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!
Older, Wiser, and Career Vibrant
I have several executive coaching clients in their late fifth and sixth decade of life who are navigating a career change due to lay-offs, or company mergers and acquisitions beyond their control. Others are career transitioning by choice and excited about designing a new chapter in life and career. My clients expressed worry about ageism […]
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 […]
6 Common Career Mistakes Millennial Entrepreneurs Make
Millennials are naturally hard-wired to follow their dreams and paths of passion. Unlike the baby boomers who were always more concerned about security and facing any challenges life throws at them, millennials are go-getters. With so many examples of young entrepreneurs such as Mark Zuckerberg, Dustin Moskovitz, and Elizabeth Holmes, millennials are charged by people’s […]
Establishing Your Professional Online Reputation: 6 Steps and Helpful Tools
We often think of online reputation in terms of business: reviews, online complaints, and public comments. But increasingly, online reputation matters for professionals, too. And not just for CEOs and other executives: a good online reputation is essential for every career professional. Your online reputation makes a difference whether you’re job hunting, networking, growing your […]
5 Clear Signs You Deserve a Promotion
It is very important that you know when it is time for a promotion. And for that, you need to evaluate your own skills and previous track records. You may have complete command over work and love your current job but there comes a time when you start feeling bored working at it and feel […]
Prepared For A Job Change? 5 Strategies That Can Help
While the height of the financial crisis may be behind us, job layoffs are still making headlines these days. Companies including IBM, EBay, American Express, and Walmart have all had large-scale layoffs since the beginning of 2015. As the Greek philosopher Herclitus said, “The only thing that is constant is change.” My question to you […]
Career Productivity Leaks: 4 Strategies That Can Help
In this day of rightsizing and downsizing, many employees are working harder than ever to maintain productivity on the job. A recent New York Times article highlighted this fact – pointing out that some workers are going so far as to use amphetamine-based stimulants used to treat ADHD in order to maintain higher levels of […]
Picture It! 6 Ways To Harness the Power of Career Visualization
There’s a lot of talk about visualizing your goals these days – the idea that, if you can see yourself accomplishing a goal in your mind’s eye, you can ultimately bring it into your reality. Athletes have long been visualizing their way to success, and studies have shown that the process is applicable in a […]
Graduation Inspiration: 5 Tips For Creating A New Job Outlook
It’s graduation time again! A season of new beginnings – fresh starts and a time when two million Gen-Y’ers are crossing stages from coast to coast, diplomas in hand, contemplating what’s next with regard to their work. So I pose the question to you… “What’s next with regard to your work?” Even if it’s been […]
Career Tips for The Class of 2015
It’s graduation season and close to two million millennials will earn a college degree this year. That means the Class of 2015 is seeking jobs in full force. The good news is that the NACE Job Outlook Survey indicates that employers expect to hire more new college graduates this year than they did in 2014. […]
Top 10 Most Overused Career Buzzwords
If your goals include making changes on the career front, a good place to start is your LinkedIn profile. LinkedIn recently published its lists of the top ten “Most Overused Buzzwords” – and the top of the ‘Top 10’, globally, is the word ‘motivated’. If you’re ‘motivated’ in your LinkedIn profile, you’re in good company […]
When You Don’t Get The Job: 4 Tips To Help You Bounce Back
Your resume is well polished. Your LinkedIn profile finely-tuned. You land the interview, and you’re hitting it off with everyone you meet. Then you’re called back for a second…then a third interview…you’re feeling like you’ve really got this! Then the waiting begins…followed by more waiting. And then the news…”We’ve decided to go a different direction.” […]
Be More Mindful: 7 Tips to Improve Your Awareness
Now that we’re well into a brand new year, my question to you is: Is it “business as usual” this year? Is everything working the way you’d like, or are you making changes in 2015? Many of us are hoping to fulfill New Year’s resolutions – wanting “more” and “better” in the job, health, money […]
Bad Bosses Happen, But Suffering Is Optional
Talent leaves an organization when they’re badly managed or when the organization fails to inspire them or provide room for new challenges and growth. You need to use your professional power and take control of your career trajectory. If you have a bad boss, suffering in silence (or out loud) is not a wise career […]
