“Career Counselling is a dire need of time and a matter of social concern. Every school must extend Career Counselling to its students during their course of studies”
– Kailash Narayan Jha
Kailash Narayan Jha (KN Jha) is Sel. Grade Lecturer and TPO at Government Polytechnic College at Ashoknagar,(Madhya Pradesh) where is also the lead member of Convener, Career Guidance & Entrepreneurship Development Cell. He is passionate about career counselling and thinks career counselling should be mandatory for all schools. He speaks about his career and career counselling in an interview with Amarjeet.
Amarjeet Sharma (AS): Please brief us about your Educational background.
KN Jha: I have passed my B.E. (Mech.) in 1982, subsequently, LL.B. in 1992, M.Tech.Ed. In 1997, and M.B.A. (HRM) in 2001.
AS: What has your time as a Career Counsellor meant to you personally and why?
KN Jha: Career Counselling is a passion for me. I consider career counselling is a dire need of time and a matter of social concern. Every school must extend career counselling to its students during their course of studies.
AS: How did you get into Career Counselling? What interested you into Career Counselling?
KN Jha: I volunteered as a career counsellor in my locality, long before In Madhya Pradesh state, every school and college has got a Career Guidance Cell under ‘Swami Vivekanand Career Margdarshan Yojna’
AS: Which tools do you use for guiding careers?
KN Jha: I administer one self-reporting questionnaire ‘Know Thyself’ which is developed by me as a career guidance tool. Responding to the questions help the counselee to assess himself about his career goals, aspirations, interests, aptitude, need and motivation level.
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AS: Why do you think it’s important for students and parents to undergo Career Counselling together?
KN Jha: In our society, parents have dominating role in deciding career path of their ward, unless the parents are convince on various aspects, it is difficult for the counselee to act upon advice of career counsellor.
AS: What are the top 3-5 skills you should have to become an effective Career Counsellor?
KN Jha:
- Empathetic listening
- Rapport building
- Effective Communication
AS: What is your advice for newbies, who are looking at building a career in Career Counselling industry?
KN Jha: A Career Counsellor should not try to pose as a future predictor. He acts upon the facts and information gathered from the counselee itself during counselling process. He can estimate best career options available in the totally dynamic environment. So, my advice newbie is: never be judgemental but involve and build confidence of counselee, in choosing career path most suitable to him under present set of conditions.
AS: There are many new career options that have come up over the last decade which was not heard of before, how do you stay updated on the latest trends in Career?
KN Jha: I kept on interacting with experts in my social network and update my knowledge, another source is regular reading career columns in newspaper, accessing to websites.
AS: Which are the Career Information resources (i.e. newsletters/ blogs/ websites/ apps) you visit regularly?
KN Jha: I own my personal library where more than 3000 career related publications are maintained. Also, I subscribe to a number of groups of TPOs. Recruiters, HR Managers and academics in the fields to keep myself updated.
AS: Share the names of 3 people you respect when it comes to Career Counselling?
KN Jha:
- Dr Jayanthi Ghosh
- Dr Jayanthi Lal Bhandari of Indore
AS: Would you like to share few words/suggestions about the work we are doing at CareerGuide?
Anand: The work of CareerGuide.com is commendable in bringing a large pool of career experts under one forum. Also, online mode of counselling has multiple advantages in reaching un-accessed mass.
I extend my best wishes to the CareerGuide.com team for its wonderful contributions in the field.
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