Interview with Raza Abbas – Pioneer of Institutional Career Counseling in Pakistan

I've recently got an opportunity to interview Mr. Raza Abbas, Global Career Practitioner who has the honor of being the pioneer of professionalizing career counseling and career guidance in Pakistan. He consistently presents diverse research papers at premier international career counseling and career guidance conferences in Africa, Asia, Europe and North America. He has acquired more than a decade of experiences in career guidance, career counseling, career development, human resources and leadership development.

Career Assessment for Students

Are you wondering, “What will I do when I grow up? What subjects will I study in high school? College? What kind of work will I do?”

Middle and primary school is a good time to begin asking these questions. But you can start asking these questions at secondary and college level too. It is a good time to explore . . . to learn about jobs and college/university/training options. And, it can be fun and interesting!

It also begins to get serious. For example, at the end of eighth grade many students must start the process of choosing college or university programs and its related courses in high school. You and your parents will want to learn about this and make a good decision.

The Career Key can help you. We recommend,

Networking - 5 Steps for Building Your Network

Networking can be very helpful to your career. The idea is to develop a network of friendly people who share information to help each other. It is best known as a strategy for opening the hidden job market, for getting a good job. Since many jobs (some would say most) are not advertised, it is essential that you develop friendly relationships with people who can tip you off to job openings -- perhaps even introduce you to the person who is doing the hiring. There is some truth in,

"It's not what you know, but who you know."

Networking has other benefits. You are creating a community of people who support each other, who provide emotional support and information that will help each other. You will learn of new developments in your field: new tools, processes, leaders, training programs, products and services. You may discover the solution to a problem you face at work. And, you may have the satisfaction of providing the key piece of information that makes a real difference in the life of one of those in your network.

Networking is a planned, and ongoing effort. You set goals, develop strategies for achieving them, take action, evaluate how well your plan is working, and make changes as necessary. It is something that you do throughout your career.

To build an effective network, you need both formal and informal networks in place. Formal networks are the type you actually join, usually with dues and regular meetings. These could include a professional association, a group like the Youths' Club, or an association of school graduates. Informal networks may include friends you run into at an annual holiday party, social gathering, friends you keep up with from a former job, people from your mosque, church or temple, or the people you met while you are on picnic. A good network contains both types and has a healthy mix of both business and social conditions.

Here are five steps for building your network:

Choosing a College Program Based on Your Personality

“Choose a college or university program based on your personality and interests.” That is what the research shows over the past many years. Research studies also demonstrate that with a good personality-program match you are likely to,

• Earn higher grades,
• Stay with your program of choice,
• Graduate on time, and
• Be more satisfied and successful in your career.

Obviously you don’t want to ignore those findings and jeopardize your career!

There are different strategies you can adopt to make a good decision and match your personality with the right career. 

1. Take a scientifically valid interest inventory or career test that measures your Holland personality types;
2. Use a valid list of programs/majors organized by Holland personality types to identify those most likely to fit your personality;
3. Learn about the environment for each program that interests you;
4. Use similar strategies to choose a career field; and
5. Make your choice using a 4 step decision-making process.

Recent studies show that a good personality-program match is related to college success.
Generally, the better the match the better students do.

Certainly, there are other factors to consider in choosing a college or university program, but personality-program match is one of the most important.


This blog has been adapted from the article written by Lawrence K. Jones, Ph.D., NCC

Best Online Resources for Learning about College Programs in Pakistan

For students who want to learn about college or training programs, we’ve chosen the best online resources with advice on how to use them. Each site has certain advantages depending on what kind of information you are looking for.

Start by narrowing your college programs choices to those that match your Holland personality types. If you make a close personality-program match, studies show you're more likely to succeed in college. Career Key Pakistan’s articles help you get started, including these:

• How to choose a major; and 
• Descriptions of Holland’s six college major environments; with activities on how to find one that fits you 

Once you've narrowed your options, you'll want to learn more about each one as part of a good, 4 step decision making process. These websites can help:

Eduvision

Best for:

• Finding college or university programs (14000 + programs) from all over the Pakistan, including duration, institution’s category and education system of each of those programs. 

How to use it:

• Go to Program Finder 
• Select Field of Study and Level of study 
• Refine your search by Course and City 

Ilmkidunya

Best for:

• Finding college and university programs according to course categories, as well as search course/program by qualification level, program type and city. 

How to use it:

• Press Colleges tab and select Programs and Courses 
• Search course/program by qualification level, course/program type and city; or 
• Search programs by Course Category 

Following online forums will help students in finding answers to their career, education and training related questions:

Hamariweb

Best for:

• Providing career advice on career development issues by a group of professionals and career advisers. 

How to use it: 

• Press Students Corner on a left had tab and select a Career Counselling link 
• Student need to register to participate on this forum 

Eduvision

Best for:

• Providing online counseling on various career related issues

How to use it: 

• Select Online Counseling tab and press Q&A link for reading posts or press Categories link for reading questions and answers according to various occupational categories 
• Student need to register to participate on this forum 

Career Counseling Portal Pakistan

Best for:

• Providing students with counseling services in facilitation of there career choices and subject selection along with providing professional response to the student's personal and psychological growth and development.

How to use it: 

• Student need registration to participate in various forums
• Select Register tab and press Student Registration 

High Quality Decision Making

Choosing a career path, making a career decision, or deciding on a college major - all are critical decisions. They demand high-quality decision making

Scientific studies show that there are four essential steps you will want to follow. They are abbreviated ACIP, like "a sip" of tea!

A stands for Alternatives. When making an important decision, look at all your choices. Ask yourself, "Are there any other ways I can solve this problem? Ways that I haven't thought of?"

C stands for Consequences. Once you have narrowed down your choices to those that look best, weigh the pros and cons of each.

I stands for Information. Search for new information about each option you are considering.

P means Plans. Make detailed plans for (a) how you will carry out your decision, and (b) what you will do if one of the negative consequences that you thought of under "C" occurs.

Read more on the Career Key Pakistan website by clicking the links...

The Career Key Pakistan

Why the Career Key® Pakistan is # 1 source of choosing a career...?

• Based on the latest science and best practices of career and college counselling;
• Respected by professionals, worldwide;
• One of a few scientifically valid career tests (it measures what is claimed);
• Based on Holland's theory of career choice and best science and practices of career counselling;
• Accurate, comprehensive information about matching occupations;
• Featured in Wall Street Journal;
• Licensed by top education companies;
• Translated in many languages including Urdu;
• Created by Dr. Lawrence K. Jones, NCC, counselling psychologist.
• 30 million users since 1997;

The Career Key Pakistan has been adapted for use with Pakiatani students. It is available in both Urdu and English languages. 

Organization of The Career Key Pakistan

The Career Key Pakistan is organized according to the three basic principles of good decision making:

1. Know yourself 

Your strengths, values, personality, and skills. This will help you decide which choice best fits you.

To learn about occupations, go to Learn More about the Jobs that Interest Me, Learn about Occupations.

At High-Quality Decision Making you will learn a method based on many scientific studies that is widely used in business and medical settings. It is easy to understand and use.

Take the Career Key test to discover which Holland personality types you are most like. You can then match the results with the most promising careers, career pathways and training programs.

Read about Holland's Theory of Career Choice to understand how your success and satisfaction in a job, school, or college is related to your personality.

Do the activities in Learn More about Yourself and Identify Your Skills to understand yourself better.

2. Know your options

Job Satisfaction will help you optimize your job satisfaction when you choose a career or a job. It can also help you analyze why you are dissatisfied in your job, if you are one of the many who are.

To learn about education options, go to Choose a College or Training Program.

Are you thinking of strengthening your job skills but you are unsure which ones are important? See The Foundation Skills.

3. Make a good decision

Still not sure? Go to Career Indecision and consider getting help from a professional counsellor: Career and Educational Counselling