What do Alpha Careers offer?

• We specialise in career planning for people in all stages of their career journey - from secondary students through to working adults. Click here to read about Claire.

• We offer an insight into the client's psychometric career profile using a variety of assessments designed to identify their "drivers", interests, values, skills and personality type

• Our goal is to direct the client to that career where they will be happy, have job satisfaction & be successful in the increasingly competitive world of work

• We advise on which careers are growing with many future opportunities and which careers are dying and consequently have limited opportunities in the future

• We offer expert advice on where to train and the most cost effective routes to get into the career of choice 

• We do not tell the client what career to follow. All we do is present them with the evidence from a number of sources and invite them to make the decision as to which careers of the over 3000 available are best suited for them to investigate before they spend time, energy & money on further training

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How long do appointments last?

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Appointments generally last 3 hours. The first part of the consultation is with the client only and takes 2-2.5 hours. The second part of the appointment involves discussion and planning with the client and their parents/caregivers/partners. This takes approximately 30 minutes but is dependent on how many questions the support people have.  
 

What happens during consultations?

The Initial Consultation

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• When you schedule an appointment you will be sent a questionnaire to complete prior to your appointment. This is designed to gather information about you and save appointment time. We like to have this at least a week before your appointment with us. Unlike other career organisations, there is no cost for our questionnaire. We spend time prior to your interview analysing the information you have given us, getting to know you, putting some ideas together and sourcing information about potential careers which may be suitable for you, before we even meet with you

 

• The process is all about you, the client. We meet with you, initially on your own,  and discuss what it is that makes you the extraordinary individual you are, and where you are going to be happiest within the world of work. We discuss and explore eighteen different information sources which impact on career and vocation

 

• We use information from the pre consultation questionnaire, a variety of evidence based psychometric assessments (a simplified version of the Myers-Briggs Assessment & the Holland Self Directed Search Assessment) as well as your own narrative. In addition to this, we consider your skills and interests to help you discover careers that align with your values and personality

 

• Using all the compiled evidence and reflecting on what is important to you, we invite you to choose four or five career areas worth exploring further

 

• Once you have your careers of choice in mind, we put an action plan in place of the things you need to do to ensure that you qualify for entry into training in the careers of choice. We encourage you to investigate and experience these professions so that you know you are making the right choice. We share effective ways of researching careers in order that you make well-informed & cost effective decisions

 

• To conclude the appointment, we invite your support person(s) in, to share the information with. We ask you to ‘own’ the process and lead the discussion (with our support), but we will gladly answer any questions you or your support person may have

 

• Sessions are confidential and we only share your information with your permission

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• You leave with your own Alpha Careers Career Planning Folder, complete with working documents and relevant resources. After your appointment we email you further documents and links relevant to your choice of career, ideas on how to format a CV as well as broad career information to guide you as you start your career planning journey

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• After your appointment, if you have a question you are welcome to email us and we will endeavour to answer your questions to the best of our ability​

 

Follow-up Appointment(s)

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• At Alpha Careers, we strongly recommend that you return for a follow-up appointment no longer than 12 months after your initial appointment. This is especially important for clients entering into Year 13 or considering enrolment in tertiary education or employment in their first job.

 

• This is often a decision-making appointment where you choose your future career direction and a back-up in case things don't work out as planned.

 

• We evaluate what career research you have done and advise on how to improve your CV. If you don't have a CV we assist you in getting this started

 

• We establish the academic requirements for your course of choice, and how to maximise your chances to do the best you are capable of, in the entry examinations/requirements for the careers of choice.

 

• We  discuss in detail how to access monetary scholarships - where they are found and how to apply for them. Alpha Careers has had huge success in this area over the past ten years, with numerous clients winning prestigious national and international scholarships, some valued at up to $400,000. Remember that scholarships are not only reserved for school leaders,  sports stars, and academic geniuses. If you are well-rounded with community involvement or are particularly talented in one area, you may be eligible for some significant monetary scholarships.

 

• We help you decide which tertiary institutions offer the course best suited to your chosen career as well as your personal circumstances and advise on the faculty application and the halls of residence application process.

 

• We investigate funding, discuss how to source interest free funds and advise on ways to minimise your student loan.

 

• We will answer any questions you or your support person may have.

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Cost?

 

Alpha Careers charges an hourly rate so cost is based on the length of the appointment. First appointments take between 2.75-3.25 hours, whilst follow up appointments are shorter and usually last between 2.0-2.5 hours. Please contact Claire for more details.

 

We accept payment via cash or online transfer. At the conclusion of the appointment Claire will issue you with an invoice. Payment is appreciated within 7 days of the appointment.

Alpha Careers also offer payment plans if requested.
 

What happens if we have to cancel?

 

It is expected that any cancellation occurs at least three working days prior to the appointment date. Failure to do so may result in a charge for the time spent preparing for your appointment.

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Confidentiality?

 

Your information from the interview and questionnaires is confidential to you, to Alpha Careers and to anyone you agree to share it with.

 

 

We at Alpha Careers have seen thousands of clients from all over New Zealand. We have helped clients from as far afield as Australia & the USA. We pride ourselves on a high level of customer satisfaction. Over 99% of our referrals have come from happy clients and "word of mouth" is our primary advertising source. We have seen first hand the benefits of good career planning and we look forward to helping you begin your exciting career journey today.

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