May 15, 2006 8:23 AM

It's never too early for career counseling
Posted by at 8:23 AM

A recent article from abcnews.com reports that a growing number of parents are taking their teens to career counselors. As Carol Smaby, one of the parents interviewed for the article, put it, "Today's generation of kids are going to have to be able to jump around a lot more so they have to have different skills. ...there's so much out there." As a career coach having worked with both adults and teens, I wholeheartedly agree.

Mindy Bingham, whose Career Choices curriculum used in 3,800 schools nationwide, says kids can't be asked soon enough to begin thinking about their future careers. She targets children as young as 13 with a 10-year plan designed to take them right into the work force.

"The emphasis is on helping kids become career-focused and career-committed," said Bingham, whose firm, Academic Innovations, is based in Washington, Utah. "It's not about choosing a specific career, but … knowing the process so that if they have a boss who comes in the door and says 'We're closing down the business' or 'Technology just changed your job,' they'll be in position to know how to make this change."