From a young age, I had a sense of wanting to work with people, to be helpful. I chose to major in Psychology in college, but wasn't sure exactly what I would do. After college, I was wanting to get working and at that time didn't want to continue with more schooling, so I chose to work in Human Resources. There were many things I enjoyed about that, particularly when I worked in Recruitment, interviewing people. What I especially remember, was working with some of the existing employees who worked in more entry-level jobs. Helping them to learn about other opportunities within the organization, and seeing their excitement as they worked to move up in position was something I really enjoyed. During my time working in Human Resources, I became aware of the job of Career Counselors. I went to see one and went through a career assessment program. This helped me to decide to return to school and pursue that career for myself.
As part of my Master's degree, I completed a practicum with the Emory University Career Center, and an internship with the Jewish Family & Career Services organization. After graduating, I worked 5 years with the Career Development Center of the Southeast. I worked both with adults considering a career change, and with high school and college students, making their first decisions in their career planning.
Since Nov. 2009, I have been working in private practice. This allows me the best opportunity to offer the type of counseling program that I feel is most helpful, and it allows me to fit work into another very important part of my life - my family. Career Counseling is not always about work, but about finding fulfillment in all areas of your life and figuring out how your work plays into that.
My work with clients is directed to helping them make good decisions for themselves with their career planning. I like to use counseling as a way to bring out the information from within the client that they can use in their decision process. Career testing or assessment is only a tool that gives good information to incorporate into the counseling process. People should find some enjoyment in the work they do. The counseling I offer helps people to figure out their best options for that time in their life.
Alicia Philipp Reaches
Decatur GA