As a brand-new counselor, the so-called learning curve can often be steep—I know it was for me. Many days can leave a new counselor wondering when they will ever get the full hang of this job; if they are truly being effective for their students; or even if they have chosen the right profession, altogether. Doubt; feelings of inadequacy; and imposter syndrome tendencies can often rear their ugly heads on a seemingly daily basis, so it’s important to know what to do, say, and believe when those ugly thoughts, feelings, and beliefs may make claim to prime real estate inside the head of a new school counselor.

This list of fifteen tips goes beyond the tried-and-true advice and wisdom of such things like finding a really good mentor counselor, or how to add a bunch of letters behind your name. This list is meant to show the action steps and belief systems that can propel a new counselor forward through their first several years on the job. Will you journey along further with me now, fellow new(er) counselor?

1. Get to Know—and Develop Trust and Rapport With—Teachers and Support Staff From Day #1:

As a brand-new counselor, it can take some time to get to know each of your co-workers in the classrooms and in other office areas (and, likewise, for them to get to know you). However, some of these challenges can be mitigated by making your presence more known around the building. One way that I like to do that is by often running my own hall-passes for students. It gets me moving around—and out of my comfortable office chair—and allows me to interact with teachers and also to see my students learning and engaging in their natural classroom environments.

Getting to know teachers and support staff, I believe, is fundamentally important for new counselors to understand because the way I see it: we share a caseload, if you will; we share students. Because we share students, it helps to work together to build trust and rapport with each teacher and student support staff individual. If they see something concerning about a particular student, they will know that they can access you to help because they know you and because they trust you. Teachers are often the first individuals to see issues that are out of the norm, or, on the other end, lingering, for particular students because they see their students every day. I really appreciate when our teachers let me know that there could be a concern with a student. It allows me to check-in with a student and to assess what might be going on with them. Sometimes, a teacher or student support staff-initiated concern turns out to be something relatively benign or minor; other times, it can be an issue that is quite concerning. Either way, teachers are trusted allies that can alert us to changes or concerns with individual students, which makes them incredibly valuable partners in the work that counselors do every day.

2. Ask a Lot of Questions:

As a brand-new counselor, I must have asked my counseling team colleagues at least two to three dozen different questions a day—no exaggeration! Looking back, everyone was super supportive, helpful, and patient with me. In the summer of 2016, I arrived into my current role by way of an Internship at an out-of-district middle school the year before, and so, naturally, I felt (and was) incredibly green. Thank goodness for the several veteran counselors who were patient and wanted to be genuinely helpful and encouraging. As you gain more experience in your roll, it’s likely that you will ask fewer questions as the years go by. But question-asking is a skill that should always be practiced by brand new counselors; counselors midway through their career; and veteran counselors in the twilight of their careers. Colleagues on your team, and even counselors in other buildings, can be a tremendous source of experience; wisdom, and encouragement for you—don’t be afraid to lean on them (and to let them then lean on you as you eventually become that veteran counselor to the brand-new counselors around you).

3. Ask Yourself: What Kind of Counselor You Would Like To Have For Yourself:

As a brand-new counselor, it can be either inspiring or a tad bit intimidating to watch a veteran counselor display their skills. You may wonder if you will ever be half as good as them! Chances are, you will—don’t worry. But if your self-confidence is wavering in the beginning—or you notice that you are trying to compare yourself to another counselor (or counselors), but feel like you might be coming up short—just keep it simple and remember this mantra: Be the kind of counselor that you would like to have for yourself. That basically just means showing up for your students whenever you can and however you can.

But, at first, when you are new and trying to figuring out your style, you may either try to largely mimic the style of another counselor you admire, or try to borrow bits and pieces for several different individuals. I don’t see anything wrong with either of those approaches. But there were times when I felt either of those approaches were not enough for me. Asking yourself what counselor you would like to be for yourself if you were a first-generation student; a student going through grief and loss—or a crisis; a student who struggles year after year academically—just to name a few—means that you provide the level of service and support that you would wish to have for yourself if the roles were reversed and you were the student. This approach can help keep you hungry and motivated, as that internal flame inside you continues to burn bright for many years to come.

4. Figure Out Your Organization System (That Works For You):

One of the things I did not learn in graduate school was the amount of paperwork—even right now with much being digital—that comes across a counselor’s desk every day. There are scores of forms to complete; many dozens of papers waiting to be copied or printed; hundreds of emails that need to be filtered or organized—you name it. It can be pretty easy to have an office desk with papers seemingly everywhere, as you may be asking yourself: “Wait, didn’t I just completely clean off my desk yesterday afternoon?”

What I like to do is to keep things as simple as possible. I use a To-Be-Filed empty shoebox for papers that I want to hold onto for a while, or that I want to eventually place in my students’ individual files. For my working computer, I put all my important blank forms, recommendation letters, and other items or files that I often use, on a thumb-drive (and then, from there, create dozens of digital folders on the portable drive). For my desktop, I don’t keep any files on my home-screen—everything has a home. Whether it is saved in the documents or downloads area of the computer—or on my thumb drive—everything has its place. When I open my computer, I want everything to look clean, simple and organized. I realize this system might not work for you, so go with what works. When it comes to devoting the time necessary for organizing my To-Be-Filed box, I often like to do that on a late Friday afternoon, or a day leading up to a holiday, when things often are winding down and the students have gone home for the day or weekend. Some people may think that might sounds a bit puzzling, but I like to be in a certain cheery, rather relaxed mood if I am organizing files–just me. Figure out what organizational systems work for you and fine-tune your systems for physical and digital organization as you go.

5. Know the Calendar:

I think that my first year or two I was mostly running on adrenaline or overdrive much of the time. Every day seemed so busy but also all so new and exciting. After some time—just like with figuring out your organizational system—knowing the calendar and the natural ebbs and flows of the academic school year can be very helpful. I like to sit down every several weeks to look at the school year calendar (and the month-to-month counseling department’s calendar). This helps me know what is coming up and to plan more accordingly. It also helps me to remember any important upcoming school dates when students and families ask me. If I could start my career all over again, the number-one thing I would do would be to know the calendar better. You may come in and already be good at this particular thing. If not, take it from me: It’s always worth knowing how many more work days, or weeks, come before a holiday break or when the next non-weekend school day off will arrive.

6. Email Brevity Practices:

Email is one of the majors ways that many students and families often use to communicate to us; it’s also one of the ways that staff often communicates with each other. Most counselors can receive dozens and dozens of emails a day. How to respond to all of those emails? I like to keep things brief and mostly factual. Some people might find this peculiar being that I write fairly lengthy articles here, but when it comes to email, I am usually quite brief. I usually do this for three reasons. One: Writing lengthy emails can take up a lot of time. The more you write, the more you have to proofread and edit and the more that can potentially be mis-read or taken out of context (there aren’t any facial or verbal cues, after all, with email—usually just written word—unless emojis or other visual representations are used). Two: I like to keep email brief because there is basically an eternal digital paper trail and emails can easily be printed or forwarded to other people—something that could prove to be potentially dicey with things that might skew towards the confidentiality end, or if you happen to write something that might come back to be used against you (while probably quite rare, it still, in theory, could be a possibility). Sometimes, you just never know. So, I like to keep email brief, factual, professional, and upbeat as much as possible. Three: My preferred method of communication with students and families is–by far—either in-person or over the phone (and not email)—that is just me. Maybe your preferred method of communication is email. If so, maybe sometimes you can have a choice and play more to your preferred method(s) and use email more than, say, phone conversations with students and families or even virtual meetings.

7. Engage in Journaling or Self-Reflection Activities:

This is something that I did not start until, well, late into my fourth year of counseling. It is easy to get bogged-down with a million other things going on, or tasks and duties that need to be done. Why add another thing to the list? Because journaling or engaging in other self-reflection activities are meant for us—almost like a form of self-care, which can also double as professional development. What do I mean by that? When we think about our practice and take the time to reflect we create a space for growth, which also includes self-monitoring and self-tracking. As we reflect back on our experiences and thought-processes, we can more easily track our growth and development. In my first few years, I had so many different thoughts swirling around my head. I have a feeling that journaling or engaging in other self-reflection activities could have been a big help. That is why I am including it here. Not that I did great—by any means—with all fifteen points here (some I am listing because I didn’t do them, or do them often enough, in my mind). Think about carving out a space for sanity, peace, and quiet reflection. Years down the road, the future veteran counselor version of you with thank the new(er) counselor version of your current self.

8. Lean on Your Support Network:

Starting a brand new role as a school counselor—or even being a school counselor just a couple, or few, years in—can entail so much that needs to be learned and fully taken in. Days and weeks can blend into one another; you may question your effectiveness; you may have to deal with an angry or upset parent; your to-do list may suddenly multiply into multiple to-do lists without warning. You need your support network as you are establishing your career from the beginning. The thing about support networks is that they will look different for different people. But the key is to have those trusted individuals on your side and in times of need. Colleagues, of course, can be great; friends and family that are also educators can be great, too. But I am a big believer in having a support network that also includes people who are not educators, because sometimes counselors need to be around people who are not going to remind them about a particular role they play for work (and who can see a counselor as someone who also has an identity beyond their work role or career). Having a strong support network might mean having someone that you can call anytime; someone that might cook you a meal or bring you food; or even schedule a weekend activity with you. Whatever it looks like, let these individuals be there to help (but don’t take them for granted). As a new counselor, it also helps to have people in your life that knew you before you were an officially-minted counselor and who can help see you through the first several years of your career.  

9. Developing as a Professional:

As a new counselor, I think it is important to seek out professional development opportunities as quickly as you can—workshops and conferences; working on earning your Licensed Professional Counselor certification title; taking post-graduate classes; being a member of your county-level or regional-level counseling association, etc.; and even something as fundamental as studying for the NCE, the National Counseling Examination (while it might be freshest in your mind, if you are a more recent graduate of a master’s level counseling program). Whatever it is, professional development can energize; encourage; and inspire a new counselor to aim high in their profession. The opportunity to network and interact with counselors in other buildings and in other districts can only help new counselors gain a broader view and perspective of the profession. One of the things I am always curious about is how different buildings and districts carry out systems and programming—even just the varying role that counselors play in each school building. To me, it’s always interesting to see the similarities (and differences). Professional development can also give you more confidence to try out new things that you are learning as you settle into your role.

10. Be Intentional About Work Boundaries:

This tip is something that will look a little bit different to each counselor. When we think of boundaries, we often think of limits or restrictions; but when I think of boundaries in the counseling profession, I often think of Best Practices. Especially in the season of COVID-19, when some counselors are even working remotely, many counselors must decide such things as: Am I working over the course of the weekend? Have I given myself at least one day off a week to recharge and be refreshed? How many hours am I available each day for students and families? What are my limits? Am I going to answer just one more email at 9:00 P.M.? As a new counselor, figuring out your limits and boundaries is something that will pay dividends, professionally, for many years to come. Maybe it is something as simple as filtering through work emails that come through your phone and computer throughout the day. Do you want to receive emails throughout the day or do you want to have some sort of system in place that keeps work email separate from your personal email? What about notifications? Either the visual or audio cues: do you want to silence those at certain times or keep them on just in case? The quicker you figure out your work boundaries, the better it may be for your day-to-day practice and your overall career for the long-haul.

11. Update Your Resume at Least Once Every Year:

As a new(er) counselor, chances are you will be embarking upon many different (and, potentially, new) experiences and rolls in your new job. You might be using different student information system programs; learning new technologies; or simply working with different methods of service delivery in your job. Additionally, new counselors may also be advising different student clubs; working with different cross-departmental committees or groups; or even initiating your own programing, including running counseling groups (based on student needs); whole-classroom core counseling lessons; creating and distributing Needs Assessments; coaching athletic teams; or participating in any number of different roles and responsibilities within your school.

What I like to do every summer (late June for me) is to update my resume for the year. This allows me to do some post-academic year reflection and to take inventory of any new resume-worthy items that I think might be important to list on my resume. All told, this only takes a couple hours each year—as opposed to an educator who might only update their resume when applying for a new position, where the process can take many, many hours (and where it’s easier to perhaps overlook the listing of numerous resume-worthy items over the years). For me, this process takes less time, overall, and I am less likely to forget key or important things to list on my resume. It also gives me extra motivation each year to try to add something new and distinguishable to my resume (if I know that when I sit down each summer to reflect upon my year, I like to have something—or some things—to add from the previous year).

12. Create Your Brand:

Similar to updating your resume each year, it is also a good idea as a counselor to think about your counseling brand. What would you like to be known for—or by—in other words? What is your mission statement? What is your vision statement? Often times, we think of mission and vision statements in terms of the business world, for instance. But it is more than that. For new(er) counselors, it is worth taking some time to think about the type of counselor that you want to be (or to eventually become). Think of this as self-professional development: You are looking internally, and reflecting, upon the type of counselor that you want to be to start your career, and you are also thinking about where you want to take yourself, professionally, into the future. Craft a mission and vision statement that inspires you—and one that you are proud of—then display it in your office or your personal working spaces. When you look at it, you may be stirred by the ideals that you set for yourself and it may give you that little extra boost of motivation and inspiration on those tough days that pop up for all of us. What is more, just like with updating your resume at least once every year, it’s worth reflecting on your counseling branding statements each year to see if your statements reflect your current values; beliefs; ethics; and passions in your job. If they no longer match with your current reality, or mindset, then it is time for an annual self-performance review, where you can update your statements to better reflect your current (and future) passions; ambitions; values; beliefs; and short-term and long-term goals.

13. Be Intentional About Your Summers:

I wrote this particular tip for new counselors because I believe that it is critically important for counselors and educators to take full ownership over their summers. I believe that, in education, summers are where good students, teachers, counselors, and educators of all stripes can become excellent; and where excellent individuals can strive towards becoming great. What I mean is: The Summer—in education—is the time that individuals can largely make their own. Want to take a summer class? You can. Want to read a stack of education-related books? You can. Want to attend summer workshops or conferences? You can. Want to work on college recommendation letters for students, so you have less to write in the fall? You can. On the other hand, need to take some time off to disconnect and refresh yourself? You guessed it: You can. Want to have a mix of counseling or education-directed professional development opportunities that you couple with some much-needed and deserved relaxation and rejuvenation? You can. I absolutely love summers. Sure, I am always excited to come back to the office every August, but nothing beats having a summer that I can largely self-direct and control. For me, summers are meant for live baseball games; camping; reading at the library; mini-road trips; and running at the park. What do summers mean for you?

14. Maintain (Or Create) An Identity Outside of Your Work:

As we wind down our fifteen tips, I list one tip here that was personally quite difficult for me, if I am being completely honest. I think when I first started my job in the summer of 2016, I was just incredibly excited for the new opportunity. It was my first job as a counselor (actually my first full-fledged professional job ever) and I wanted to make sure that I certainly gave it my all. I said yes to nearly every request asked of me as a new counselor (and also enthusiastically volunteered myself for dozens of different initiatives); thought about my job nearly around the clock; dreamed about my job often; and viewed much of my self-identity and self-esteem as being directly tied-into my job. Fast-forward to 2020—with the global pandemic—and I had to take a step back to re-asses what I wanted my self-identity to be and how I wanted to go about having a personal identity outside of work.

I decided that I would start this website; I would continue working on my Spanish language-learning skills; I would listen to more music that I enjoy; I would start a brand-new clothing line that I am really excited about; I would delve deeper into my personal faith (or re-connect more—however I might view that from day-to-day); and I am sure that I will pick up other new eventually-to-be-determined hobbies or interests along the way, as well. I am interested in running for political office down the road; maybe opening up a sports card shop (OK, maybe that was more of a childhood dream, or was it?); maybe doing more with writing; assessing if, or when, I want to begin a PhD program; and, before too long, investing in real estate. Life is short and there is so much that we can do. I tell my students all the time that I don’t believe in a “destiny” career, if you will. I think most people could do a number of different jobs or careers and not only be good at them but also be partially-fulfilled by them. I say partially, again, because I think it is important for new counselors—and people in all categories of work—to also have a well-developed identity outside the lines of their respective profession.

 15. Take a Deep Breath:

At the risk of sounding overly cliché, I feel that I must still list this tip to adequately round-out our list. Whether you are a brand-new counselor, or a new-ish counselor (like me), it is important to remember to regularly keep things simple. With often-steep learning curves; students in crisis; and a host of things that come across your desk each day, it is important to remember to breathe and keep things in perspective. As a new(er) counselor, you are making a difference. Trust your training; lean on your colleagues and support system; journal or self-reflect; be aware of your boundaries; and create a high quality of life for yourself outside of work. All of these things can help you weather the tough days; the overwhelming days; or even the days where you question if you have chosen the right profession, altogether. The start of your school counseling career lays the foundation for the rest of your career as a counselor. Be excited; be proud that you have chosen such a great, impactful, and wonderful career. Now go out there and change the world, new(er) counselor!

—The Blue Collar Counselor