Poonam Sharma Shah

Poonam Sharma Shah is the Founder of Aspire Career Planning, a boutique career guidance and admissions consulting practice dedicated to helping students make informed academic and career decisions. She works closely with students, parents and young professionals to identify the right career paths, choose suitable courses and universities, and plan successful admissions journeys in India and abroad.

A Certified Career Counselor from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Extension and a Certified Career Analyst, Poonam combines over 20 years of experience across education, HR, telecom and corporate training with deep expertise in career counselling and higher education admissions. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Commerce (B.Com) and an MBA in Marketing.

Poonam believes that every student is unique and deserves personalised guidance rather than a one-size-fits-all approach. At Aspire, she intentionally works with a small batch of students, allowing her to understand their aspirations, strengths, and long-term goals, and to mentor them through every stage of their journey.

Her expertise spans career assessments, career counselling, subject and stream selection, university and course shortlisting, profile building, admissions strategy, application planning, Statements of Purpose (SOPs), essays, scholarship guidance, interview preparation and visa guidance. She has guided students to universities in India and across the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, Singapore and other international destinations.

Beyond one-to-one counselling, Poonam regularly conducts career guidance workshops for schools, colleges and educational institutions, helping students and parents understand emerging careers, higher education pathways and the skills needed to thrive in a rapidly evolving world.

Her work has been featured in Higher Education Review, and she is an active member of professional organizations including the Association of Professional Career Counselors of India (APCCI) and The Outreach Collective (TOC). She also serves as a Mentor with MeetMyMentor and as a Consultant – Mentoring & Career Counseling with the Ekam Foundation, where she supports students through structured career guidance and mentoring initiatives.

Poonam firmly believes that education has the power to transform lives and is committed to making quality career guidance accessible, practical and deeply personalised, so that every student can make confident decisions about their future.