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!
How The Future Works

The pandemic turned the traditional nine-to-five workday on its head out of necessity. The 2-year (and counting) global case study in remote/hybrid work has irrevocably changed how many people want to work moving forward. With the Worker’s Market driving change, savvy organizations are rethinking the way we work long-term in the new digital-first workplace. My article title […]
Leadership Lessons from Ted Lasso and What to Ask Your Boss

The resources on leadership can be overwhelming from books to podcasts, to TED Talks, research, methodologies, and beyond. While I value the volume of resources available, these 12 lessons from Ted Lasso, the award-winning series on Apple TV about an American football coach leading a British soccer team are simple and powerful. The Ted Lasso […]
Women Climbing to the Top in the Oil and Gas Industry

Many thanks to Miley Green for her insightful guest blog. Miley has investigated past and present gender biases across various fields of work. She is currently pursuing her Master’s degree, hoping to delve further into the world of feminism and discover new ways to help women succeed in male-dominated industries. While men may dominate the […]
Cool-Power Leadership: 4 Guidelines To Cultivate Yours

What do you value most in a leader? The 4th annual Ketchum Leadership Communication Monitor (KLCM) recently came out with some interesting findings that point to changing views about leadership around the globe. An online survey went out to six thousand people in different parts of the world last spring – asking what they valued […]
It’s Time to Focus on Your Career Future

Summer vacations have ended and the kids are back in school so it’s a great time to prioritize your professional journey. According to a global LinkedIn study, September is one of the best months of the year to get promoted. “Now is a great time to check your career plan, and make sure that you […]
How Microlearning Can Shrink The Skills Gap

Chloe Britton shared this guest blog post. She is the Brand Manager of training app Wranx – which provides continual training and assessment to help HR and learning and development professionals extend their training and communication strategies out of the classroom and office. The skills gap between people and technology is growing all the time. But […]
25 Habits Of A Successful Job Seeker

Many thanks to Victoria Vein for this guest blog post. She is a specialist at the Resume Writing Lab Company helping people with job application documents. No one is born successful. Every admirable individual has to spend years, if not decades, shaping his or her character and attaining personal objectives. However, when it comes to […]
Asking For Career Help When You Need It: 5 Empowering Tips

I meet lots of self-directed, self-possessed women who struggle with asking for help – especially when it comes to their careers. Many coaching clients and women I’ve met during workshops and speaking engagements have shared how difficult it’s been to reach out – a lot of them feeling that asking for help is akin to […]
Company Loyalty: Does It Still Exist? 3 Tips To Help You Prepare For Change

An illuminating study, by Monster.Com, highlights employees’ changing attitudes around loyalty in the workplace…so I ask you…where do you fall on the job loyalty spectrum? Are you in your job for the long haul, or looking to make your next move? According to the Monster research, being happy on the job is no longer a […]
We’re Stuck in a Success Crisis! And It’s Affecting Our Kids

Susan Ford Collins is a guest on my podcast show – Your Working Life. I am delighted to share her guest blog post about the success crisis. Success and leadership have gears… and we’re not shifting them correctly! We’ve gotten stuck in “the more-better-faster, what-have-you-done-for-me-lately, too-busy-racing-around-to-enjoy-our-lives” gear. We’re over-fed, under-nourished, over-medicated, under-rested, and under-satisfied. Think […]
Leadership Lessons I Learned This Summer

I turned my participation at the National Speakers Association convention into a hybrid getaway. NSA was a transformative learning experience to help me grow my business and a wonderful way to enjoy the sights, sounds, and flavors of Washington, DC. I knew I would glean great info about how to grow as a global public speaker […]
Self-Sabotage No More – Part II: 7 Strategies For Allowing Success

Self-sabotage is when your actions are working against your own best interests, according to Adam Sicinski, creator of the Overcoming Self-Sabotage Mind Map at IQMatrix.com – so the more you can bring self-sabotaging behaviors into conscious awareness, the better. Sicinski says, “[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” […]
Self-Sabotage No More – Part I: Connecting With Your Inner Voice

Coaching clients often come to me feeling frustrated because they aren’t moving up in their careers. When we delve deeper into the underlying reasons, oftentimes the culprit is self-sabotage. What Is Self-Sabotage? Adam Sicinski, creator of the Overcoming Self-Sabotage Mind Map at IQMatrix.com, defines self-sabotage as “…a conflict between conscious desires and unconscious wants.” In […]
Balance is Bunk: Realistic Work/Life Integration Strategies

The unrealistic concept of work/life balance makes me cringe. Most women are time starved, sleep deprived and burning the candle at both ends to keep up with career demands and being the Chief Household Officer. Those with kids have an extra layer of beautiful chaos while trying to raise younglings to become well-adjusted adults. You […]