Career Exploration


01Apr 2011

5 Bad Ways to Choose a Career

Sometimes we focus on the right way to do a task.  But other times it is helpful to look at the wrong way to do something. In my career coaching with students, young & older adults, I have seen some patterns of bad ways that people have attempted to choose their career direction — and rarely do these approaches work. 

31Oct 2009

Managing College & Career Anxiety — for Parents

This past week I had the opportunity to speak to about 70 parents at a private college prep high school.  The anxiety level in the room was moderately high because these parents were there to hear answers about how to get their students to take seriously the process of finding a career path and choosing a college to attend. Earlier

09Jul 2009

The Economic Downturn and The Psychology of Our Culture

I am not an economist (thankfully). But economists, meteorologists (those who try to predict the weather), and psychologists are somewhat in the same situation — our ‘sciences’ are not very “hard” — that is, they often are not solidly grounded in data and they lack power to predict. For example, last night there was no prediction at all of any

19Jun 2009

Weathering the Storm of Unemployment

Recently, the reality of people losing their jobs has been hitting quite close to home. Living in the city where most aircraft are built in the U.S., and the struggles aircraft manufacturers are experiencing have made knowing individuals who have been laid off from work a personal experience.  And the secondary job losses are significant as well — suppliers to

27Apr 2009

A Good Way to Find a Job in Difficult Times — Be Willing to Do What Others Are Not Willing to

“Finding a job” continues to be a common topic that comes up in conversations — with friends, clients, families, friends of my kids. The types and levels of job positions is quite broad — from laid-off professionals to young adults looking for their first career position, to high school and college students searching for summer jobs or internships. In discussing

29Mar 2009

The Psychology of Looking for a Job

In the past weeks I have been listening to the media, reading articles that are coming out, and talking to a number of individuals who are looking for work. The level of job search ranges from high school students looking for a summer job, college graduates searching for their first full-time position in their area of study, and individuals who have

11Nov 2007

Networking – Some additional thoughts and reflections

“Networking” is obviously not only about trying to use relational contacts to find a job or find a quality person for a position you are trying to fill.  We use our social networks for a variety of purposes — finding quality professionals or technicians for tasks we need to get done, locating charitable organizations that are good stewards of the

04Nov 2007

"Perception is Reality" — Not Always True

In my work with people, I often deal with individuals’ reactions to situations as well as communication issues between co-workers and family members. As a result, in the process of working through these issues, people often say to me, “Well, you know, perception is reality.” Sometimes they say this to explain how miscommunication occurred with another person, or why they

25Oct 2007

Networking Can Maximize the Search for Good Hires

Networking Can Maximize the Search for Good Hires I was talking to a friend who is the vice president for business development at his company. He was looking for a new project manager. “If you hear of anyone who may fit the qualifications, have them contact me,” he said. I asked him why couldn’t he find someone through the regular

30Jul 2007

What is the Purpose of Work?

“What is the purpose of work?” is both a personal question for me and a key question for many of the families with whom I work (although they don’t necessarily ask it directly like that). Consistent with the stereotype of a hardworking Midwestern farmer, I am a pretty hard-working guy (I am not a farmer, but come from that heritage).

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