Each Work Experience You Have Is Important
Does this resonate with you? “That one summer job I had was the best work experience but that’s not a career”. This may be true but when you reflect on the varied experiences of your life, you gather valuable information about yourself, the world around you, your abilities, the development of your skills, the expansion […]
Get Beyond Stuck – An Experiential Exercise
Over the years, I have been compiling an evolving list of statements based on what I hear from clients of different ages, stages in life, diverse work experiences, and career paths. I’ve done this because most initial conversations I have with clients start with a statement. And these statements are an entry point to explore […]
Career Change Takes Preparation
Career changes are more numerous and thus have become a component of career development and career life for many, especially younger generations. Although we do see trends like the “quiet quit” or the “rage quit”, most career change takes preparation. Change requires some reflection, some perspective, and some planning. Career conversations can help to clarify […]
Fulfillment and Burnout
We often assume that fulfilling work, work that motivates us, work we feel enthusiastic about, and work we are fully engaged in, will provide us with a protective barrier and immunity from burnout. And yet even while enthusiastically embracing our work we can inadvertently stretch, or even abandon, the very boundaries we need for self-care, […]
Identifying Skills – An Experiential Worksheet
What comprises a skill set? We often associate our skill set with the functional skills or expertise required for a specific job, role, or profession. But this lens is too narrow; it does not capture the full scope of reality. Ourskills are in fact continuously developing and expanding over the course of our lives. Our […]
The Meaning of Work – Employee Experience and Retention
In today’s world, retention has as much to do with what employees are experiencing – their aspirations, expectations, and the meaning they ascribe to work and career – as it does with the needs of an organization. Our experiences and expectations of work and career are currently undergoing great shifts. And this is creating the […]
Imagining Career – A Career Development Exercise
Career development is continuous throughout our lives; whether you are a young adult just starting your working life or whether you have some career experience and are now contemplating a career transition. Creativity and imagination are as much a part of career development during our lifetimes as specific strategies. Try this exercise. What does your […]
Career Assumptions: In Career Development
Dominant narratives and assumptions about careers are always with us. And they can influence our career decisions and how we develop our career paths. Career conversations can bring perspective to these narratives and untangle assumptions that may be impeding the development of your career path. Let’s examine 3 examples. “I want work that I am […]
The benefits of reflective practice
Reflective practice helps us stay connected to our lives, our emotions, and our experiences. It helps us balance the imbalance of hyper-busyness that we have come to equate with productivity and success. Reflective practice (and it does require practice!) is key to deepening our awareness, gaining perspective, being emotionally attuned and flexible, and building our […]
The increasing desire for fulfilling work
As a career counsellor, I have witnessed the increasing desire for fulfilling work amongst my clients. Fulfillment is at the top of the “want” list for those experiencing career transitions, for those re-assessing their relationship with their current work roles, for those who are experiencing and navigating work-related stress and burnout, or for those in […]
