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!
Refresh Team Engagement Regularly
I see LinkedIn announcements every day from people enthusiastically reporting new roles in new organizations. Hiring trends are strong and savvy companies are bringing in top talent. With a focus on retaining newly hired top talent and honoring the existing staff already in place, I encourage you to consider a team engagement refresh on a […]
Awe-Inducing Moments Can Alleviate Stress
I just came back from visiting my long-distance family and I’m reminded of the power of a change of pace to stimulate the mind and alleviate stress. You need not have a luxury vacation to recharge your battery and destress. Consider the psychology about why time away matters and how it impacts your health and […]
Ramp Up Your Self Confidence
One of the biggest hurdles I see with job seekers and even many employed professionals is that they lack self confidence. While some people have abundant self confidence in their genes, others need to cultivate it and this all starts with positive self affirmation. It’s easy to criticize and beat yourself up for your weaknesses […]
Bring on The Videos!
In the spirit of using Social Media to my full advantage, I am very excited to introduce my first video entry on this blog. My goal to to include frequent video logs or vlogs to share savvy career & professional development advice that can help you by using this exciting medium. Here is my book promotional […]
Please Don’t Talk Like You Text
I’m fascinated by technology and how it has changed the way we communicate. With my day job on a college campus, I marvel at the students who walk out of class either talking on the phone or texting as they move towards their new destination. Texting while walking may soon become as dangerous as texting […]
Wise Tips for New Managers
I wish that being promoted into a managerial role required training or maybe even a license so we could avoid the excess of poor managers that are infiltrating the workforce. While it would be ideal to groom new managers for their new role, we know this is rarely the case. Roberta Matuson recently released a […]
Communicating Well on Your Team
A lot of job dissatisfaction stems from poor communicating amongst employees as well as with superiors. At the most basic level, an employee wants clarity of expectation from a boss so she knows what to deliver. Lack of employee engagement and frequent turnover can often be pinned on ineffective communication. The good news is that […]
Fake It Till You Make It!
Carol Jurgensen Sheets is a mental health therapist who also works as an executive and life coach. In a recent article she shared a wonderful concept that may shift the mindset of career changers and job seekers who are stuck in a rut trying to move forward towards a more satisfying career opportunity. I meet […]
Are You Following-Up?
I speak to so many people who honestly believe they are networking well by sending an email or leaving a single voice mail. When they don’t get a response, they abandon the contact. The follow-up is the most crucial part of building and maintaining any professional relationship. My first suggestion is to distinguish yourself by […]
Are You Busy or Productive?
With the New Year in full swing many people are feeling the strain of sticking to their resolution of keeping some semblance of work/life balance. All of us have felt the panic of the treadmill moments when life moves so fast with so many responsibilities that it seems impossible to get off the moving belt […]
Think Like a Recruiter in Your Next Interview
In this competitive job market you really need to develop a great professional story that showcases your strengths and why you are a value-add for the opportunity you are seeking. So many great candidates blow the interview because they are not prepared to sell themselves to the employer. You have to be your own best […]
Red Light/Green Light Rule
In my book, I feature the reinvention story of an amazing woman, Karen Vandergrift who shared her epiphany about her career journey in relation to the red light/green light rule. Her axiom is that multiple red lights might mean that you are on the wrong road. While I applaud tenacity and determination, sometimes we just […]
Interviewing Tips – The Goldman Way
Goldman Sachs has long been a coveted company to work at for those on the corporate finance career track. They have their recruitment process down to a science and even share the secrets to successful interviews with prospective hires in a video on their website. Vivia Chen recently wrote an article that tells hungry Goldman […]
Rules of Reinvention
I learned from my book writing journey that people pursue career reinvention for a variety of reasons. Some are not happy in their work, others are not playing to their strengths, and the economy has forced many people to reinvent due to lay-offs and downsizing. The reasons for reinvention are endless as are the ways […]
