Career guidance interview for UL PT course

xt40

there is already a thread about this in the postgrad furum but i guess nobody looks there.
i, and a few other posters got an interview for the career guidance course in U.L.
ive been out of the secondary system for a while so heres a few questions someone might be able to answer.
Is getting an interview a good thing or does everyone get one.
the interview takes up to 4 hours

sentence completion exercise
reflective writing piece
group interview
individual interview

what kind of person are they looking for / trying to weed out?

is it hard to get a place.
what is the jobs outlook for guidance counsellors
lastly, has anyone who has been through this any advice / opinions

thanks

Enright

about 60 pplications for 20 places
10 k required to complete course
expected to be a lot of career guidance teachers retiring in the next few years

Its an excellent course, you will require about 3 hours class contact re guidance in year 2 of the course

imo great career prospects, but expect to have to put in the hours

aloofasc

Great news 60 people for 20 spots!
Ill never get in, i have been covering maternity leave as a career guidance teacher for the last 7months and love it, i really want to get qualified but looks like i'll have to wait another 2 years to get in!

xt40

i would have thought the experience would give you a big advantage.
can you tell me please, why you were given the job. could they not get a qualified person or were you just "in" with the principal.

aloofasc

Well the school was extremely stuck as the careers teacher was going on maternity leave, they advertised the job but had no applications. I was doing soming normal subbing in the school and explained to the principal i was interested in becoming a career guidance teacher and he then offered me the job. And thats how i got were i am

Im dreading this interview though i know i will make a balls of it. I heard from a few they also go by age, so my age (26) will be against me, they prefer the more mature person!!!

xt40

thats interesting that there were no applications. it certainly makes a change from the traditional crap of 100 people applying for a job thats already gone
ive no experience in the area myself although im a bit older 38 and my job is very relevent to the careers side of the course which i appreciate is only a small part. im looking forward to the interview but not the written parts. i havent written an essay since the dip and used a pen for anything other than signing my name since windows 3.11 came out. have you heard anything else about what they are looking for?

marina24

Hi
I did the UL course a few years ago. Cost around th 10K but well worth it if you get the right job after. It's true loads of people retiring too.

The interview is fine, you can see which nutters won't get in. All they focus on is Guidance Counselling and whether they're two different things or combined. Just keep in mind that any "careers" appointment with a student can end up being a counselling session.

Pixied

Hi

I am interested in applying next year. Do you think they will consider someone with an honours degree in counselling and psychotherapy? I am also qualified in psychometric and personality testing.

Thanks

marina24

Would be best to ring and check with UL. Know someone with similar qual who didn't get in last time round.
Also it'll be two years before they recruit again. Friend of mine did the interview last Friday for Sept.

Optimist

Has anyone who did interview in Carrick heard anything yet?

xt40

Optimist wrote: »

Has anyone who did interview in Carrick heard anything yet?

not a sausage.
i was expecting to hear within a week and a half as thats what we were told.
i dont know whether to ring them or just keep waiting.

xt40

letter arrived today. i got a place. pleasantly surprised and a bit shocked

kittymc76

Hi all, I am looking for some advice on applying for the UL course part time run out of Carrick. It's due to start again next sep. What are they looking for as regards the application and interview? What courses/skills would be advantageous in gaining a place? Thanks, any info would be very much appreciated.

rational

kittymc76 wrote: »

Hi all, I am looking for some advice on applying for the UL course part time run out of Carrick. It's due to start again next sep. What are they looking for as regards the application and interview? What courses/skills would be advantageous in gaining a place? Thanks, any info would be very much appreciated.

Why do you want to do this course with all the cuts in Guidance in secondary schools???

rainbowtrout

kittymc76 wrote: »

Hi all, I am looking for some advice on applying for the UL course part time run out of Carrick. It's due to start again next sep. What are they looking for as regards the application and interview? What courses/skills would be advantageous in gaining a place? Thanks, any info would be very much appreciated.

You are required to go to 20 (i think) counselling sessions, paid for by yourself, and have it signed off by the counsellor to make sure you don't have problems yourself I suppose or if you have any issues to get them sorted before you start giving advice to anyone else.

A friend of mine did the course a couple of years ago. She said when they asked her about why she wanted to do the course she said it was because she wanted to get into the counselling side of things, to which they said that most people said they wanted to get into the career guidance side of things and completely ignored/neglected the fact that there was a counselling role to play too, i.e. it wasn't all just about filling out CAO forms.

I too would be curious though about your reasons for applying for the course. Considering there is no allocation for guidance in schools anymore, there are little to no hours out there.