Best Career Counsellors, 2022 July2022| TKR

Torch of Dreams!

alk, Run, and Hide until a hero with glowing eyes comes searching for you under the troubled debris of the realistic modern world, which has become the recurring act for most aspirants, especially in the st 21-century youth, which is highly influenced by the entitlement of what's shown of the screens.

The psychology behind asking for help is crucial. Battling the uncertain question of survival and leading a meaningful life, the most common mistakes made by the youth of today is often with careers.

Choosing a career is an arduous task. Moreover, the late realisation of 'loving something you're good at does not make you happy!' questions the entire concept of living a life. However, a human psychology study suggests that humans should ask for help more often than one asks. This will allow and lead them to make an informed decision.

Edor

However, in a world where self-proclamation breaks all the barriers to the wiser attitude of learning, the act of asking for helps is lost.

Having said that, the fact that humans need help from the right source has become essential for sustaining life. For the youth, walking on the path of righteousness, running towards the goal bearing the torch and hiding from unnecessary distraction has become the need of the hour, and in that view, The Knowledge Review magazine has come up with the latest edition, Best Career Counsellors, 2022 .

In our venture to find help for the students who are preparing to make their run towards a holistic career, we explored the versions of guidance that would replace the school 'Hogwarts' from the prominent quote of the magician, Albus Dumbledore, "Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it."

Now seek help to lift your career amongst the pages of this informational and educational booklet of guidance. Along with that, also have a look at the articles that holds a power to change your perception about help.

Have an Insightful Guided Read!

Ashlesh Khadse ashlesh.khadse@insightssuccess.com

Guiding Students to a Holistic Career

Priya

Brief Name of the Institute

ACA Sports Counselling

Bassekraah charitable society

Web Address

Aca Sports brings to fore the spirit of sports and blends it with career guidance. Padmavathi brings her years of experience in counselling and helps students take informed decisions.

Bassekraah Charitable Society is a Consulting firm in which they guide the people to make right decision in their life. The firm usually confide the parents, friends, and mentors.

Crossroad Solution

Incuglobe Solutions Pvt. Ltd.

I Can Foundation Mentors World

People's University

Sparkle Career and Counselling Services

Sree Ramanujar Intellect Services

Zenith EdTech Solutions

thementorsworld.com

Crossroad Solution is a consulting firm providing skilled Professional's at various levels for different functions. The firm is specialize in meeting human capital needs of diverse industries.

I Can Foundation is India's leading voluntary Non Government organization, which is effectively working for the children and women belonging to poor and marginalised communities.

IncuGlobe Solutions Pvt. Ltd. is a company based in Pune, India. It specializes in providing blockchain based scalable solutions to clients including Decentralized Finances (DeFis), Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs), DApps built on various blockchainis and other enterprises. Mentors World is an all-inclusive organisation, wherein they teach students with experimental learning ,learning with fun, train them with the requisite life skills, guide and counsel them to make better career choices, and eventually help them with their admission procedures.

People’s University has ten Constituent Institutes. Its campus is conducive and possess academic environment for education and career building in central India.

sparklecounselling.com

crossroadsolution.com icanfoundationindia.org incuglobe.com peoplesuniversity.edu.in ramanujarintellect.com zenithedtech.com

Sparkle Career and Counselling Services is based in Mumbai, and vision's to help students gain the knowledge and necessary skills to shape their studies and career.

Sree Ramanujar Intellect Services provide the guidance to students in choosing the career and it is a overseas education company in Pondicherry, to help students and parents have better options in term of their education plans.

Zenith EdTech Solutions is catering the needs of undergraduates and fresh graduates to make the right decision for their career by addressing the problems and the interest of the students.

Ms

D E I P R I A

CEO and Founder

Guiding Students to a Holistic Career

We aim at touching the lives of the student, and ultimately transforming the generations to come.

tudents from all over the world might have encountered the worry of career and future educational plans when completing of secondary or high school education. However, the traditional formal education syllabus with a fling of modern business scenarios cannot justify the growing demands of the younger generation worldwide.

Though the argument of machines replacing humans in corporate space is in quite a swing, the world has also witnessed a smooth transition from old manual jobs to automated and more intellect jobs. Old jobs being replaced by new ones have always been there, but due to the lack of awareness in the global employment sphere.

Introducing and guiding the younger generation to a prosperous career with a futuristic vision, Ms Devipriya founded Sree Ramanujar Intellect Services, a prominent and well-known career counselling service provider from Pondicherry.

The Knowledge Review Magazine, in its venture to find the Best Career Counsellors, came across Ms Devipriya, and in an interactive conversation, she shared her inspirational story and the roadmap to lead students to have incredible careers.

Let's dive into the unique and inspiring story of Ms Deviprya and Sree Ramanujar Intellect Services:

One of its kind Overseas Education Company

SRIS is a one of its kind overseas education company, established in Pondicherry, providing quality counselling for students from the age group of 12-21. SRIS, under the able guidance of Ms Devipriya, guides students to make the right career choices

and have a high-quality education in Indian and Foreign universities.

An Experienced Journey to Remember

Talking about her career and how Ms Devipriya entered the counselling space, she says, "Having 10+ years experience in the education industry, have seen students really struggling hard to make the career choices. I used to work for TCS Subsidiary during my early career, and where I saw a lot of youngsters who were in IT jobs were dissatisfied with their job roles& responsibilities. I have also seen many quit their jobs and follow their passion for photography and cooking etc. Ideally, on the other hand, I have also seen candidates from different streams like mechanical and HR desperate to get into the IT field. This provoked my thought, and I realised that there is a big gap in the identification of the real strength during the early childhood of an individual."

"I was also deployed as Marketing Supervisor from a Leading MNC managing a team from India, UAE & Africa. During this tenure, I really understood the traits and personalities of different nationals and their way of handling things and decision-making that made a person successful in their career. I decided to quit my corporate career and help students identify their career choices and help them progress themselves in the job market," She further adds.

Today, as the founder and CEO of SRIS, Ms Devipriya has successfully counselled more than 5000 students. Being the only large education institute in Pondicherry, SRIS has predominately expanded its wings in reaching out to students from all over the world.

Simplifying the Way Ahead

SRIS' Mission:

Making the way simple for students to find the correct direction towards their educational choices and assisting them towards a great career.

Talking about the mission, Ms Devipriya says, "With a team of experienced counsellors and guided expertise, we also make it easier for students to pursue education overseas and settle for better opportunities across the world."

Prioritising Holistic Development Approach

The approach that SRIS has been unique and prioritising the holistic approach in pedagogies and counselling process, SRIS has successfully created a bridge between personal skills and career prospects of students.

Talking about the expected career outcomes of the students, Ms Devipriya says, "We aim at touching the lives of the student, and ultimately transforming the generations to come. Our strong belief is that young minds speak volumes, and they do need an overseer to assist them towards right decision making."

My Way Programme: Student's Introduction to New Age Careers

To help students explore different careers and help them choose the right one for them, SRIS has initiated a My Way Programme with a roadmap of the proper execution plan of action. My Way programme is an exclusive

With a team of experienced counsellors and guided expertise, we also make it easier for students to pursue education overseas and settle for better opportunities across the world.

transformation programme for students which can help build a strong foundation for their skills.

Ms Devipriya asserts by saying, "MY WAY is a life-changing programme with five elements of self-discovery, self-image, career mapping, goal setting and presentation: we assist to arrive to a roadmap to a successful future by exploring at least 50+ career options matching to their skillsets. We make them realise of the digital transformation and how they can add value to the growing demand in the industry."

Differentiating MBA and PGDM, the Modern-Day Business Study Courses

Since the introduction of PGDM, many students have been confused about choosing the right course for their business studies. Differentiating them and explaining which one can be suitable for whom, Ms Devipriya says, "The first and basic difference between the two programs is that the MBA is a degree program whereas a PGDM is a diploma program. An MBA program is offered by a government or private university or a college affiliated with a university. Only the University Grants

Through MY WAY, we take students to industrial visits/get internships to get hands-on at the shop floor and make them realise of the digital transformation and how they can add value with their skillsets.

Commission (UGC) can award degrees. While A PGDM program is offered by AICTE recognised b-schools and standalone/autonomous b-schools, under the Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD), which do not come under the UGC."

Explaining what MBA is and how can one benefit from it, Ms Devipriya says, "MBAs from IIM in India are considered to be the most effective place to build knowledge in management. However, the selection process is very critical, and the lack of determination makes the students choose the programme from alternatives. The main objective of doing an MBA is to either build advanced knowledge in the 5 typical functions of Business and apply to perceive a strong organisational skill to get deployed in the key position in corporate companies {or} to start entrepreneurship and scale up a business in a productive manner. Also, now there are too many specialisations available for MBA such as MBA in Strategic Management, Logistics and Supply Chain Management, Risk Management, International Business Management etc."

Further explaining PGDM courses and the process of counselling, she further

explains, "On the other hand, most candidates, after having relevant work experience, consider doing a PGDM to enhance their skills and upgrade themselves to a higher position in their hierarchy. Considering all these, the requirement is more important to understand how, where and what level of knowledge can be obtained and how can its value add to one's career."

Preparing Students for a Holistic Future

When asked about what and how the counsellor influences a student's career decision, Ms Devipriya answered, "I am the sole pillar and shoulder all responsibility concerning the student's career decision making. I counsel the students to plan higher education in foreign countries like UK, USA, CANADA, AUSTRALIA, FRANCE AND GERMANY. Many students are unaware of which country will be an ideal location to build international career prospects. Firstly our engagement with the student on helping them get a clear picture of different options and their opportunities give a deeper understanding for the student to rightly chose. Moreover, we help the parents on preparing the funds required for the whole process."

The 3-Step Framework

While the students prepare for their venture to study at some of the world's best institutions, SRIS has developed a 3 step framework program which helps them to have a comfortable life abroad.

Ÿ

Part-time Jobs : Different avenues of part times jobs are available as direct applications, online applications, University jobs, and many more. SRIS's engagement in this area will give no clue about experimenting and failing in the foreign land. It also eventually helps students make extra money with their available time to manage studies and part-time jobs together.

Ÿ Internships : Internships provide an opportunity for international students to directly get deployed with the employer and prove their skill set which will enable 100% jobs in the future. Getting an internship is a very challenging task as there are a series of rounds of the process to shortlist the right candidate. However, when our student knows how to build the profile, how to approach etc. gives them a great advantage of getting selected in the first place. The personal branding sessions, which include emotional intelligence, selfesteem, and LinkedIn profile preparation, give the student a holistic way to deal with the Internships.

Ÿ

Job Search: Job prospects to help them maximise their income 10X folds.

"Almost all the countries are giving students a stay back option for 2- or 3years post-study to help them meet the skilled employment category. IF this is achieved, it's the biggest value add for the student's career, as well as the best saves for their educational investment. So, we help figure out top companies and their job prospects while they are

in India in such a way that from day one the students aim to be skilled and covert their student visas to work permit visas. Also, coming back to India is suggested as the best plan and help them understand the high paying careers and companies, which can they be the biggest honour to their home country," she further adds.

Envisioning the Future of SRIS "I feel obligated to make a difference in the lives of this young generation by initially reaching out to small groups, to society and to the nation. Our personal vision is to touch the lives of 1,00,000+ students within the next 5 years, so we empower a very strong student community. Eventually to become the top career counsellors in India which will be very high growth to the company and the personal vision," explains Ms Devipriya.

An Advice to the Future Counsellors

Advising the aspirants entering the field of career counselling, Ms Devipriya advises, "It's a very huge responsibility of a career counsellor to shape and help build a successful path for a student. Learning will be an eternal process, and those who continuously wish and strive for knowledge will alone be considered to be effective career counsellors. Moreover, the student engagement is just not about jobs and satisfactions alone, but emotional inspiration is required as many times more than counselling, the extra push and motivation to help a student realise their potentials are very significant."

ACA Sports Counselling

Taking Student-Athletes One Step Closer to their Dream

W

What are the possible career choices that you know of before you start applying for prestigious colleges and universities? Engineering, Medical, Commerce and Arts are some of the niches that you might be familiar with. However, if you ask a child about this dream career, many students would give one answer is 'SPORTSMAN'.

Sports as a career has always been seen as time-consuming, costly, and often ignored by the masses. In a country like India, where everyone is invested heavily in sports, its importance is just the tip of the iceberg.

Apart from the urban region where India is highlighted for all its glory, the other half—rural India—is still unexplored. While one side enjoys the efficient opportunities provided in multiple streams, the youth residing on the other side often stay unfamiliar or turn a blind eye to it.

Though the scope for rising and specific individual sports niches is quite low in a cricket-loving country like India, the opportunities and scholarships provided by the prominent

universities in India and abroad are immense.

After exploring the opportunities and sending her daughter to pursue an undergraduate program with a 100% sports scholarship in one of the Best Universities in the USA, Padmavathi Devarakonda decided to switch careers and be the guiding lamp to the real talent that goes unnoticed in India.

She brought ACA Sports Counselling to life through her sheer dedication and vision with www.acasportscounselling.com. In our quest to find the 'Best Career Counsellors, 2022' we came across her and her exceptional journey and ideas that inspires and guides the youth to chase their dreams while the opportunities of the world being their cape.

The Story that Triggered the Switch!

Mrs Padmavathi Devarakonda holds an MA and M.Phil. in English from the prestigious Osmania University. Being a wife of a merchant navy officer and mother of a Tennis player, she is familiar with the opportunities to study and excel in both India and abroad.

Being an experienced voyager, especially in the Tennis circuit, she has gained ample experience interacting with parents, players, and students from various countries. While narrating one of her experiences abroad, Mrs Padmavathi says, "One thing I have realised is that many parents are not aware of the sports scholarships available in the USA for international student-athletes to pursue their undergraduation program. That is when I did my career counselling course from Univariety Hyderabad, got my website, and started guiding students and parents as well."

Exploring a Plethora of Opportunities

There are plenty of opportunities available in the global sports industry. Though digitalisation has restricted a generation to their phone screens, the outdoor sporting industry is still rich and in demand for everyone.

ACA Sports Counselling was established with a motto to 'Never Give Up' and present numerous opportunities to the youth to succeed. Highlighting the opportunities in sports and the importance of counselling in

the sports education stream, Mrs Padmavathi says, "My motto is never giving up. There are a plethora of opportunities available out there. Just grab them."

Learning from the Learners

The learning process is never-ending, and with the world moving so fast in

“One thing I have realised is a lot of parents are not aware of the sports scholarships that are available in the USA for international student-athletes to pursue their undergraduate program.

Padmavathi Devarakonda Founder, ACA Sports Counselling

Best Career Counsellors, 2022

every field, it has become difficult for everyone to keep up with it. Being the sole proprietor of the organisation, Mrs Padmavathi has brought immense change in the sports education industry for athletes. While taking the studentathletes one step closer to being professional, Mrs Padmavathi has made sure that she has continued her learning process. Learning from her own athlete daughter and the students that she guides, she has created a winwin situation for everyone.

A Complete Counsellor

Being a counsellor who has explored a plethora of opportunities in the job market, Mrs Padmavathi has been the perfect counsellor throughout her journey. Rather than just explaining the opportunities to the student-athletes, she completes the counselling arc by including the student's parents in the process.

Answering what makes her the ideal counsellor, Mrs Padmavathi expresses,

"I want parents to understand that success does not come overnight. Be patient with your child. Talk to the counsellors periodically. Take their guidance."

Unorthodox Counselling Methodologies

Mrs Padmavathi Devarakonda has chosen a very specific niche of counselling relating to sports. Being one of the forerunners in this sports student counselling, she has developed a very unique and unorthodox method of counselling by providing them proper exposure to the students to academics and non-academic activities.

Briefing about her unique methodologies in this field, Mrs Padmavathi Devarakonda says, "It is very important to give exposure to the students apart from their academics. Introduce them to various nonacademic activities. There are a lot of online courses available. Goal setting along with action plan and realistic."

"As I am associated with Univariety, I advise the students to enrol in Pro-Map which helps the students to build their profile," adds Mrs Padmavathi.

An Advice on and to the Future Advising students on having a significant future, Mrs Padmavathi says, "I advise the students to improve their soft skills and spoken (communication) skills which will help them in building their career."

Further explaining her plans for ACA Sports Counselling, Mrs Padmavathi says, "Want to reach more and more students, especially remote areas where there is talent (sports) but no awareness."

Why Choosing Important?

Right Career

Career Choices

Choosing the Important?

Career

T T

hroughout life, humans strive to achieve better living through a better career. It is so because most people believe that good careers lead to a better quality of life which is true to a certain extent. A career alone does not improve the quality of life; the emotions attached to it play an important role in a person's personal space. It might be debatable to say that the quality of life does not entirely depend on what an individual is doing in his professional space but also on how his profession affects their personal life. Therefore, a happy professional space is as important as any other aspect to determine the quality of life.

This happy professional space could be created by choosing a work that does not seem like work. Sounds confusing, right?

As adults, most of the time is spent doing the job, it becomes a major part of life, so the right work makes all the work experience less stressful and happy. This might not sound like a tough nut to crack until one actually starts to think about what career path to choose out of the galaxy of careers laying out there.

Here are factors that you might want to consider while selecting the career path most suitable for you!

Finding the Love "Love what you do and do what you love."

Though it sounds very obvious, finding the passion at the right time is a little difficult. With the habit of jumping on the bandwagon, many tend to select the career streams even without giving future career possibilities much of a thought.

Being clear about the career decision makes it extremely important as it affects the rest of an individual's life. While thinking of the future, it is important to analyze what kind of work in an individual is interested in.

It should be the work that doesn't exhaust one but makes one feel alive and instils belief in oneself in the field. Sometimes it is easier to find what is not much interesting than what ignites the passion. So, cutting off all the 'don'ts' would help in finding that one gem you've always been looking for.

Picking Up the Bits

After knowing what is to be pursued, the next step would be to know more about the field. It is important to understand the field completely before choosing a career path, as looks could be deceiving. More information gives the proper view of the field and might open new doors to a career one is often unaware of.

This also includes shortlisting the options of what one could do from the selected field.

Experimenting With the Fields

It is impossible to understand any kind of career and to make an opinion just by gathering and reading the information. The trial is necessary. Trying out new jobs gives one an actual experience of the field and thus better sight into the career. This experience could be achieved by doing certain internships or by admitting into the courses that give insights into your chosen career. The plus point would have additional certificates.

Expectations and Calculations

To have a great job, the basic requirement is to be qualified for the job. One might want to pay special

attention to the degrees and certificates for qualifying the company's expectations and landing the job of dreams. Additional certificates and awards provide a certain weight to the resume, so you might want to consider doing that course you've been slacking off.

Along with this, it is important to calculate certain factors like the salary, the location, and the effect the job is going to have on personal life.

Determination

Even if it is the dream job, one could get monotonous at some points, leading to burnout which could be a serious issue as it would snatch all the joy of the job. Along with this, it could also result in decreased productivity. This could be a serious issue in case you are an artist.

The solution to his issue is very subjective, but the common thing would be to take a break and look at the purpose that made you take the job. However, above all, determination to stay matters the most as it is the only thing that could keep one attached to the work even if it seems monotonous.

The Last Statement

A good life indeed is a result of good efforts and correct choices. As humans, we tend to make mistakes, but the fact to remember is it's never too late to start again. It goes the same with the career. Walking down a path that does not have much to offer is unnecessary. It's rather wise to select the one that could shower you with flowers.

Chaitali Vairate

Bass Ek Raah Charitable Society

Pathfinder for Tomorrow

CConservative education methodology has provided astonishing leaders in the past. Still, advancements in education are the need of the hour to seek a balance in procuring the best possible career opportunities for students. Tried and tested method of building a career is indeed a way to move forward but is it relevant in this modern era where things change in a blink of an eye?

'What to do next?' is the most asked question students ask themselves after graduation. Confused to which side to tilt on and to balance themselves on a seesaw of career and studies, 80% of the students feel confused about their future.

In such a dilemma, most students look for support that will guide them to a better future. Being in a developing country like India and most of the population residing in rural areas, it has become difficult for students to

seek support that would guide them. This has also led to saturation in prominent professions like doctors and engineers.

However, the world is now connected with technological advancement, and it has opened doors for students to explore. Bass Ek Raah Charitable Society , a popular name among the youth of today, has become a guiding lamp for students who don't know what to do in the future. As the name suggests, it helps the students choose a

Our vision is to empower each and every youth across the globe with the essential employability skills and to make India a knowledge economy to reckon with.

suitable path and excel in it, as every person requires just one stream to succeed in life.

To help that 80% find their ideal path and contribute to the nation's growth Ms. Chetna Sabharwal , Founder of Bass Ek Raah Charitable Society, set up this society to be the guiding lamp for the youngsters.

In conversation with The Knowledge Review , she shares her beautiful journey of being the guide for the youth and how Bass Ek Raah has transformed the lives of students and the people around them.

Bass Ek Raah: The Right Road Taken

With a vision of guiding the future generation towards a holistic career, Bass Ek Raah was founded. Over the years, with a well-connected network and expertise in career counseling, the charitable society has guided many students to choose their careers.

During the COVID-19 global pandemic, Bass Ek Raah found an opportunity in such uncertain times, reached out to students from more than 10 countries, and guided more than 10000 youth to restart, rebuild, and reestablish their careers. The core values that the charitable society focused on were: Ÿ

Career Guidance

Women

Empowerment

Mental Health Awareness

Teachers' Training

Bass Ek Raah spent the first few months in extensive planning and delivered incredible results to the youth worldwide.

Serving Excellence

Being clueless about the future amid uncertain times is a major concern for

students and also for working-class professionals. Moreover, during the pandemic, this arose as a significant challenge in all sectors. Making a quick shift and reaching out to people became the need of the hour for people; Bass Ek Raah decided to give momentum to the halted tracks.

The internet and advancement in technology served as a medium for all forms of communication. Guiding students, and working-class professionals and empowering women

Best Career Counsellors, 2022 Ms. Chetna Sabharwal Founder, Bass Ek Raah Charitable Society

to choose a better way for their careers, Bass Ek Raah Served excellence during these tough times. Talking about their service during the uncertain times of COVID-19, Founder Ms Chetna Sabharwal says, "Since March 2020, our major challenges appeared from all quarters as all the work came to a halt and each one of us being clueless about how to make a quick shift to online and yet reach out to help people in need. Nevertheless, when the tribe has vibes, nothing can stop the movement."

Training for Future Employability Skills

One of the core aspects that boosted the growth and made Bass Ek Raah a favourite platform for youth and women is their 'Future Employability Skills' program. Society has recognised the changing nature of businesses worldwide, which has contributed immensely to the holistic growth of the community. Sectors like Hospitality, Travel & Tourism were the most affected and society made sure that the lay-off of freshers and employees in their early careers is just a

phase for upskilling and being ready for the global workforce again.

While collaborating with more than ten organisations worldwide, Bass Ek Raah has provided a set career path for learners. Moreover, the program 'Future Employability Skills' focuses on developing the relevant power skills to help them survive and excel in their chosen careers.

Empowering Women for Career Transition

Bass Ek Raah has achieved the milestone of training more than 10000 women for career transition with other NGOs. They have been on the mission to empower learners and help them seek the right path for their future.

With a team of capable volunteers, our counselling team has been able to guide students mainly for their careers, academic performances, and personal concerns during the Pandemic and beyond.

Creating a Brighter Tomorrow

Teachers play a very crucial role in guiding students to their desired dream. Bass Ek Raah has realised that they decided to train teachers to serve as the guiding lamp for the future. Most of the teachers in the country and not familiar with the digital transition and lack miles behind the current generation.

Bass Ek Raah has trained more than 5000 Teachers on digital transformation and made them updated with the current technology. With such an innovative approach and relevant methods, the charitable society has dedicated itself to creating a bright future for tomorrow.

Moreover, the vast network set by Ms Chetna Sabharwal contributed immensely to training and empowering women during these challenging times.

Talking about the society's contribution to career transition, Ms Chetna Sabharwal says, "All the members and volunteers of our society have contributed to around 15 cities to achieve our mission of empowering the learners, schools, teachers, and women who lost their parents/spouses due to covid and were looking for jobs to support their family. Vocational training on setting up their cloud kitchen, digital skills, and entrepreneurship, along with full support of soft skills and resume review, was provided to all.

Collaboration with like-minded NGOs and CSR providers helped us in engaging the youth to volunteer for all these projects. With a team of capable volunteers, our counselling team has been able to guide students mainly for their careers, academic performances, and personal concerns."

Prof. Shankar Bellur

Providing Solutions to all Your Career Concerns

Choosing a career for oneself, or for others is always a tricky situation. Seeking quality education has always been a confusing trail to walk on. To decide what career, which course and college, and what subject combinations and specialization, is indeed a challenging one without relevant information and professional guidance. Therefore, it makes sense to seek for expert guidance at every stage of life, and it is undeniably true, especially for making the right career choice.

But, how do you seek guidance from a career expert overcoming the territorial barriers, if you don't find one in your vicinity?

The reach of career counsellors was significantly limited before digitization. Now that we have various ways to connect with the experts who can guide us in choosing the right path for our careers, it's proving to be a great help.

On the other hand, many believe that being a counsellor is a walk in the park, but it is not so. A counsellor has to have immense knowledge, experience and be updated to effectively guide a confused student towards clarity and move ahead with confidence.

One such person who is guiding and mentoring students toward their career success is Prof. Shankar Bellur. As a certified Global Career Counsellor, he has made a significant impact and is considered an expert in the counselling industry. His experience as an academician in the education sector, where students adored him for his unique and effective teaching style, has added more value to his trade and is the cherry on the cake.

Before becoming a career counsellor and CEO of Crossroad Solution, he was a Professor, Dean-Academics, and Principal of several colleges. Being an influential educator and interacting with students daily, has helped and inspired him to be a popular student counsellor. And now, he is considered

as one of the well-known career counseling experts in India.

In a prolific interview with The Knowledge Review , we tried to cover all the essential aspects of his journey as a prominent career counsellor.

Peaks and Valleys of His Life Prof. Shankar Bellur is an Internationally acclaimed author, a Career mentor, and an education consultant with over 28 years of experience. He is a Certified Global Career Counsellor from the University of California, Extension, Los Angles, and Career Coach by Mindler, India, in association with Career Development Alliance, USA, and The Myers-Briggs Company, USA, to administer Strong Psychometric Tests ®.

His interest and academic journey led him to explore various opportunities throughout his career. And being on board as a mentor on multiple digital mentor-ship platforms, his experience of providing mentoring services on career-related issues has helped many students in choosing the right career for them and finding success.

A rich and varied professional experience of more than 28 years having worked in Railways, IT & Academics has defined his unique and impactful style of career guidance. Being the head of several colleges, he

Crossroad Solution aim to ensure that students make the right career choice to succeed.

understands the present-day challenges of our education system and the issues concerning the student community.

Explaining why he chose to be a counsellor, he says, "As an academician, I came across many instances where students had made the wrong choice of academic courses due to parents/peer pressure. As the choice was not supported by their aptitude/interests, they were not performing well in academics and consequently suffered from low confidence and no aspirations to look forward to. This trend was worrisome and made me think about the rationality of our students' career choices and the impact on their future. I began wondering whether parents were enforcing their choice on the next generation without considering their aspirations."

He encountered some troubling questions in such instances: "Should not students be allowed to choose their careers based on their dreams, strengths, and interests? As a system, are we providing them professional guidance to gain clarity and move ahead with confidence by helping them in making the right career choice?"

Seeking answers to such questions, he came up with a solution for all the career-related issues of the student community. Thus, Crossroad Solution- A Technology-Enabled Classroom to Career Mentorship Platform came into existence.

Mission, Vision, And Core Values of Crossroad Solution

Mission: Crossroad Solution' mission is to facilitate the process of discovering the right career choice for students and enable them to pursue the path of a fulfilling career, so they can make their unique

contribution and make this world a better place to live in. To ensure youngsters are happily successful in their chosen careers and are the best version of themselves.

Vision: The vision is to create awareness and equip students to become self-aware, explore and choose their career goals in alignment with their unique personality traits, interests, and strengths. To provide them with the necessary guidance and moral

Prof. Shankar Bellur Founder Director & CEO Crossroad Solution

Best Career Counsellors, 2022

support in planning, preparation, and implementation of their career plan through continual engagement and learning support.

Core Values: Building relationships based on integrity, trust, and sculpting the dreams of the students to carve out clear goals, to handhold and stride along with the students, are the core values of Crossroad Solution.

Crossroad Solution believe in the ancient Indian wisdom of possibilitybased mindsets.

Steps to Advancing Counsellor

Crossroad Solution aim to ensure that students make the right career choice and succeed. They help students in skill development and improve their EQ as required by their career aspirations. Moreover, they also help the students develop a robust and positive mindset to strengthen their abilities to overcome any future adverse situations in life.

Excelling In the Counselling Methodologies

Crossword solutions mandatorily have a pre-counselling session with the student to understand certain aspects about them, break the ice and build a rapport with them. Then, they decide on an appropriate Psychometric assessment considering the academic background and the issues bothering

the student in making their career choice.

After the assessment and comprehensive analysis of the Psychometric report, a one-on-one counselling session with the student and parents is conducted to help them finalize an optimal and clear career goal. They guide students in planning and implementing their plans through post counselling support.

Initiatives Taken

Have constituted a Board of Mentors, who are from various industry domains bringing in their rich industry experience and expertise to the table, to provide relevant insights and mentor the students in their respective domains. A virtual internship is a major initiative to gain more clarity so that a well-informed and rational career choice can be made.

An Expert's Guidance

The experts train students on various soft skills like communication, collaboration, leadership, design thinking and problem-solving. Personality Development training is given to ensure that the students develop the right attitude and high EQ to perform optimally in their careers.

They provide technical support in the form of a career library for information

on various careers and individual dashboards to continuously monitor their progress.

They help students by doing house visits or periodic calls to monitor their motivation levels and ensure successful implementation of the plan.

Stepping in The Future

Emphasizing the future of Crossroad Solution, Prof. Shankar Bellur says, "As most of our population are below 30 years of age, a large number of them require professional guidance to choose the right career path and kick start their career on a bright note. With the increasing population and given the challenges of the VUCA World, this number will only increase and so is the responsibility of Crossroad Solution."

Further adding to the context, Prof. Shankar Bellur says, "As Career counselling service providers, Crossroad Solution always needs to be updated about the current market developments and future trends to contribute well to an individual's career growth. Apart from this, we have to be competent in using tools and techniques assisted by new-age technologies to guide our students towards a bright future and a great career success."

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Notable Achievements

Prof. Shankar Bellur's book, At the Crossroad- How to Make the Right Choice for a Successful Career, is featured on Book Authority's list of all-time best books on career choices and is the only Indian authored book on the list.

Crossroad’ new project to inspire the student community to explore and choose the right career option, My Career LAB, was featured in Deccan Herald.

Prof. Shankar Bellur was selected to be part of the "Online Counsellors Workshop on National Career Services Portal Management & Career Counselling" organized by NICS, Ministry of Labour & Employment, GOI, on 04th Feb 2022.

EEducation is the key to choosing a bright career. Since childhood, everyone has been taught that if you study well, you will have a bright future in terms of an excellent job with sound income packages, which assists a luxurious lifestyle.

As one starts growing, they begin exploring different learning methods and even prospect various specifications in which one can do in-depth learning. But, in the highly developed world, every student faces massive competition in every stream.

It is always a tough decision for students to choose a career path, as it requires an insightful assessment of the student's potential, aspirations, and abilities. They often get confused between their potential and desires.

Most people look at the excellent package jobs and start exploring that career path. They also begin following the successful professionals of the particular field but never chase their desires and potential. These people always end with disappointment in their careers, but those who pursue their potential, passion, and a dream will always succeed in their careers.

In the changing scenario, people have many choices to explore various streams and also get the chance to examine their innate potentials. And currently, many career consultancies help or guide one to choose the right career for their bright and successive future.

In the process of knowing the best career, one should follow all the steps, as it helps them to get their potential and passion.

Ÿ SWOT Analysis

One should do a SWOT analysis of themselves, as it helps them to know their Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. After learning all these, one can list their strengths and always be optimistic about them, work hard to strengthen their weaknesses, and research and identify the opportunities that will help one grow in their career. Meanwhile, beware of threats that can harm their career.

A meticulous examination of one's personality, professional abilities, and potential will guide one toward the right career path.

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Evaluation of the Skillsets

People can maintain the list of their certifications, current skills, and expertise areas. Often get feedback from mentors, professionals, colleagues, and coworkers. Analyzing the strength and setting the benchmarks to achieve the goals can assist one in bringing improvement in the career journey.

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Exploring Various Job

After passing out from graduation, the students can switch multiple jobs to know their expertise. The right job gives satisfaction to oneself; in the process of getting a satisfying career, one can explore many fields. Once they get a stable and interesting career, they can grow in that particular field and also helps the specific organization achieve their goals.

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Market Research

While focusing on grabbing the required skills, students also need to emphasize the market, and according to the market demand, they must prepare themselves in their particular field. Most of the students only focus on their current work and look for more options in that particular work and fail to include outside opportunities.

One needs to carefully assess the market and the potential growth streams even outside their particular stream. To cater to more opportunities, one can ask for the professional's feedback and work as an intern on different projects.

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Gain Experience with Skills

Work experience is also as important as indulging specific skillsets. And learning through working is always a utilized way to grow. While studying, one can learn or indulge in various skills to get the desired job, but after

getting a satisfactory job, one has to learn more skills which help them keep pace with the competitive world.

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Acquire Proper Training and Education in the Chosen Career Path

It is an essential aspect for students when they select their interesting career; they need to acquire appropriate training and education in that particular stream. It helps them to enhance and polish their skills and also assists in networking with professionals.

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Consult the Mentors

Always believe in your mentor, as it is said that a great mentor will lead you to success. Staying connected with mentors will helps to overcome the obstacles in one's career path.

They always help to make correct decisions at any stage of life and boost one's confidence while performing any difficult task.

Conclusion

While choosing a career, many people suffer a lot, and with a lack of skills and guidance, they fail to reach their desired job. Since there are many options for today's generation's students, with all these options, it becomes a challenge for them to find a suitable career.

Catering for the new age challenges many schools and colleges organize career counselling programmes for the students, which helps them analyze their potential and work hard to strengthen their weaknesses.

It helps them know their abilities and teaches them to analyze the market trends and meet the industry's current demands.

- Madhu Guleria

SPARKLE Career and Counselling Centre

Guiding towards a Bright Future

CCareer! A part of our life around

which the life of our loved ones and us revolve. It is not the only thing in life but is essential for living a good life. Every child sees a dream in their childhood that they want to be a doctor, engineer, businessman, and many more. However, the goals kept changing with their growing preferences.

As we know, the world is evolving rapidly; with these changes, ample opportunities are emerging for today's generation. Similarly, this generation is also enthusiastic and adopting the evolving changes, but often the students may get confused while selecting their specialized courses. Many times, they could not even identify their niche interest.

These issues have emerged in recent years since technological advancement has been booming. Earlier, the scenario was different; some mainstream career options like engineering, doctor, and management were always in focus. Today, the system has changed, and many new streams are trendier, like artificial intelligence, machine learning, data analysis, among others.

In this confusing scenario , Sparkle Career and Counselling Centre is the centre that not only aims to provide an appropriate vision to the parents and

their children towards their careers but also guides them in the entire process.

Sparkle Career and Counselling centre helps students gain the knowledge and necessary skills to shape their studies and career. 'Career Mapping' is a special map for your child's career based on their strengths, personality and their choices. They also provide a specialized program, i.e., 'Study Boss' ; this program helps grow the student's study skills. The centre also solves family, couple, individual, work and many other issues.

The idea behind providing these services is to help individuals gain insight. Because the Founder of the centre Namita Shah faced many challenges during the selection of a degree course for her son when he was 13 years old, and her partner Dhruvi Gangar's passion is to help the students during the most crucial period of their life.

While conversing with The Knowledge Review , Namita Shah and her partner Dhruvi Gangar shared the centre's future eyesight, unique services, and victory.

Historical View of the Centre

In 2006, the 'Spark' to drive students toward their bright future arose in Namita. She started working in

counselling and psychology and counselled numerous children and parents to select the best educational field.

Namita Shah established the centre when she was troubled about finding the best career option for her son at 13. She kept looking for career counsellors who could help them find the best educational stream, and they didn't find any valuable advice from anyone, and she had to guide her son by herself.

Since then, she decided that she would counsel other students to select the best education for their career growth.

Sometimes students don't understand what is the best field of education and what are their interests? It is a generic confusion students have; few don't know about their interest and chooses the wrong educational path.

They might score well in that field, but sooner or later, they don't feel excited. Sparkle's main objective is to clarify each degree course and what will be the future of every educational course. Meanwhile, Namita and the team try to find the students' interests and suggest the best suitable academic field.

Compassionate Duo

The centre's Founder is Namita Shah, and Dhruvi Gangar is a respective

Best Career Counsellors, 2022

partner; both ladies share the same passion for counselling the students and parents regarding their career path, educational field, and many more.

Namita Shah is a professional counsellor with more than ten years of experience in remedial education that deals with various issues while selecting professional degree programs.

She has completed her education in ECC.ed, remedial educator, and M.S in psychotherapy and counselling. She also received a therapist and career counsellor certificate from UCLA (California). Namita also has a regular membership of the Asia-pacific career development centre (APCDA) and has been a registered counsellor at National career services (Indian government-owned career services department).

Whereas Dhruvi Gangar is a respective partner in Sparkle, she is a psychologist and a chartered

Choices

made should be considered for the long term, and not just on the basis of what is the trend.

Mrs Namita Shah and

Mrs Dhruvi Gangar

Founder Partner, Partner respectively, Sparkle Career and Counselling Centre

accountant (CA). She has shifted her career and started counselling students because of her passion for helping others. Dhruvi is a certified career counsellor, parenting trainer, motivational speaker, and skillsenhancing expert.

Future Eyesight, Quest and Beliefs of the Centre

While conversing with Namita and Dhruvi, we put forth the question about the vision, mission, and core values of the centre; they cited-

Vision-

To become a one-stop solution to individual's career needs.

Mission-

To help individuals understand what & why of their life.

Core ValuesŸ Focus on a complete personal analysis of the child. Ÿ Giving that understanding to the child and parents without bias. Ÿ Choices made should be considered for the long term, not just based on the trend.

Intent Behind the Initiative

The main objective of Namita and Dhruvi is to help individuals and train them to be the best version of themselves because selecting an appropriate degree course is the first step in the journey of a career.

They try to provide maximum satisfaction to students and their parents by providing them with the knowledge of what and why of their career life span.

Outshine Counselling Methodologies

After highlighting the objectives and goals of their centre, Namita and Dhruvi enlightened us on the strategies that focus on students' career and helps

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To help individuals whom we counsel to become the best possible version of themselves because selection of the career is steppingstone to an individual's personal & professional journey.

them excelling their counselling methodologies, "We feel counselling methodologies are almost the same for all the practising counsellors. What we do differently is we evaluate individuals' personalities and combine that with their interests; we also conduct aptitude and various other tests while arriving at the career options. It helps us make a 360˚evaluation of an individual, which proves that coming to 'Sparkle Career and Counselling Centre' is a perfect place to make a good career decision. Even we take afterwards sessions, in which we guide the parents, and the session is not a quick one, but it takes a minimum of an hour-long session, which helps the parents and child to understand the careers in-depth and

then they can even ask questions and queries if they have for the same . "

Victories of the Centre

The Sparkle Career and Counselling Centre has a 90 per cent referral rate from the services they provide to their clients.

Unique Services

Being in the career counselling services, the centre has detailed analysis and reports which helps them to provide the best career solutions to the students and their parents. They guide the students for three or four educational streams that are accurate and easy to navigate further opportunities.

The service centre also provides information on different aspects such as market scope, an overview of the institutions and the related things. After providing the services, they also conduct guidance post sessions when their clients pursue their suggested career path, which helps them to do a 360-degree evaluation of an individual. The contact lines are open for past students without any time limit, so that they don't feel lost.

They also provide a program where students can master their studies with the 'Study Boss' program.