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!
Design Your Future, so it Doesn’t Happen by Default
As a career development and executive coach, I work with individuals who are focused on making changes to their lives and careers to better align their values and strengths. But for some, their best plans often get stalled in analysis paralysis, which results in stagnation and a hard stop to forward momentum. Perfection is Impossible […]
Is Your Life Eulogy Worthy, or Resume Worthy?
David Brooks delivered a compelling TED Talk about living for your resume or your eulogy. According to Brooks, “The résumé virtues are the ones you put on your résumé, which are the skills you bring to the marketplace. The eulogy virtues are the ones that get mentioned in the eulogy, which are deeper: who are […]
It’s Time for a Mid-Year Career Refresh
My article was originally posted on Medium. My grandparents were faithful Christmas Club savers at their local bank. Starting in July, they would deposit money in a special account each month, so they could have savings ready to go for the holidays. While many retailers are now having Christmas in July sales, it’s also a […]
Achievement Intelligence is the Essential Guard Rail to Humanize AI
The benefit of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is taking shape with the aim of improving the lives of every person on the planet. In the world-of-work, AI is empowering users in every industry to increase sales, efficiency, and productivity. While there are clear business wins in doing and achieving more, the relentless focus on more is […]
Thriving Women Leaders: Executive Coaching Forum for Women Leaders in Higher Ed
As a certified executive coach, I have been trained in the stakeholder centered approach for impactful leadership. How are you showing up in your organization? How do others perceive you? Are you willing to get vulnerable, embrace humility, and address your blind spots to honor a growth mindset? It’s essential to bring others into your […]
Can Every Leader Benefit from an Executive Coach?
I attended the Gallup at Work Summit and I was energized by the many sessions focused on coaching. As a certified executive coach, I work with a coach – a few in fact, who help guide me on my career and life journey. My coaches have provided a space with psychological safety and confidentiality to […]
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 […]
A Career Letter to The Class of 2023
Dear Class of 2023: As you head into the career 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 also […]
Everboarding is the Key to Talent Retention
The Association of Talent Development (ATD) reports that the amount of information new hires learn in the first few days and weeks can be overwhelming. Unfortunately, many organizations consider onboarding a one-and-done process with tutorial videos and copious digital resources to comb through on your own. It’s a victory if you can find the bathroom […]
Experiment with New Things to Design Your Best Life and Career
I speak to countless people who feel stuck or helpless in the wrong career, the wrong organization, 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 can assert more control over your future. Design Thinking, a concept birthed in the tech […]
Enjoy Your Career. Love Your Life. ™
For decades, I took great pride in being known as a workhorse. I was praised for burning the candle at both ends and didn’t take all my well-earned paid time off. I didn’t recognize the fact that I sacrificed my personal life for my career because I loved my all-consuming work. In the heart of […]
Sorry? Not Sorry!
We all know people who over-apologize. Individuals who take responsibility for everything – even things they didn’t do. Research tells us that women tend to over-apologize more than men. As comedian and writer Amy Poehler puts it, “It takes years as a woman to unlearn what you have been taught to be sorry for.” Harriet […]
Celebrating Women Leaders
In honor of International Women’s month, it’s time to shine a spotlight on the transformational impact of women leaders. Women are paving the way for a style of leadership that is confident, authentic, and highly effective. Catalyst reports that the share of women in senior management is increasing incrementally. We still have a long way to go […]
