This Is Not The Career I Ordered™ Blog
Savvy Professional Career Wisdom by Caroline Dowd-Higgins
This is Not the Career I Ordered is read by thousands of careerists around the globe. With savvy tools, inspiration, and resources, this timeless book empowers you to enjoy your career, and love your life!
Don’t be a Career Loser – Take All Your Time Off
As a recovering workaholic, I strive regularly to integrate life and career to honor my personal relationships and my professional ambition. My life often resembles a roller coaster with ups and downs of activity and never a consistent steady balance – and that’s OK. This reality check has allowed me to navigate the ultra-busy career […]
Life and Career Lessons from a Power Outage
A massive storm hit last week that resulted in a tornado touch down (several miles from us) and many downed trees and power lines which cut off our electricity for 3 days. Luckily, the damage to our home was mild with a large tree limb that broke our backyard fence and many fallen branches and […]
Advance Your Career with a Sponsor
In today’s world-of-work, you need to get into the career game and redefine your distinguishing strengths and value-add so you can be seen, heard, and considered for the new opportunities you seek. Adjust the career lens through which you see the world. It’s time to get into the driver’s seat and be strategic about how […]
How Leaders Can Mitigate the Great Resignation
This week, three people I know well left solid careers they had been in for multiple years for another opportunity that honored their values. The global pandemic wreaked havoc in many ways but it also gave people the chance to deeply consider what matters. Values are the greatest predictor or career satisfaction, and the ongoing […]
My Time Off Saved Me from Career Exhaustion
It had been 18 months since I took a true vacation and left my house to travel for an extended period. Sure, I took all my PTO in 2020 but the time off was not the same due to the pandemic. This summer, I visited my family on the east coast whom I had not […]
Consider What to Keep and Stop to Reinvigorate Life and Career
As a career and leadership coach, I work with many individuals who are stalled or stuck in a stagnant routine of life and career that zaps energy and enthusiasm. A simple exercise can transform your world. Keep & Stop helps you clarify and define what’s important to you on a personal and/or professional level. The […]
Design Your Career So It Doesn’t Happen by Default
Emerging from the pandemic provides an opportunity for reflection. Many people feel stuck or helpless in the wrong job, the wrong relationship, or an unhappy life. The concept of design thinking will empower you with practical and creative strategies to reboot what’s not working so you have more control over your destiny. With design thinking, […]
Be a High Achiever Instead of a Workaholic
As a recovering workaholic, I have finally come to terms with the reality that workaholism is unhealthy and unsustainable. The tragic reality of workaholism is that is also leads to unhappiness and burnout in life and career. I believe that suffering is optional and now I’m focusing on being a high achiever instead if a […]
Organizations are Serious About The “No Jerks” Policy When Hiring
Over the last 20 years as a career & professional development consultant, I have worked with countless employers seeking ideal candidates to fill critical roles in their organizations. Regardless of the career field, recruiters and hiring managers agree that after the basic criteria of skills and competencies are met, candidates are accepted or eliminated based […]
Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose in Your Career
I follow the work of Adam Grant, an Organizational Psychologist at Wharton and I’m an avid fan of his podcast WorkLife. Many thanks to Adam Grant who shared a great HBR piece by Ethan Bernstein, Hayley Blunden, Andrew Brodsky, Wonbin Sohn, and Ben Waber about the Implications of Working Without an Office. Like many, I’ve […]
15+ Statistics You Need To Know About Home Office Ergonomics
This guest piece was originally posted on FlexiSpot and authored by Jason McCann who writes for Forbes.com and advises that the secret to getting home office ergonomics right is to have a list of what you want and need. In June 2020, Stanford University Economist Nicholas Bloom said that 42% of working people in the US worked from home […]
There is No Mind Reading in The Career World
Gone are the days when working hard was enough to earn recognition or a promotion in the career world. Take control of your career trajectory and design your unique path. In addition to mapping out your career future, be sure to tap the wisdom of those who can empower you to achieve your goals. Keeping […]
Career Letter to The Class of 2021
Dear Class of 2021: As you head into the post pandemic world you have an opportunity to design your own career destiny and I encourage you to tap the power you have within you. You earned your credentials with a tremendous amount of time, effort, and more than likely a big financial investment that may […]
Slay Perfectionism with “Good Enough to Go” Mindset for Career Momentum
As a career development and executive coach, I work with many individuals who are focused on making changes to their careers to better align with professional values and strengths. But for some, their best plans often get stalled in analysis paralysis, which results in stagnation and a hard stop to all forward momentum. Brave, Not […]
