All Access. All in one subscription. From $2 per week
Subscribe now

All Access Weekly

From $2 per week
Pay just
$15.75
$2
per week ongoing
Subscribe now
BEST VALUE

All Access Annual

Pay just
$449
$49
per year ongoing
Subscribe now
Learn more
30
NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

<i>My job:</i> Career help is just a phone call away

By Angela McCarthy
NZ Herald·
19 Mar, 2008 01:43 AM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Astrid van Holten enjoys helping people who wouldn't normally get career guidance. Photo / Supplied
Astrid van Holten enjoys helping people who wouldn't normally get career guidance. Photo / Supplied

Astrid van Holten enjoys helping people who wouldn't normally get career guidance. Photo / Supplied

Counsellor offers a good alternative to face-to-face meetings

KEY POINTS:

Name: Astrid van Holten
Age: 45
Role: Telephone career consultant for Career Services.
Working hours: 40 hours, including a noon to 7pm shift.
Average salary: $40,000-$60,000.
Qualifications and institution: Graduate Diploma in Career Development, AUT.

Describe what you do.

I am a career consultant for North Shore
Career Services, working with schools, community organisations and face-to-face clients.

For the past eight months, I've been at our national office in Wellington, running a pilot telephone career guidance service for 15 to 30-year-olds and their influencers (parents). In March, I moved back to the North Shore office but I'm still providing the phone service two-and-a-half days a week until June.

How does it work?

When Career Services Advice Line (0800 222 733) staff think a caller needs in-depth help, they offer an appointment at a Career Services office. Callers that fall into the pilot target group are also offered a phone guidance option. The length of a call ranges from 10 minutes to one hour, with most calls taking around half an hour. Most people only want to talk once, although a significant number require two or more calls.

Who are your clients?

Some clients are people who can't access career planning, like a woman on an island who didn't have phone or internet access and rang from the local community centre. Some are home schooled, correspondence students or in rural areas. There are clients with physical issues who find it easier to make contact by phone. And then there are people who just prefer to talk by phone rather than face-to-face.

What are the main issues you deal with?

I talk to a lot of women with young families who want to explore ways to start a career.

Another large group is people in their early twenties who have left school early, worked in unskilled jobs and now want to make a change.

Towards the end of the year, there were heaps of Year 11 and 12 students calling about subject choices. After the NCEA results came out in January, I was booked solid with kids that missed university entrance and wanted to talk about other options.

I also get people trying to find university courses, graduates figuring out where to head and young people asking about options other than returning to school.

Your history?

I have been a career consultant with Career Services for about eight years. Before that, I was an administrator for a private tertiary provider. I found the part I enjoyed best was the people contact and eventually decided I wanted a job that involved working with people.

I began the graduate diploma in career development because career guidance sounded like a practical way to be helping people. I did two papers the first semester as well as Lifeline training. I then got part-time work with a local vocational guidance company while I continued the qualification.

What training or experience did you need?

You need to have micro-counselling skills and knowledge and experience in careers counselling. For the phone pilot, I had to learn how to use the call centre technology and data bases.

I was also allocated an experienced phone career counselling buddy with a UK organisation.

What skills are important?

Micro-counselling skills, like reflecting, summarising and questioning, are key tools. You need really good listening skills and have to be able to think quickly.

You need to be able to pick up verbal cues when a client is disengaging or when you're on the wrong track. I am much more aware of changes in tone of voice now, something I don't use as much with face-to-face counselling because of visual cues.

Best part of the job?

You get instant feedback about how much the session helps and it has been mainly positive, which is a real buzz. It is also great to be offer career counselling and advice services to people that would not otherwise get it.

Challenges?

Not getting visual cues is nerve wracking at times. But there is also a freedom in that, because you can't make assumptions based on their appearance. It also took time to acclimatise to the call centre environment.

Any interesting stories?

I rang one woman at an allocated time and she was doing lots of huffing and puffing. She was washing the car while talking to me.

I was initially surprised but then I realised that she was a practical person and moving helped her think.

Another guy was talking to me and then went all quiet. When I asked if he was still there, he told me the dog had herded a chicken into the room and he'd have to get rid of it. I heard lots of clucking noises as he chased it away.

What next?

We're evaluating the pilot with a view to deciding whether phone guidance becomes part of the normal business of Career Services.

All Access. All in one subscription. From $2 per week
Subscribe now

All Access Weekly

From $2 per week
Pay just
$15.75
$2
per week ongoing
Subscribe now
BEST VALUE

All Access Annual

Pay just
$449
$49
per year ongoing
Subscribe now
Learn more
30
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

New Zealand

Rescuers search for two people after boat capsizes near Pātea

14 Jun 11:38 PM
New Zealand

‘Sink it, for all I care’: Mother calls for crane's removal after son’s fatal fall

14 Jun 11:00 PM
New Zealand|crime

Notorious Kiwi porn boss speaks from US prison cell

14 Jun 10:00 PM

It was just a stopover – 18 months later, they call it home

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Recommended for you
Fox keeps impressive streak but falls further back at US Open
Golf

Fox keeps impressive streak but falls further back at US Open

15 Jun 12:08 AM
Rescuers search for two people after boat capsizes near Pātea
New Zealand

Rescuers search for two people after boat capsizes near Pātea

14 Jun 11:38 PM
Why Auckland City v Bayern Munich could be the greatest underdogs battle in our sporting history
Sport

Why Auckland City v Bayern Munich could be the greatest underdogs battle in our sporting history

14 Jun 11:21 PM
One reportedly dead as Iran launches more missiles, Israel targets Tehran
World

One reportedly dead as Iran launches more missiles, Israel targets Tehran

14 Jun 11:11 PM
‘Sink it, for all I care’: Mother calls for crane's removal after son’s fatal fall
New Zealand

‘Sink it, for all I care’: Mother calls for crane's removal after son’s fatal fall

14 Jun 11:00 PM

Latest from New Zealand

Rescuers search for two people after boat capsizes near Pātea

Rescuers search for two people after boat capsizes near Pātea

14 Jun 11:38 PM

One person is being treated while the search continues for two others.

‘Sink it, for all I care’: Mother calls for crane's removal after son’s fatal fall

‘Sink it, for all I care’: Mother calls for crane's removal after son’s fatal fall

14 Jun 11:00 PM
Notorious Kiwi porn boss speaks from US prison cell

Notorious Kiwi porn boss speaks from US prison cell

14 Jun 10:00 PM
'Political' assassination in Minnesota, Israel escalates against Iran | NZ Herald News Update

'Political' assassination in Minnesota, Israel escalates against Iran | NZ Herald News Update

The woman behind NZ’s first PAK’nSAVE
sponsored

The woman behind NZ’s first PAK’nSAVE

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
All Access. All in one subscription. From $2 per week
Subscribe now

All Access Weekly

From $2 per week
Pay just
$15.75
$2
per week ongoing
Subscribe now
BEST VALUE

All Access Annual

Pay just
$449
$49
per year ongoing
Subscribe now
Learn more
30
TOP
search by queryly Advanced Search