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Advice is provided by an individual, whether face-to-face or by phone or online, for example, to help you decide what course to do or which training provider to choose. If your needs are more complex and more time is needed you may be referred to a more in-depth guidance interview.

Individual Case Study:

Peter decided that he wanted to change career, he had always been interested in teaching but circumstances had taken him in another direction. Over the years he realised that the ‘teaching bug’ had never really gone away; he decided to do something about it.

Peter’s first careers guidance interview provided him with the opportunity to identify and discuss in detail the different actions he was going to take in order to make sure that he had enough information to choose from the available training opportunities, plan for making the transition from his current lifestyle to that of a student, explore how the change might affect him personally and then, make his final decision.

The final stage for Peter was to develop an action plan for change; this would keep him focused and ensure that he kept going in the right direction to achieve his goal.

Each of the activities mentioned above belongs to the DOTS model of guidance outlined below in more detail.

Decision Making	Sometimes people make quite random decisions then wonder why things go wrong further down the line. Objective decision making requires that you have wide range of information to enable you to make an informed choice. The next step would be to assess the implications for you in making the decision; are there any risks involved; is there anything getting in the way of your final decision, how can that be managed, do the benefits outweigh the risks?
Opportunity Awareness	Taking personal constraints into account, we can get the feeling that our learning and work opportunities are quite limited. Opportunity awareness is about exploring the different ways there are to learn and work. At one time people were expected to get a ‘job for life’ but today’s climate is very different. Colleges and employers are constantly looking for ways to offer a wider degree of flexibility to people who want to learn or work outside the norm of 9am to 5pm. You can be helped to explore and assess these opportunities with a view to choosing the right one for you.
Transition Learning	Changing jobs, taking on learning, doing anything differently can have quite an impact and needs careful thought before the final commitment is made. Transition learning can help you explore some of the issues and problems that might arise when making a change in your life. By identifying what these things are, you can plan to make the change step by step which is more likely to lead to a successful and smooth transition.
Self Awareness	Every person is unique; we are all different from each other and have our own preferences and behaviours that single us out from other people. These things make life interesting, and sometimes problematic, for all sorts of reasons. The more you know about yourself, the way you behave and the reasons for this, the more likely you are to be able to form lasting relationships, manage difficult situations and make wise choices and decisions. Guidance provides a variety of tools and techniques to increase your self awareness and help you plan for what you would like to do differently.