How to hire educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors
A job description you can copy, interview questions tied to the real work, and what to pay. Free.
Job description template
Copy it, fill in the brackets, and remove anything that does not fit your job. Keep only must-haves you would really turn someone away for.
[Job title] at [Company name] [City, State] · [Full-time / Part-time] · [Pay range] About the role [Two or three sentences about your team, the work and why it matters.] What you will do • Counsel individuals or groups to help them understand and overcome personal, social, or behavioral problems affecting their educational or vocational situations. • Counsel students regarding educational issues, such as course and program selection, class scheduling and registration, school adjustment, truancy, study habits, and career planning. • Maintain accurate and complete student records as required by laws, district policies, and administrative regulations. • Prepare students for later educational experiences by encouraging them to explore learning opportunities and to persevere with challenging tasks. • Provide crisis intervention to students when difficult situations occur at schools. • Refer students to degree programs based on interests, aptitudes, or educational assessments. • Refer students to outside counseling services. • Review transcripts to ensure that students meet graduation or college entrance requirements, and write letters of recommendation. What you bring • [Required license, certification or years of experience, if any] • [Education, only if you truly need it. Typical to start in this job: Master's degree] • Strong active listening, speaking, critical thinking, reading comprehension, writing and active learning skills • Working knowledge of customer and personal service, English Language and therapy and counseling • [Anything else you would really turn someone away for] Pay and benefits [Pay range]. For reference, the U.S. median for this job is $30.93 an hour ($64,330 a year). [Benefits, schedule and anything else candidates should know.] How to apply [Apply on JAI Bot. Every applicant hears back.]
Interview questions for educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors
Ask every candidate the same questions, in the same order, and write down what they say. Questions about past work show what someone has actually done.
- Tell me about a time you had to counsel individuals or groups to help them understand and overcome personal, social, or behavioral problems affecting their educational or vocational situations. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
- Tell me about a time you had to counsel students regarding educational issues, such as course and program selection, class scheduling and registration, school adjustment, truancy, study habits, and career planning. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
- Tell me about a time you had to maintain accurate and complete student records as required by laws, district policies, and administrative regulations. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
- Tell me about a time you had to prepare students for later educational experiences by encouraging them to explore learning opportunities and to persevere with challenging tasks. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
- Tell me about a time you had to understand a request or problem that was explained poorly. How did you make sure you got it right?
- Explain something technical from your last job as you would to a new coworker.
- Describe a decision at work where the obvious answer was wrong. How did you work out the better choice?
- Why this job, and why now? What would make you stay here for the long term?
Good answers name a real situation, what the person did themselves and what happened. Avoid questions about age, family plans, religion, health, national origin or anything else unrelated to the job.
What educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors do
- Counsel individuals or groups to help them understand and overcome personal, social, or behavioral problems affecting their educational or vocational situations.
- Counsel students regarding educational issues, such as course and program selection, class scheduling and registration, school adjustment, truancy, study habits, and career planning.
- Maintain accurate and complete student records as required by laws, district policies, and administrative regulations.
- Prepare students for later educational experiences by encouraging them to explore learning opportunities and to persevere with challenging tasks.
- Provide crisis intervention to students when difficult situations occur at schools.
- Refer students to degree programs based on interests, aptitudes, or educational assessments.
- Refer students to outside counseling services.
- Review transcripts to ensure that students meet graduation or college entrance requirements, and write letters of recommendation.
Skills that matter most
Education, experience and outlook for educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors
- Typical education to start: Master's degree (BLS)
- Job outlook: +2.9% over ten years, about as fast as average · about 27,800 openings a year (BLS)
What to pay educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors
Pay depends a lot on where the job is. Highest and lowest median yearly pay by state:
| State | Median yearly pay |
|---|---|
| California | $86,500 |
| Alaska | $82,900 |
| Washington | $82,670 |
| District of Columbia | $80,470 |
| Massachusetts | $79,930 |
| Florida | $53,140 |
| Oklahoma | $52,040 |
| South Dakota | $51,830 |
See educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors pay in every state
Related hiring guides
- Marriage and Family Therapists
- Rehabilitation Counselors
- Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors
- Counselors, All Other
- Child, Family, and School Social Workers
- Healthcare Social Workers
- Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers
- Social Workers, All Other
- Health Education Specialists
- Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists
Post this job on JAI Bot. Free to start: JAI Bot reads every applicant against your must-haves, shows the resume evidence behind each one, and helps you reply to everyone. People make every decision.
Post a job freePay by areaJob duties and skills: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license; O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. JAI Bot has modified this information; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Pay: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, May 2025. Interview questions and the job description template: JAI Bot, based on the duties and skills above.