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!
Honor the Introverts and Give Them Space to Be Heard
There is a cultural bias in the United States that favors gregarious extraverts in the world-of-work. They speak up, think quickly on their feet, and rarely hesitate to share their point of view when interacting with colleagues and stakeholders. The perception of extraverts is not always based on the content, or the quality of the […]
Prioritize Mental Health in Your Life and Career
May is mental health awareness month and it’s time to pause and reflect about how you are honoring your mental fitness needs at work and at home. The U.S. Surgeon General, Vivek H. Murthy, M.D., M.B.A. released a report providing a framework for Workplace Mental Health and Wellbeing. The report is a call to action to lift the […]
The Power of a Career Brand and Why You Need One
As a career coach, I often work with people that brand products or services for an organization but have no real awareness of their personal professional brand and why it matters. It’s time to take stock of your own brand and use it to achieve your career goals. Your Story Matters – when was the […]
Confidence On Tap – Part 3 Keep On Learning!
In my previous blog posts ‘Confidence On Tap’, Parts 1 and 2, I discussed how practicing bold body language and taking continuous action steps towards goals can have a positive affect on your confidence level. Since it’s ‘Back-to-School’ season, I thought it would be apropos to continue the confidence discussion by focusing on the positive […]
Vacation Matters: Don’t Be A Work Martyr!
Since the summer vacation season has drawn to a close, I invite you to take stock of the time you’ve had off so far this year. Have you taken all the vacation that’s coming to you? According to an eye-opening new study commissioned by Travel Effect, an initiative of the U.S. Travel Association, forty percent […]
Gail Sheehy’s 10 Dares to Take in Your 20s Part II
Gail Sheehy’s new book Daring: My Passages is a memoir of life experiences from a woman who knows how to embrace life – the good, the bad, and the ugly. Gail very generously agreed to allow me to feature her Huffington Post blog about 10 Dares to Take in Your 20’s – here is Part […]
Gail Sheehy’s 10 Dares to Take in Your 20’s Part I
I had the great pleasure of interviewing the iconic author, speaker and journalist, Gail Sheehy for my podcast series Your Working Life recently and I am honored to call her a friend. Gail’s new book Daring: My Passages is a memoir of delicious and difficult experiences from a woman who knows how to live life. […]
Confidence Part II – Change Your Body, Change Your Mind
You may recall the scenes in The Sound of Music where Julie Andrews, as Maria, is trying to summon her confidence as she prepares to interview for the governess post with the Von Trapp Family. I love Maria’s feisty, go-get-em attitude. She’s terrified, but she holds her fear at bay by dancing down the road […]
Confidence on Tap – Part I
As a career consultant, I’ve coached many clients who’ve suffered from a debilitating lack of confidence, and my best advice – born from experience – is to take action. Moving through my own career transition from opera singer to university director, and, additionally, to author, speaker and coach, has tested my confidence mettle, to say […]
Get Moving! 6 Tips to Help You Exercise at Work
Earlier this summer, CBS Sunday Morning did a story on a trend making a difference in offices across the country…instead of simply working at desks these days, employees are working out at their desks…on built-in treadmills. Since I’ve been doing my best to incorporate more exercise into my workday, and encouraging my coaching clients to […]
How Fitbit Helped My Career
Everywhere I go, I’ve noticed that elevators are almost empty and stairwells are filled with people tracking their daily steps with wearable fitness devices. I’m a Fitbit user and I’m happy to report that this accountability device has improved my health and my career more than I ever imagined. I check my mileage, my stairs […]
Stop the Busy-ness! Redefine Success on Your Terms
We all love to talk about how busy we are. It means we’re needed. It means we have places to go and people to see, and it also means we may well be running ourselves into the ground. Blogger Guy Kawasaki went so far as to implore readers to ‘stop the glorification of busy’, and […]
Surround Yourself with Positive People To Boost Your Career
I have been getting some wonderful blog submissions from freelance writers who have career wisdom to share. Sandra Mills is a freelance health and career writer. She likes helping people advance their careers and live healthier lives. I particularly enjoyed her piece below and I know you will as well. You can follow Sandra on […]
Habits for Success: How To Work Smarter
I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing over 400 women from around the world about work and career for my book: ‘This Is Not The Career I Ordered’ and my forthcoming book: ‘Thrive Where You Are’. Whether entrepreneurial in spirit or working in more corporate environments, many of the women I spoke with had similar ‘habits […]
