Career Counsellors as mentors and guides: Interview with Nidhi Nagori

Most of us associate the word career counsellor with a person who gives us professional advice. But in the modern world where careers have stopped being traditional, and lateral shifts have become as common as horizontal rises, a career counsellor is first and foremost a mentor. The reimagined role of career counsellors is to be a guide and a teacher, who assist job seekers in choosing the right pathway based on their strengths and weaknesses. More importantly, though, they also go a long way in fostering the right skills and imparting key knowledge that helps job seekers on the path to success.

Popular career Coach and Content Creator Nidhi Nagori has an ideal attitude towards career and skill development. Her content educates people about different courses, skills, money, and the realities of immigration. In a recent interaction with The Telegraph Online Edugraph, Nidhi gave us a brief insight into what it is like to be a career counsellor in the current world, her favourite teacher’s day memory and more

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1. A career counsellor is also, on some level, a mentor and a teacher. Someone who shows the younger generation the path that will take them to success. How do you feel being a guide and mentor?

Yes, a career counsellor is a mentor and teacher but certain responsibilities are beyond that. For instance, I feel they are also your friend and guide. One’s professional life has a deep impact on their personal life, along with determining how it will be shaped.

Being a career counsellor I feel like I can impact someone in both ways - professionally and personally - and very few other people can do that. Speaking about myself, I feel very glad being able to make an impact on people’s lives. As a counsellor, I have had over 300 success stories and I believe that a single success story does not just impact one person but an entire family. I also understand that I will not be able to impact every person who follows my content but I do know the ones whose lives I have been able to change forever and that makes me happy.

2. Why did you decide to become a career counsellor?

I moved to the US at the young age of 24 after getting married and I had no contacts. I come from a very small town in Bauria so my English wasn't as great as it is today. I remember I could not even order food in restaurants because of that. I had no one to guide me and obviously, it came with a lot of struggles and failures.

Eventually when I had the opportunity to create content and when I felt a little bit settled in my career, I knew that this is the gap that I wanted to fill. I did not want anyone else to go through what I had been through. Of course, people will have their share of hardships but I did not want anyone else to face what I did. So that was initially my starting point when I decided to offer that support to others.

3. Not just the young generation, often even young adults, already in their first job, want to make a big change and switch careers. How would you describe your role in these cases?

Not just early career professionals but I’ve had women reach out to me who have been housewives for 20+ years. I’ve had people in their 50s or the sole breadwinners of the family and even the ones who want to consult for their retired parents. So I would say that a career counsellor is not only suited for a certain age group but can advice across generations.

My role in these cases is typically identifying what’s the right fit for them and also sometimes it so happens that there might not be a right fit. Like, at times I receive messages from people wanting to move abroad, but in many cases this is inappropriate as they are closer to their retirement age. When this happens, I tell them directly. I don't believe in painting a very rosy picture but rather try to give the right answers to help them make informed decisions.

4. Can you describe some current or emerging trends in career counselling?

In terms of trends in career counselling, I just feel that career counselling should be about helping your clients, showing them the reality and not painting a glossy picture at all. I see that happening quite a bit nowadays as everybody wants to go viral on the internet. Sometimes a picture is painted which is too good to be true and often things like that can go viral. I believe one should always give pros and cons as I don't see that happening very much.

5. As a career counsellor, somewhere you are also a teacher and a mentor, across ages and generations. Can you recount one memory of yours that you strongly associate with Teacher's Day?

I went to St Teresa’s Secondary School in Kolkata, till my 10th grade and I distinctly remember that Teachers' Day involved kids performing for their teachers. I had a few favourite teachers, so I wanted to perform for them as well. Though this did not happen every year, every time I got a chance, I used to mimic them.

Career counsellors have a critical role in helping students overcome barriers to career success. Like our teachers in school and college, they also provide their guidance and support, steering us in the right direction to achieve their career goals. And as our expert, Nidhi Nagori says, never paint a glossy picture that will mislead - as a teacher, bring your students face to face with reality so they will be better prepared to follow the difficult but correct path.