessment Resources.
• McCrae, R. R., & Costa, P. (1997). Personality trait structure as a human universal. American Psychologist, 52(5), 509–516.
• Schein, E. H. (2010). Career anchors: Discovering your true direction. Jossey-Bass.
• Super, D. E. (1990). How career development theory informs practice. The Counseling Psychologist, 18(2), 258–268.
• Strong Interest Inventory (2021). The Strong Interest Inventory Manual. Psychometrics Publishing.
• Thompson, M. P., & Dahling, J. J. (2020). Career counseling and development: Putting theory and research into action. Routledge.
• Virtually, L. (2019). Assessing personality and interests in career counseling. Journal of Career Assessment, 27(1), 3–14.
• Zunker, V. G. (2015). Career counseling: A holistic approach. Cengage Learning.
• American Counseling Association. (2014). ACA code of ethics. ACA.