What do guidance counselors do? Duties, the UK equivalents, a job description template and interview questions

Every school has a door that students knock on when the timetable does not fit, the grades have slipped, home is difficult or nobody has explained what happens after the exams. In American schools the person behind it is the guidance counselor. In British schools the same work is shared out among several people with different titles.

This article explains what guidance counselors do, sets out six duties, maps the American role onto its UK equivalents, lists the skills and qualifications employers ask for, gives a job description template and ends with eight interview questions for the role.

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What is a guidance counselor?

The Cambridge Dictionary defines a guidance counselor, a US term, as “someone whose job is to help people choose a job or career”. In practice the school role is wider than careers. American school counselors work with students on three fronts: academic planning and progress, personal and social wellbeing, and decisions about careers, college and training. In the United States the title school counselor is now widely used for the same role, but guidance counselor is what many people still say.

In the UK there is no single equivalent. The careers part of the job is done by a careers adviser. Prospects, the UK graduate careers service, describes the role in its careers adviser job profile: careers advisers “work with young people aged 13 and over and adults who may be considering a career change, returning to work or looking to upskill or retrain”, and “provide impartial advice on routes into a variety of careers and industries”. The pastoral part is done by form tutors, heads of year and pastoral managers, and the therapeutic part, where a school has it, by a school counsellor, a role Prospects covers in its counsellor job profile: counsellors “help people to identify problems in their lives, allowing them to reflect on what is happening to them and consider alternative ways of doing things”, and “won't give advice but will support clients to explore their behaviour patterns and make their own choices”.

That last distinction matters when writing the job description. A guidance counselor advises; a counsellor in the therapeutic sense does not. The American role combines both, and a British school hiring for it should say which it wants.

What guidance counselors do: six duties

1. Advise students one to one. Meet students individually to discuss their options, aims and difficulties, listen, and agree realistic next steps. Prospects describes the careers version as consulting one to one, listening to ideas and aims, and drawing up action plans.
2. Plan academic programmes and monitor progress. Help students choose courses and subjects, check that their programme leads where they want to go, watch attendance and grades, and step in early when either slips.
3. Deliver careers and further-study guidance. Explain routes into careers, apprenticeships, college and university, the applications, the funding and the labour market, and help with personal statements, CVs and interviews.
4. Support wellbeing and refer. Be the first person a student talks to about anxiety, family difficulty, bullying or a crisis; follow the school's safeguarding procedures; and refer to the school counsellor, the nurse or outside services when the need goes beyond guidance.
5. Run group sessions and events. Deliver lessons and assemblies on careers, applications and study skills, and organise careers fairs, employer talks and college visits.
6. Work with teachers, families and agencies. Share what teachers need to know within the confidentiality rules, talk with parents and carers, and liaise with colleges, employers, training providers and support services.

The UK equivalents

In England the careers strand is a statutory duty. The Department for Education's careers guidance and access for education and training providers is statutory guidance for schools and colleges that applies to all pupils from year 7 to year 13 and to college learners up to 18, and to learners up to 25 with an education, health and care plan. GOV.UK explains the status plainly: “Statutory guidance is issued by law. You must follow it unless there is a good reason not to.” A UK school writing a guidance role should build the careers part around that guidance. This is general information, not legal advice, and the arrangements differ in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and in other countries.

Skills employers ask for

• Listening. Prospects puts listening to the student's own ideas and aims before any advice.
• Impartiality. Advice on routes should serve the student, not the school's targets or the adviser's preferences.
• Knowledge of routes and the labour market. Courses, apprenticeships, universities, funding and where the jobs are, kept up to date.
• Safeguarding awareness. Knowing the procedures and following them, every time.
• Boundaries. Knowing where guidance ends and counselling, medical or social care begins, and referring.
• Organisation. A caseload of hundreds of students, records, action plans and events.
• Communication with adults. Teachers, parents and carers, employers and agencies, in writing and in person.

Qualifications

In the United States the requirements are set by each state and commonly include a graduate degree in school counselling and a state credential; check the rules of the state concerned. In the UK, Prospects describes two routes into careers advice: a recognised postgraduate careers guidance qualification, which incorporates the level 7 Qualification in Career Development, or training on the job towards the level 4 Diploma in Career Information and Advice, for information and advice but not guidance, or the level 6 Diploma in Career Guidance and Development. It also lists a level 6 career development professional apprenticeship, typically around two years. School counsellors in the therapeutic sense hold counselling qualifications and usually professional body membership.

Guidance counselor job description template

Adapt the title and the balance of duties to the country and the school. In the UK, split the role or say which strand it covers.

Job title: Guidance counselor (school counselor) / Careers and guidance adviser

Reports to: Head teacher or assistant head (pastoral)

Hours: Full time, term time plus [number] days

Purpose of the role: To help every student plan their studies, look after their wellbeing and make informed decisions about careers and further study, working with teachers, families and outside services.

Main duties:

• Meet students one to one to discuss options, aims and difficulties, and agree action plans
• Advise on subject and course choices, monitor progress and attendance, and intervene early
• Deliver impartial careers, apprenticeship, college and university guidance, including applications and funding
• Provide first-line support for wellbeing concerns, follow safeguarding procedures and refer to specialist services
• Deliver group sessions on careers, applications and study skills, and organise careers events
• Liaise with teachers, parents and carers, colleges, employers and agencies, within confidentiality rules

Skills and experience:

• A recognised careers guidance or school counselling qualification [state the level required]
• Experience of advising young people, in a school or similar setting
• Excellent listening skills and impartial, student-centred advice
• Working knowledge of safeguarding procedures and routes into education, training and work
• Organised, with experience of managing a caseload and records
• Enhanced background check [as required by law]

We provide: Induction to the school's safeguarding and pastoral systems, professional body membership and development, and a route to careers leader or senior pastoral roles.

For the layout of the whole document, use our job description template. For the teaching colleagues the counselor works alongside, see our teacher job description and teaching assistant job description.

Guidance counselor interview questions

These eight questions are ours. Each asks for evidence of the skills above.

1. Tell us about a student whose plans did not match their progress. What did you do, and what happened?
2. A student tells you something in confidence that you believe is a safeguarding concern. What do you do, step by step?
3. How do you keep your knowledge of courses, apprenticeships and the local labour market current?
4. Describe a time you gave advice a student or a parent did not want to hear.
5. How do you decide when a student's need is beyond guidance and should be referred, and to whom?
6. How would you organise a caseload of three hundred students so that nobody is missed?
7. Describe a group session or event you ran. How did you know it worked?
8. How do you work with teachers who see the same student differently from you?

Common mistakes in guidance counselor adverts

One title for three jobs. In the UK especially, say whether the post is careers, pastoral, counselling or all three, and what qualification each needs.

No safeguarding. The advert should name the procedures, the training and the checks.

Caseload unstated. Three hundred students and eight hundred are different jobs.

Advice without impartiality. If the school's targets shape the advice, students will notice. Write impartiality into the purpose.

Frequently asked questions

What do guidance counselors do?

Guidance counselors, or school counselors, help students on three fronts: academic planning and progress, personal and social wellbeing, and decisions about careers, college and training. They advise one to one, run group sessions and events, follow safeguarding procedures, refer to specialist services and work with teachers, families and outside agencies.

What is the UK equivalent of a guidance counselor?

There is no single equivalent. Careers advisers and careers leaders do the careers guidance, form tutors, heads of year and pastoral managers do the academic and pastoral support, and school counsellors provide therapeutic counselling where a school has them. In England the careers strand is covered by statutory guidance.

What is the difference between a guidance counselor and a school counsellor?

In American usage they are the same role, with school counselor now the preferred title. In the UK a school counsellor usually means a trained therapeutic counsellor who does not give advice, while a careers adviser gives impartial advice on routes. A job description should say which is meant.

What qualifications does a guidance counselor need?

In the United States, requirements are set by each state and commonly include a graduate degree in school counselling and a state credential. In the UK, careers advisers qualify through a postgraduate careers guidance qualification at level 7, the level 4 or level 6 diplomas, or a level 6 career development apprenticeship, and school counsellors through counselling qualifications.

What skills does a guidance counselor need?

Listening, impartiality, up-to-date knowledge of routes and the labour market, safeguarding awareness, clear boundaries and referral judgement, organisation across a large caseload, and communication with teachers, parents and agencies.

What should a guidance counselor job description include?

The strands the role covers, the qualification and checks required, the caseload, the six duties, the safeguarding procedures and training, the reporting line, the working pattern and the route to careers leader or senior pastoral roles.

Your next step: decide which of the three jobs you are hiring for

1. Say whether the post covers academic, careers or wellbeing guidance, or all three, and which qualification each strand needs.
2. State the caseload and the working pattern.
3. Write the safeguarding procedures, training and checks into the advert.
4. Interview for listening, impartiality and referral judgement, with the questions above.

Advisers are judged on conversations nobody else hears. Read and download our employee feedback guide for a way to gather evidence fairly. The guide is free to read, and the PDF uses our short download form.

Want check-ins, goals and recognition for every member of the school's support staff in one place? Book a New Dynamics demo and bring your current approach. You can also email contact@new-dynamics.com.