Career Consultancy

An interview with Uma. B. Money, who has her own career consultancy service, Career Catalyst in Bangalore

What prompted you to start an independent career consultancy service?

I started my career in Grindwell, an engineering firm and then moved on to the IT industry in the HR department. I quit for personal reasons, and when I looked around I found that most of the HR professionals were getting in to placement consultancy. Nobody had really ventured into the field of career counselling and offering other additional services to the candidates who were looking out for jobs. While in the IT industry I had screened thousands of resumes that poured in every day. I thought why not get into the area wherein I not only counsel people regarding their careers but also help them make their resumes and prepare them for interviews.

I found that there was absolutely nobody to assist in these fundamental areas which help the candidate in not only deciding about his field of work but also get that desired job. This was the primary motivation for me to start my own consultancy service.

I am also planning to network with schools and colleges to help the students be better prepared before entering the job market.

Are there many consultants who are now into this area of counselling?

Even after three years of operations I have really not come across many professionals who have ventured into the field, which is in fact very lucrative. What these professionals are basically looking for are not just templates of resumes and information regarding various careers, which is abundant on the Internet. They want to meet someone who has had experience in the field of recruitment and training and who can give them real life situations and scenarios and guide them accordingly.

They want someone with good language skills to help them project themselves as capable professionals through their resumes and interviews. Many of them are confused and want to talk to a professional counsellor who can help them decide as to which career and job profile they will fit into.

How do you deal with each and every candidate who walks in to your office for counselling?

I have counselled college graduates to middle management professionals who want to switch their field of work. I sit with each and every candidate and try to find qualities that they have omitted from mentioning in their resume and which is exemplified in their day-to-day work. Many of them are not even aware that you have to project your personality through your resume and not just stop with mentioning your qualifications or responsibilities.

My session starts by the candidate telling me about his educational background, his job profile, if he has had any previous experience and most importantly what he want to do with his life. Till we identify this we keep talking and discussing. Once the motivation and goal in life are identified, we have a base from which we can work on. Some come specifically to design their resume yet after discussion they might decide that they need help facing the interview too.

What are the chances of establishing oneself as an independent consultant in this field?

A lot of business comes our way through word of mouth, so you have to have an impeccable reputation in the field. One has to work very hard; the candidates call you at all times of the day. You have to make sure they feel comfortable at all times because they come to you in search of advice and guidance and initially will be very reluctant to divulge any kind of information.

Most importantly you should know the limits to which you can get involved. You cannot afford to get personally involved with each and every candidate. You can only solve their professional dilemma and guide them in the right direction.

What according to you is a perfect resume? Any tips about how to face an interview?

A perfect resume is one in which the assessor gets to know not only about the jobs/ positions the candidate has held, but also about the true worth of the candidate. It has to be concise and should project the candidate to the best of his capabilities.

I tell all my candidates to take care of some of the important things while going for an interview. First is appearance - you have to dress impeccably, next is, body language that says a lot about a person. The person should be able to carry on a dialogue with the interviewer because it's a two-way thing, and after the interview be sure to send a thank you note, as this leaves a very good impression on the interviewer.

MALINI SURYANARAYANAN in Bangalore

malusn@hotmail.com