From job seeker to career counsellor: how one grad found his calling
For Alex Chan, helping people find meaningful employment has become a true calling.
After spending more than 25 years in Hong Kong and China in senior marketing roles, Alex returned to Vancouver, B.C., in late 2022. Despite being a Canadian citizen with extensive international experience, he struggled to secure employment without recent Canadian work experience. He had been applying for dozens of jobs each week when a conversation with a WorkBC employment counsellor in April 2023 changed his path.
The counsellor recognized his varied background in marketing, customer service, training and business and asked if he would consider a career helping others find work. “It was an excellent question, and one that ended up changing my life,” Alex says.
Inspired by the idea, Alex researched local labour market needs and career development programs. He chose to enroll in the SFU Continuing Studies Career Development Practitioner Certificate program because of its combination of foundational coursework and a three-week practicum. Alex appreciated the flexibility of the online course format and valued learning from instructors with extensive experience in employment services.
“The instructors weren't simply teaching from textbooks,” he says. “They brought practical experience into the classroom and showed us how career development work actually happens.”
For his practicum, Alex secured a placement at WorkBC Vancouver Midtown, where he gained hands-on experience supporting clients and delivering employment services. He completed his practicum and continued volunteering with WorkBC before securing a full-time position as an employment counsellor at WorkBC Vancouver Northeast.
After three years of supporting 350+ clients with job searches, career planning, employment assessments and action plans, Alex was promoted to case management coordinator, where he now supports employment counsellors, assists with complex cases and helps maintain career service quality.
“The Career Development Practitioner program is an excellent choice for people who genuinely want to contribute to society and help others through employment services,” he notes. “It gave me the foundation to begin my journey, and I continue to apply the skills and knowledge I gained every day.”
Even as Alex has now embraced using artificial intelligence (AI) as a tool for market insights to help his clients, he says that AI never replaces his professional judgment. “We need to review, audit, verify and interpret everything that AI produces,” he says. “Human understanding and professional ethics are critical.”
For Alex, earning the Career Development Practitioner Certificate marked the beginning of a new professional identity dedicated to helping others overcome employment challenges and achieve their career goals.
“Being a career development practitioner is not just a job—it's a profession,” he says. “As practitioners, we're often assisting people during difficult moments in their lives. Because of that, you need to have empathy, have a passion for helping people and be a positive source of energy.”
By David Evans