Patience is a virtue.  This might be especially true for career change.  And even more true the older you get.  A client contacted me almost 2 years ago at age… Read More

In the past year, I’ve seen a dramatic increase in the number of mature workers being terminated by major employers, usually senior managers in their mid-40s to 50s. Most are unable… Read More

Just this past week, a client in Vancouver, who was laid off after 16 years with the same company, said to me, “I’ll be honest with you, I’ve lost my confidence, and don&rs&hell…Read More

You’ve heard the expression “fitting a square peg into a round hole does not work”. And yet, this is precisely the situation that many individuals feel about their jobs… Read More

I love to get updates from my clients.  A person’s career is literally a story.  It’s about their progress through their working life. As a career professional, I am… Read More

Much career advice falls along the lines of “follow your passion.” Like much general advice, the reality is always more complex and nuanced. Many people have a love for anim… Read More

Have you tried a free demo of Chat GPT? Go ahead, ask it to do something for you, anything, even something as random as ‘Write a poem for a 25-year-old daughter who is a teacher doi… Read More

When choosing or changing a career, it is best to align your core job duties with your natural strengths… so that what you do day in and day out energizes rather than drains you. T… Read More

Shame.  That’s what a recent client told me he felt about his current situation.  His employer was not satisfied with his performance on the job.  They gave him an ultim… Read More

Now that pandemic restrictions have been lifted and most people are returning to their workplaces, I am seeing an increasing number of clients who don’t want to go back.  Most… Read More

The founder of the Ford Motor Company, Henry Ford, once said, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t—you’re right.” What we think, what we believ… Read More

I had a client recently who is passionate about animal care…always has been, since childhood.  At least once a year, for the past 30 years, someone like her enters my practice… Read More

It’s the end of another calendar year and a new one is right around the corner.  For the past 10 years, I’ve developed the habit reviewing my Daytimer (yes, I still prefe… Read More

The biggest fear most people express is their belief that a career change means a big pay cut and, therefore, a poorer lifestyle.  This belief is based on an assumption that a career ch… Read More

In the last few years, even during the pandemic, I’ve helped a significant number of individuals make real career changes into a new field or into self-employment.  Based on this… Read More

A local client came to me recently seeking a career transition after 23 years in the same job.  Like many others before her, she asked, “Is it even possible?” In their mi… Read More

This year is shaping up as an excellent time for many workers to grab better job opportunities, secure better pay packages, ask for additional benefits and perks, and ride out this wave… Read More

The rate of people changing jobs has been growing month-to-month as the economy slowly recovers from its pandemic lows of 2021. Information about work and skills is in high demand. … Read More

Here’s a list of the fastest growing jobs from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  It shows their current average salary in USD plus their expected growth percentage by 2030. &nbs&hell…Read More

According to many surveys, about half the working population is preparing to make a career change.  We read stories about exhausted nurses and teachers leaving their fields. Or service… Read More

If you want to know what another career field is all about, how it really works—then get it straight from the horse’s mouth. This old saying refers to the old practice of opening… Read More

The pandemic has caused many people to re-evaluate their life priorities and surveys indicate that many plan on changing their job this year, some for a better or different job and some for… Read More

During the pandemic, millions of individuals across North America were laid off or lost their jobs. How will they respond? Many will, of course, look for another job in the same field… Read More

Just this morning, one of my clients called to tell me that his two nephews—one a dentist, the other an astrophysicist—can’t stand going to work each day…so they are… Read More

Do you have time on your hands now that you’re social distancing, or working from home, or collecting a benefit?  What do you do with that discretionary time?  Many people g… Read More

As we get older, making a career change is more challenging for many reasons: – we’re locked into a job that gives us economic security that we don’t want to risk; &n&hell…Read More

Eight months ago, I started working with an experienced IT Business Analyst who relocated from South Africa to Canada.  While his previous experience was in the banking sector, he recen… Read More

Only send a cover letter if they ask for one.  When they ask for a cover letter, it’s usually because your resume is going to be screened by software or a low level HR clerk, neit… Read More

To start your own business or not? I recently worked with an MBA client employed in a Fortune 500 company who commutes 2 hours each way.  He’s tired of it and wants out. … Read More

Job satisfaction is cited in many employee surveys as the #1 factor for staying in a job.  But what is job satisfaction and how do you measure it? First, let’s be honest, there… Read More

A career change is not the same thing as a job change.  It’s a reboot–a wholesale change of employer, job duties and job title. When should you consider such a big projec… Read More

I often use this blog to talk about the importance of narrative in career development.  Telling good stories in an interview can be essential to getting a job offer.  Here’s… Read More

All job change skills are actually storytelling devices whether it be a resume, networking, formal and informal interview situations, or salary negotiations…it comes down to one human… Read More

We live in anxious times…especially in matters related to economic security. We are all subject to pressures of competition, achievement, production and acquisition– fears, worr… Read More

It’s the start of another year…but are you still haunted by an inner critic from your past? We learn as children to please others who are important to us, such as parents, teac… Read More

From our childhood to our current career, we tend to gravitate towards activities and projects that require our natural strengths. Why? Simple—we get pleasure from using our talents i… Read More

I learn from my clients about what is really happening in the job market. Based on their experiences, here are some significant trends that may help you with your career planning, job sear… Read More

How big is your digital footprint? You might be surprised. Go to Pipl.com and type in your name and city of residence. It will show you how much of your personal data and photos are readi… Read More

As we come to the end of 2017, it is customary to reflect on the past year and forecast the year ahead. What strikes me are two opposing trends that deserve attention. 1. Totality of work… Read More

Do you get this feeling?…It’s a beautiful day and I know I should go for a walk in order to stay fit…but I don’t really want to. I don’t know about you but st… Read More

As a career counsellor in private practice for the past 25 years, thousands of individuals have confided in me about their motivations for working. For most of us, it boils down to this: w… Read More

All employers have a hiring agenda. They want individuals who can help them reach their corporate goals by overcoming the problems, challenges, pressures and issues that get in the way. Fut… Read More

If you could be paid for work that you love to do but is now unpaid…would you take it? Home childcare, or writing a movie script, or inventing gadgets in your backyard, or building a… Read More

Answering this Q requires a closer examination of the numbers behind social, economic and technological trends disrupting and/or destroying certain sectors. Asking the right Qs Which traditi… Read More

By choice, chance or job loss, many individuals move from one sector to another (e.g. public sector to non-profit), or from one industry to another, (e.g. construction to accounting). … Read More

Where will the jobs be this year? What are the jobs of the future? What will they pay? These were just a few questions posed to me on Boxing Day by a technology reporter based in New York… Read More

Don’t overlook the obvious. Reach out to people you know, including family and friends, as well as people you have worked with or helped in the past. This is your goodwill network, i… Read More

Robots are already building cars in the USA and delivering food in Japanese restaurants. Millions of low-skill manufacturing or service jobs are being replaced by robots that need far fewe… Read More

Looking for job postings online, following up on tips, asking for referrals, attending workshops in your hometown is still hard work, even in such familiar surroundings with a built-in goodw… Read More

Looking for job postings online, following up on tips, asking for referrals, attending workshops in your hometown is still hard work, even in such familiar surroundings with a built-in goodw… Read More

We all know a cabbie, or an assembly-line worker, or someone in media who recently lost their job–they are all victims of disruptors. The workplace is suddenly a volatile site subject… Read More

Each week I work with individuals who absolutely hate working at their organization — they are continually sick, or depressed, or cry regularly, or feel wounded, bullied or unsafe. The… Read More

From our childhood to our current career, we tend to gravitate towards activities and projects that require our natural strengths. Why? Simple—we get pleasure from using our talents i… Read More

Career research has shown that you are more likely to have job satisfaction if you have a work-role fit, one where their core job duties align with their talents, skillsets and motivations… Read More

We are creatures of habit because our brains make us that way! Neuroscience shows that we are motivated to achieve and maintain a comfort zone because our brains equate that state of equilib… Read More

We are creatures of habit because our brains make us that way! Neuroscience shows that we are motivated to achieve and maintain a comfort zone because our brains equate that state of equilib… Read More

I am working this year with several clients who describe their work life as a prison sentence: five days in the big house with weekend parole (ankle monitor attached!) About 95% of offender… Read More

It’s easy to manage your career when the world of work is stable and follows a set of rules that both employers and employees agree upon. This was the ‘cradle-to-grave’ jo… Read More

In my previous blog on this topic, I asked ‘Are your career goals organized around solving problems or creating what you want?” Whether you are pursuing a short term goal, like… Read More

You have a job now, right? And maybe you don’t like it. Or you’ve been thinking about a midlife career change but you don’t know what else you could do and still make mone… Read More

In my previous article, I provided job change advice and explained why the biggest source of external hiring for employers is not from resumes submitted online but from referrals. In short… Read More

A large recruiting company did a survey recently of about 250 of the largest companies in the U.S., mostly well-known brands of national and international scope that cover a range of major i… Read More

We are social beings with an inherent, natural desire for connection and attachment to other humans.  One of the core functions of work is to provide us with a broad social connection t… Read More

Entering the world of work is like walking through a door.  Previously, we could follow a simple formula—go to school, get good grades, go to college or university, get good grade… Read More

Hope springs eternal in the human breast; Man never is, but always to be blessed: The soul, uneasy and confined from home, Rests and expatiates in a life to come. – Alexander Pope, An… Read More

This is the time of year when we are regaled with year end reviews—news, movies, musical hits, championships, scandals, and so on. Let’s step away from the usual sort of reviews… Read More