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!
Take the Challenge to Be Fully Present During The Holidays

There are a plethora of celebrations from Thanksgiving through the new year that represent a myriad of cultural, religious, pagan, and ethnic holidays. With the hustle and bustle of this festive time of year in full swing, the stress and overwhelm are palpable. If you are fortunate enough to get some down time over the […]
Leverage The Final Work Weeks of 2023

The countdown is on until 2023 is in the rear-view mirror of your career. While many organizations slow down during the final days of December, consider how you can use this time to leverage your influence and set your career stage for the 2024. Make Connections Beyond Your Team Capitalize on the holiday party or […]
Making the Most of Summer: Getting Organized Ahead of Schedule

In between the summertime gardening, outdoor concerts, and trips out of town – consider getting ducks in a row for when cooler winds blow. Fall and winter may be the last things on your mind right now, but I’ve learned from experience that preparing ahead for their arrival can make life a lot easier. Here […]
Making the Most of Summer: Fill Your World With Art

Summer is a great time to take in anything arts-related, especially since so many events are held outdoors and are more easily accessible. Here are some easy ways to enjoy the arts before summer’s end: Concerts Whether it’s taking in a concert in your hometown square, at the state fair, Ravinia, or Yankee Stadium – […]
4 Steps to Manage Your Online Reputation When Job Searching

This guest post was contributed by Michelle who works from home. She has handled and developed winning marketing strategies for start-ups, non-profits, and corporations. Currently, she’s working for Guaranteed Removals, a reputation management firm based in Canada which offer a variety of services to remove harmful online content permanently. The job search can be a difficult […]
The Eclipse Effect: The Power of Letting Go

Last August, I was mesmerized, along with the rest of the country, by “The Great American Eclipse.” This summer, our planet is experiencing an intense eclipse season once again with three eclipses within the course of a one-month span – an historic event since this will happen only six times over a five-century period (spanning from the […]
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 of a […]
Making the Most of Summer…Getting Clear With Your Career and Life Vision

You may be inspired to grab a surfboard or boogie board and ride the blue waves during these summer months, but you can also grab a board of a different kind – a board where you can surf the creative waves of your imagination and get clearer on your dreams and goals. Consider targeting some […]
Time Off Helps You Thrive in Life and Career

It’s no surprise that most adults are overworked and overwhelmed but the counter-intuitive reality is that many are not taking all the paid time off they’ve earned. According to Project: Time Off “After years of being asked to ‘do more with less’ workers are overstretched, stressed out, and exhausted. The always-on, 24/7 American work culture […]
Success Means Showcasing Your Human Side

This blog was contributed by Sheila Sands who shares compelling wisdom about tapping the human side of your brand for success. Once upon a time, doing business of any kind meant picking up a telephone, speaking to a person politely, maybe booking an appointment and then strolling through town to their office or store. But […]
Career Wisdom for the Class of 2018 That Works for Seasoned Professionals

The Class of 2018 list of commencement speakers included celebrities like Oprah Winfrey at USC Annenberg, Michael Bloomberg at Rice University, Queen Latifah at Rutgers University and Sheryl Sandberg at MIT. Brown University awarded Sting an honorary degree along with his wife and activist, Trudie Styler. He serenaded the graduation crowd with an a capella […]
Laughter Is The Best Medicine: Finding the Funny Side of Life and Career

Ever notice how a good laugh can go a long way in changing the way everything looks? After a less than stellar day last week, I happened upon one of my favorite comedians on social media. I started off giggling and before I knew it, I was in full-out, belly laugh mode. Afterwards, I realized […]
A Money Conversation – Part II: Getting It In Writing

In last week’s post, A Money Conversation Part I, I asked readers to examine their sense of self-worth as it relates to money, and asked, ‘If money talks… what is it saying to you?’ It’s an interesting idea to think of personifying money – actually thinking about what it might want to say to you, […]
A Money Conversation Part I: Your Self-Worth

Each spring, come tax time, we have the opportunity to take stock of how much we’ve made, how much we’ve spent, and overall, how we’re doing with our money. If, as the saying goes, “Money talks,” – what is its message to you after this year’s tax season has come and gone and tax returns […]