SHAPING CAREERS, MAKING LIVES

Pune, 17th September 2025: PunekarNews caught up with Ms Tina Bhanot, a distinguished educationist and career counsellor. In a span over three decades, Tina has been deeply engaged in teaching and guiding students – a passion which led her on the path to career coaching –  and identifying career choices  based on individual strengths and aptitudes. Her start-up atfirstpage is one of the ventures by which she has helped hundreds of young people make informed career choices that has so often, helped shape destinies

Tina. Why don’t we start by you telling us about your journey thus far, and what brought you into the domain of career counselling?

Tina.   Thank you. It is a pleasure being here on this coveted platform. I am a Science graduate, a B.Ed. and Post Graduate. I am also a certified practitioner of NLP, Career Counselling, including Overseas and Numerology.

Being a Teacher, a Principal and a Teachers Trainer over the last three decades. I realised that choosing a career path can be overwhelming, especially for 11th and 12th class students. I realised that formal and structured coaching can help a student make informed career choices, understand his/her interests as against strengths and aptitude.

During the Covid epidemic, I entered the domain of Career Coaching with two wonderful colleagues, Dr Anuradha Roy and Ms Aparna Chaturvedi. We started this career coaching start-up called atfirstpage  in April 2021.

And how do you conduct career coaching at atfirstpage?

Tina – We a team of three coaches, each individually adept at career coaching, We also have the support of a Psychologists, and a soft skills expert, to really delve into our students psyche and help sharpen them.

Each coach specialises in a different field – Commerce, Arts and Science. This enables us to present a broad spectrum of options with considerable clarity, direction and motivation for students and parents.

There is much discussion these days of the feasibility of overseas education. What do you guide your student s about that?

Tina – I believe that college education in India has improved immensely, but are still found wanting when compared to international institutions. Many students are thus tempted or even compelled to explore education overseas.

At atfirstpage, we’ve guided several students achieve their dreams of studying at top universities worldwide, by identifying different institutions and also see how the courses and curriculum best align with their strengths, interests and goals. We also guide them in getting into universities of their choosing.

What do you consider as the cutting-edge skills required for future ready youth?

Tina.  In today’s fast-paced, data-driven world, analytical and logical skills have become essential tools for success in, both, education and career. These skills enable individuals to collect and analyse information, identify patterns and make informed decisions.

What is your advice to concerned parents as important stakeholders in their children’s career journeys?

Tina.  Though parents play a vital role in shaping the child’s career path, they must realise that it’s not about living their dreams through them – it’s about helping them achieve their own. Parents can make a positive impact by supporting their children’s passions and interests; providing guidance, not direction; helping them navigate their career path with expert mentors or career coaches; encouraging them to chase their big dreams and providing a safe and supportive space for them to express themselves.

And how do you go about empowering students to be more aware and new-age capable?

Tina.  To make students new-age capable, atfirstpage facilitates students through internships, skill development, webinars through online platforms like Immerse by Mindler, Udemy and Coursera, among others.

We collaborate with industries to offer internships with hands-on experience and projects in emerging technologies and trends. We pair students with experienced professionals who guide and mentor them during their internships. We especially  focus on developing skills that are in high demand, such as programming languages, data analysis and digital marketing. We partner with platforms like Experiment Labs, Udemy, Coursera, edX that offer industry-recognised certifications to enhance students’ employability with hands on experience and mentorship.

We also  supplement traditional learning by conducting value-adding modules for students as webinars, that include Effective Study Habits, Resilience Building, Developing Analytical Skills and Personality Enhancement.

I am sure your guidance would help many young people identify their potential, make the correct career choices and perhaps shape their very lives. Thank you.

Tina – Thank you. The very act of being able to contribute in some way to help them shape their destinies is in itself, the most satisfying and fulfilling aspect of atfirstpage.