Melbourne-based Naishadh Gadani migrated to Australia in 2007 from India. Like all migrants, he struggled to find employment initially but beat the odds to carve a niche for himself in the Australian job market.
Having experienced a series of redundancies as a sales engineer, Gadani made a remarkable career transition to employment and career practice, unlocking a world of possibilities and positively impacting countless individuals along the way.
As a dedicated career practitioner, he works with diverse groups of job seekers, ranging from individuals who have sustained injuries to those facing complex barriers to employment, fresh graduates, skilled migrants, law students, indigenous youth, and seasoned professionals.
Gadani’s invaluable insights, wisdom, and lessons learned will soon be shared through two forthcoming books: The Big Book of Career Doodles: 87 Visual Ideas to Inspire a Great Career and Your Career Journal: 55 Socratic Questions to Untangle and Accelerate Your Career, co-authored with Dr. Anamika Sharma.
In a conversation with The Indian Sun, Naishadh Gadani offers a glimpse into the secrets behind his transformative career journey. He shares the lessons he has learned along the way and imparts invaluable advice to those seeking to navigate their own career paths.
Can you tell us more about The Big Book of Career Doodles: 87 Visual Ideas to Inspire a Great Career!?
During the COVID-19 pandemic, I discovered the therapeutic benefits of doodling as a self-care activity. Combining my passion for career and employment concepts with doodles, I started creating hundreds of sketches that have inspired and motivated people worldwide. I have been sharing these doodles with my LinkedIn community of over 18,000 followers, and the response has been overwhelming. The doodles have the power to convey complex messages in a simple, fun, and insightful manner, nudging people to think differently and find inspiration.
This journey led me to create this book. It serves as a valuable resource for individuals seeking guidance and career practitioners worldwide, helping them support their clients.
We process images faster than words. There are a lot of career concepts that are complex for people to understand and difficult to apply to their careers. Through the doodles/visuals, I have not only made it simpler and easy to understand, but it also evokes a response.
With contributions from 50 career practitioners from around the world, how did you go about selecting the stories and reflections to include in the book?
The contributions are not just from career practitioners, but other professionals too. I reached out to those individuals who found the doodles interesting and were engaged in the concepts. I usually get 5 to 7 unsolicited messages (LinkedIn and email) about how they are using it in their own life or with their clients. I simply reached out to them and asked them to be part of this project. Not knowing how many people will agree with this. I was overwhelmed with the responses.
I then asked them to choose the doodle that they want to write content for rather than suggesting them which doodle or how they should write the content. I shared the basic idea behind the book and let them decide what kind of content they want to write. Some of them have written personal stories of grief and triumph, stories of how they overcame fear, anecdotes, step by step process, and reflection. It is rich and diverse. It took almost eight months to complete the project.
The second book you co-authored with Anamika Sharma, Your Career Journal: 55 Socratic Questions to Untangle and Accelerate Your Career, seems to offer a more interactive and hands-on approach to career development. Could you explain how this workbook differs from other career guidance resources available in the market?
In my experience of working with hundreds of professionals, I have not found a journal that helps people inquire or reflect on or about their careers. People make career decisions based on many aspects, but we never untangle the story of our careers. We are constantly running, but never pause, reflect, write, think, and then move forward. We are in continuous momentum. What we are trying to do with this journal is to help people make sense of their careers through a series of curated and well thought questions, we call it 55 Socratic questions. It allows people to peel the layers of their career. The questions are very gentle. We also provide a context of why we are asking the questions and how you can answer it. We have also provided useful resources to help you answer it.
This interactive workbook offers practical exercises, prompts, and insights to help individuals navigate their career paths, set goals, and make meaningful progress.
The book also has an action planner section; where people can create and track their actions for career development.
How did your collaboration with Dr. Anamika Sharma, an applied linguist and career consultant, enhance the content and value of “Your Career Journal”? What unique perspectives did she bring to the project?
Dr Anamika Sharma and I are long-time friends and we share a common interest in personal and career development. We shared our ideas and thoughts on this issue for a long time. When I came up with the idea of Career Journal, she was the first person I called and shared the idea. Dr Sharma’s global experience in academics, teaching, and languages has been immensely valuable for this project. She has been able to create questions, prompts, and nudges that are inspiring and compelling. She’s given a direct question with a beautiful twist that compels the reader to write.
Can you share any success stories or testimonials from individuals who have used the concepts and techniques outlined in your books? How have they benefited from applying these ideas to their career development?
Testimonial for The Big Book of Career Doodles:
“What a clever and useful set of doodles to support people with their careers! Whether you like reading or not, this book is perfect because the doodles allow you to quickly get a sense of the topic and read further if you want to. Not only will you learn from Naish’s doodles, you also gain insights from career practitioners, coaches, entrepreneurs, and accomplished professionals from across the world. The Big Book of Career Doodles is a fantastic resource for anyone needing encouragement and inspiration for their careers!”
— Megumi Miki. Leadership and Culture Consultant and Coach, Author of Quietly Powerful: How your quiet nature is your hidden leadership strength?
Testimonial for Your Career Journal:
“This journal will help you embrace and celebrate your career, get to the heart of your what and why, and ponder next steps. The questions may make you smile and they will definitely make you think. A must-read, must-think, must-write resource!”
— Lis Mcguire, Registered Career Development Professional (RCDP), Founder of Sunrise Career Guidance, & Creator of Shape of Career cards
How do you envision these books making a positive impact on individuals’ careers?
I believe the books will have a strong positive impact on individuals’ careers. I believe it will help people take actions, think differently, and change their approach.
In terms of outcomes or changes, it is too early to say, but readers will be able to act on the insights, be inspired by various stories and anecdotes, and have fun on the way.
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Discover the remarkable career journey of Naishadh Gadani, from migrant struggles to job market stardom. Dive into his transformative books co-authored with Dr. Anamika Sharma and unlock your career potential. #TheIndianSunhttps://t.co/V51DpDMJ7c
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