A unique way to discover natural talent and untapped potential for students & professionals
The new-age career lifecycle management startup GENLEAP, started by industry veterans Nimish Gupta, Sachin Sandhir, Nitin Thakur & Shweta Kataria, aims to make a difference by helping create a work-ready India with students and professionals. Sachin Sandhir, Founder and CEO of GENLEAP, shares his insights into GENLEAP and the future of career tech platforms in India during a candid interaction with CXOToday.
What led to the inception of GENLEAP?
Making a difference to people’s lives and society at large has been close to our hearts. This was one of the main drivers towards setting up this business. There’s huge variety of career development and training options today but our focus is helping individuals understand their talent and strengths better and in ensuring that they benefit from this ecosystem with relevant upskilling programs, counsellors, mentors and employers.
Due to lack of awareness, parental and peer pressure, absence of good quality information on careers, students and professionals often end up with wrong career choices. This adds up to the issue of employability and mismatch of demand-supply of talent.
We aim to make a difference by helping create a work-ready India with students and professionals that are skilled not just relevant to the demand of reinvented workplaces and ecosystems but also in alignment with their aptitude and innate talents.
Briefly explain the product and services offered by GENLEAP
Broadly speaking, GENLEAP caters to three types of target audience – First, the parents of kids aged 8-14 to help them identify personality and talent traits so that they can be nurtured/guided in a certain direction. Second, we help students (and parents) take education and career decisions at important milestones such as stream selection in school and course selection for bachelors and further studies. Third, we also cater to young-mid career professionals who are looking for guidance to progress in certain careers or even evaluate alternative careers.
GENLEAP has developed a proprietary triangulation methodology based on well-established and proven tools and techniques to decode an individual’s talent and strengths.This first-of-its-kind technique reflects on the inherent abilities, the present state and indicative directions toward prospects.
We use the Big 5 (also known as OCEAN model) of personality assessment – as behavioral genetics research has established that BIG 5 or OCEAN traits have a nearly 50% genetic influence.
Our flagship product is called GenDiscover. It is an interactive digital report based on a 3-dimensional assessment comprising Genomic / DNA Analysis – using a saliva sample; an Astromancy Analysis – using birth timing and a Psychometric Analysis – through an online test.
How are you discovering the natural talent and untapped potential of a person?
The genetic analysis, along with cognitive astromancy results, indicates the inherent or inborn potential. The psychometric assessment acts as a benchmark or indicator of the current situation. The results show to what extent student has utilized the potential – whether it is already a strength or an opportunity for nurturing.
We also offer video-based sessions with certified coaches (experienced psychologists certified in our proprietary methodology) who explain the results of GenDiscover in simple language and help people understand their unique strengths and opportunity areas.
How genetics can impact one’s personality? Any examples?
As many as 29’000 scientific papers show that your genes influence your personality
Such studies have shown that genetics have a nearly 50% influence on each of the five factorsnamely– openness, conscientiousness, extraversion,agreeableness, and neuroticism.
Genes aren’t entirely responsible for who we are as people, but their impact on us and thus its implications must not be underestimated. Our natural predispositions can considerably influence our choices. Genes play a critical role in work-related behaviours and therefore can play an important role in our career choices. We might not realise or give it any thought but the type of work we prefer, whether we pursue a leadership position, our risk-taking appetite, or our entrepreneurial drive – are all influenced by our genes.
This doesn’t mean we get pigeonholed in a possible career path because of our genes. But genetics can play a key role in understanding our innate strengths, abilities and traits and choosing a career path which is likely to help us be happy and content.
As a career tech platform, how you are navigating the complete career lifecycle management?
GenDiscover is the first step in the career lifecycle. The next step depends on an individual’s stage in life. For eg – for students who want to take career decisions, we help them first match their personality to behavioural competencies required for various professions and job roles.In addition, we help them shortlist possible career options based on their interests and motivations. After this, we provide career pathways that open up based on the academic qualifications, technical competencies and skills; and likely salaries as they grow in their career path.
This will help students assess what is the preferred path or the path of least resistance with maximum ROI and happiness (or rather meaningfulness in life).
Why do you think self-discovery is very important for current and upcoming generations?
Post the pandemic, the attitude of today’s generation towards work is changing as one witnessed with the great resignation. Salary alone is no longer the deciding factor. Overall growth, flexible timing, work-life balance and job satisfaction are equally important criteria.
Self-discovery is the process of understanding personality (including our genetic pre-disposition), the type of work we enjoy, underlying motivations, our passion and life purpose. Deeper knowledge of one-self (beyond the surface level of a psychometric assessment) can go a long way in making more fulfilling career decisions.
What lies ahead for career Tech platforms in India? Future plans for GENLEAP
We have aggressive plans to educate the Indian market on the value ofbehavioral genetics; and provide individuals with tools, data, and resources that can help them better-informed career decisions. The company aims to impact the lives of 10 million customers over the next 10 years.
We are working on enriching the career discovery product with reliable proprietary data of the jobs landscape in India and how the future of jobs will emerge over the next 3-5 years horizon. We are also building an ecosystem of talent and skills-development partners – many of whom are already onboarded with us. Based on the development needs and interests of our customers, we connect them with relevant partners – which may include admission counselling, study abroad assistance, internships, mentor network or talent nurturing in the areas of music, sports, dance, to name a few.
