Four Things You Can Do When Your Job is Going Well

Even when your job is going well – you feel engaged, you can see opportunities for advancement, and you feel well compensated for your work – it’s important to perform what I call “ongoing career maintenance.” These are little things you can do to keep yourself primed and ready should you find yourself wanting a […]

Have Trouble Being Productive in Job Search?

Do you have trouble being productive in job search and feeling like you are getting anywhere? Working full-time and finding time to fit in search activities is one thing. But when you have lost your job, it can seem like your routine and sense of productivity are going nowhere fast. Adopt a new structure. One […]

Staying Professionally Active When Unemployed

How does one stay current when not working in a world that evolves at such a rapid pace? Whether you are actively seeking work at this time or not, it is vitally important to stay updated in your field, even if you don’t plan to return to work right away. For some people, when the […]

Networking Plus, Part II

In Part I, the essential task of networking was newly defined as engaging in a dance of reciprocity.  The person with whom you are conducting the informational interview gives you ideas, leads, and connections. In turn, reciprocity requires that you offer them something in return. So what do you have to offer?  According to The Heart […]

The Importance of Remaining Connected to your Network

This morning I woke up thinking of Dr. Frank Wesley, my former Psychology Professor at Portland State. He was an avid beekeeper and one of the most influential teachers I’ve ever had. Not so much because of what he said or the questions he asked of us, but because of his gentle and kind way. […]

Taking it a Step Further: Networking Plus, Part I

When people seek out career counseling, they are often looking to choose, change or advance their careers. Networking is key to this, especially with people who are currently employed in their area of interest. However, to succeed in maximizing networking contacts requires something of them—they have to learn to change their approach and search tactics. […]

Criminal and Career Recidivism

Are you a career recidivist? Do you sometimes feel like you’ve returned to searching for work too many times? More times than is necessary? You may be right and the solution doesn’t lie in better networking or reworking your resume for the 34th time. It has to do with your professional identity…..or lack of it. […]

Small Steps Toward a Career Change

Ever wonder what it would be like to spend your work week doing things you truly enjoy? If so, you’re in good company. In the U.S., 53% of people aren’t happy with their current job.  We’ve heard success stories of people who quit their day job and found something more rewarding. Maybe they went back […]

Leaping Over Your Barrier to Networking

[Picture a teen in a white tee soaring high above blocks of taxis, hood to hood, an ocean of traffic, on his skateboard in New York City. (Painted on The New Yorker’s cover August 3, 2015.)] Now, entertain the notion that your imagined, personal and professional networking options often fall into scenarios about the “correct, […]

Harness the Mistakes You Survived

Can I admit it? I made a mistake recently, didn’t you? Maybe it was a mistake of omission or commission. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that you made it, survived it and can use it now. These mistakes are living proof that you can, and have, survived awkward, embarrassing or inappropriate moments. You’ll survive […]