“You’ll never have to ‘work’”

"Mere ability to learn subjects and spew it out in an exam is not an indicator of your real intelligence or passion,” begins career counselor and columnist, Pervin Malhotra (née Makhania, pictured). She was interacting with hundreds of confused students and their anxious parents with her characteristic élan at the Ice Skating Rink in Calcutta where she was invited to conduct an interactive workshop. A favorite invitee at universities, colleges and schools, she’s a prized speaker at convocations and industry forums in India and abroad.
"Choosing the right career is one of the most critical decisions of one’s life. Name, fame and money are the wrong criteria to choose a career. If you select a career that’s compatible with your personality, interests, aptitude and abilities, you’ll never have to ‘work,’” advises the Delhi based executive director of Career Guidance India (CARING) an independent and objective advisory service that has no affiliation with any academic institution or industry partner.
Featured in 1,000+ TV shows across channels Malhotra’s popular live show "Career Café,” which she anchors on Lok Sabha TV, has completed over 200 episodes. Besides her bestselling Times Book of New Age Careers, the "career queen” has published over 50 books and in-depth career reports that form a seminal source of information and guidance for students and counselors across the country. Last year she was nominated for the "Top 100 Women in India” award by the ministry of women and child development, Government of India.
"Having our finger squarely placed on the pulse of the swiftly changing career landscape helps us ensure that no student who comes to us ends up being a square peg in a round hole.” Malhotra cites examples, liberally interspersed with slashes of wit and humor, when alluding to the changing career scenario where advances in economy and technology have rendered several traditional careers obsolete, witnessed a different avatar for some and the emergence of a slew of new hitherto unimagined options.
"Unlike the nine or 10 career options in our times, present day students, have 3,000+ options to choose from, which further compounds the confusion,” says 65-year-old Malhotra recalling how utterly confused and undecided she was as a bubbly and rebellious teenager when it came to choosing her career after graduating in psychology and literature from St Xavier’s College, Ahmedabad. A curious mind and flair for creative writing landed her a job in a leading advertising agency as a copywriter. "I just couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw my first advert in print — two days into my first job! That’s what ignited my romance with advertising,” she exults.

Malhotra on television (left) and on an event hoarding

However, a year later, she decided to join the Film and Television Institute of India, Poona to pursue a course in film direction. The early 1970s had very few women students opting for technical aspects of filmmaking. She was however selected for a postgraduate program in film editing and not in film direction as she desired. "With no one to guide us in those days, instead of celebrating my achievement, I impetuously rejected the offer and headed back to advertising with an upcoming agency in Bombay,” where she rose to the post of creative director, she reveals.
While in college, Pervin met Kapil Malhotra, a physics graduate from St Stephens, Delhi who was pursuing his MBA at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad. By chance, they acted together in IIM’s annual production at the Town Hall (Ayn Rand’s famous play Night of January 16th). Their budding romance continued to blossom when they both worked in Bombay. A year after their garden wedding in 1974, Kapil decided to join his family’s publishing business in Delhi while Pervin and a colleague from her Bombay office opened a branch of Arms Bozell, the advertising agency in the capital. When their sons, Sahas and Zubin were in high school, Pervin decided to change tracks and do something "more meaningful and purposeful with her life…” by helping students and job-seekers attain their career dreams by equipping them with timely information and guidance.
"No matter where you are in your career, if you don’t do something dramatic to shake things up at regular intervals, you could easily retire doing exactly what you did yesterday and the day before,” believes Pervin. "So, as much as I enjoyed advertising, I didn’t want to end my career eulogizing other people’s products.”
Propelled by Kapil, she set up a comprehensive database of education and career opportunities from scratch in those early days of computers in India. She published a veritable A-Z of 35 affordable, in-depth career guides that were very well received.
Impressed by the quality of her books, The Indian Express asked her to take charge of a weekly question and answer column which soon grew into a full page every week. Her weekly career columns were popular in The Telegraph, The Times of India (Education Times), Hindustan Times, The Tribune, Deccan Herald, DNA, and leading vernacular papers (Navbharat Times, Amar Ujala, Dainik Jagran, Dainik Bhaskar, Hindustan, Malayala Manorama to name a few). Television channels began inviting her as a career expert on their weekly shows on Doordarshan, Zee TV, TV Today, ETV, CNN IBN and BBC Radio which gave her the confidence to accept an invitation to anchor "Career Café.”
Describing Kapil as "a visionary far ahead of his times, a tough critic and a fantastic sounding board rolled into one,” Pervin acknowledges his insightful support in identifying and fine-tuning their signature career assessment tool "The i-Opener” that scientifically assesses the candidate’s career interests, aptitude and personality and matches them with a base of 3,000+ career options. "I took no salary for 10 years. The family business sustained CARING’s initial years,” reveals Pervin when asked how she funded her venture.

"Leading a student from self-doubt and confusion to a rewarding and meaningful career is a reward in itself. Career decisions are still a family affair and until all questions are answered and doubts cleared, my clients are free to approach me subsequently. In fact, many of them keep in touch well past their study years. I never look at my watch while I’m counseling and schedule a very limited number of sessions per day to do full justice to each client,” she notes.
Their elder son, Sahas, is based in Bombay as director and country head, music, for Amazon. Younger son Zubin, a career counselor, is an alumnus of IIM Calcutta, who worked at IBM and Oracle, and has now joined her at CARING, where, besides counseling students, he conducts talks, workshops and TV shows independently as also with Pervin.
Her parents, late Ratan and Nergis Makhania were based in Ahmedabad. Her father was in the textile industry while her mother, who grew up in Bombay was a talented cook and seamstress who spoke French and excelled at math. Pervin’s younger sister Anahita Makhania is a senior manager with pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson.
Pervin remarks that her Zoroastrian upbringing characterized by honesty, sincerity and empathy has remained the guiding force in her professional and personal life. "The reward of seeing the relieved and happy faces of the students and their parents as they step out of my room is a priceless reward… Often, I don’t even charge a fee from a student if they can’t afford it. I strongly believe that no child should be denied proper guidance or information. On the contrary, I’ve at times happily contributed towards their exam fees/books,” she states, matter-of-factly.
In her free time, Pervin loves reading, pottering in her garden, clicking pictures, baking and yoga. A predominantly vegetarian health buff, she delights in concocting innovative health-food. "A minimalist by inclination, I love good design and have a keen eye for aesthetics. I’m an avid recycler. I compost all garden and kitchen waste,” she confides.
A proud grandmother to Nergis, Malhar and Yajur, all aged under 10 years, Pervin finds "their innocence, enthusiasm and curiosity are so refreshing. Besides, they come up with the most innovative solutions to ‘complex’ problems!”
Quizzed about her future plans, Pervin feels that for her exhaustive database of information and relevant material to benefit every student across the country, algorithms need to be designed to refine the process. She admits feeling somewhat strapped for resources when it comes to harnessing state-of-the-art technology to disseminate information on a wider platform.
When asked to share her mantra, Pervin states: "To live in the minds and hearts of young people, to make a difference or impact their lives, in howsoever small a way is to find immortality. As a Girl Guide in school, we had this motto: ‘Leave your campsite better than you found it.’ I’ve begun something that shouldn’t end with me. CARING isn’t just a business, it’s a calling and the need of the hour,” she concludes.