Guidance Counsellors provide competent, ethical, and professionally delivered knowledge, information, and services on educational orientation and training, helping current and prospective students work toward achieving their personal and academic goals. They administer and interpret standardized interest, aptitude, and ability tests to help students identify their strengths and develop self-awareness.  
    
Guidance Counselors can be tasked with providing academic services and resources to their students, such as helping with course selection and college applications. Their work also deals with the personal and social aspects of middle and high school life. Guidance Counsellors can be responsible for overseeing students' mental health by administering clinical pre-screeners and psycho-educational assessments and referring students to other specialized services as required.  
      
Guidance Counsellors are usually hired by public and private schools and other academic institutions, often working within the Health and Counselling Services department. Sometimes, smaller schools with fewer resources will train Teachers or the school's Psychologist to work as a Guidance Counsellor or vice versa, if this individual has qualifications in both fields.  

Personality of a Guidance Counselor

• They are empathetic 

The sign of a good Guidance Counselor is their ability to empathize with their students. Empathy is one of those equalizing traits, allowing individuals to feel seen and heard by their peers. Counselors will benefit from exhibiting empathizing traits to give students a safe space to express themselves freely, especially if they lack that space in their lives outside of school.  
  

• They are excellent communicators 

Communication skills are the cornerstone of a great Guidance Counselor. Without the ability to communicate, there would be little opportunity to connect with students on their level to ascertain their problems and look for solutions.  
  

• They are observant 

Guidance Counselors that excel in their positions may do so because of their inherent ability to observe the behaviors and actions of students. Some of which are reluctant to verbalize their issues. It is beneficial, then, for Counselors to see past what students are saying and hone in on what they're not saying that could be their most glaring issue.