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!
Five Ways to Reinvent Your Professional Self
In the pandemic economy many people have changed careers by necessity and others, by choice. This is the perfect opportunity to take charge of your destiny and reinvent your professional self to reignite your career and your life. There are five essential self-assessment action steps to pursue for your professional reinvention. These steps will empower […]
Happiness and Workplace Influence
It’s no mystery that happy employees are more productive but unhappy employees can become extremely debilitated and unwilling to follow leaders. This lack of influence leads to a breakdown in organizational morale, positional power and stability within organizations. Crystal Miller wrote a great piece on Blogging4Jobs about how asserting influence is not a passive thing […]
The Birth of My Book!
After 2 years and 150+ interviews with amazing women around the world who have changed careers – my book is now available! This Is Not the Career I Ordered: Empowering Strategies from Women Who Recharged, Reignited, and Reinvented Their Careers is part self-help manual, part inspiration, and a valuable resource for those contemplating a career […]
The Ultimate Personal Branding Resource
I had a great conversation with Dan Schawbel who authored Me 2.0: 4 Steps to Building Your Future (Kaplan Publishing). Dan was named by Inc Magazine as one of America’s Coolest 30 Under 30 Entrepreneurs. At 27, he is a sought after internet guru who helps businesses and individuals with creative branding solutions. With 91,000 […]
Traveling for Work
Many of us have to travel on the job and while the lure of new destinations can seem exhilarating, the realities of airport schlepping can become tiresome if you are not a savvy traveler. George Clooney had traveling light down perfectly in the movie Up in the Air but it’s inevitable that women just have […]
I’ll Take Any Job!
In a tough economy, many unemployed or under-employed people are forced to work jobs outside their field or area of expertise to keep their financial heads above water. There is no shame in honest work but it’s important to keep your eye on the prize and continue to pursue opportunities that play to your strengths […]
Providing Constructive Criticism
Whether you are doling out constructive criticism or the recipient of this ever important feedback, the delivery of this crucial information can be awkward at best. I read an article by Stephen Marsh who turned me on to Jack Welch’s book Winning and I highly recommend this resource if you value promoting candor in your […]
How to Stay Motivated During Tough Times
The economy is still bad and the job market is bleak so tell me something I don’t already know! How is a well qualified candidate supposed to keep her spirits up when the prospects for gainful employment are dismal? While I believe it’s important to have a sense of reality about the economic environment, keeping […]
Results-Only Work Environment
It may sound idyllic but wouldn’t it be incredible to work in a results oriented environment where your time was your own to be productive as you saw fit? In this world, the team would be high functioning because they are playing to their strengths and passionate about their individual roles as well as their […]
Are You a Workaholic?
I consider myself someone who is incredibly involved in my work, my life, and my additional activities which cover a multitude of areas from my book project, consulting practice, performing life, and the non-profit theatre company for which I serve as a Board member, to name just a few. My life is full, hectic, and […]
Would You Want Your Daughter to Work Here?
One of my favorite new resources is The Glass Hammer (www.theglasshammer.com) a wonderful online forum for relevant and provocative career development issues for women. While the age old frustration of the glass ceiling and the concept of gender equality in the workplace are still alive and well, I read an article on The Glass Hammer […]
Back to School
The fall traditionally marks the time when students of all ages head back to school. Some begin the journey of an undergraduate education while other, non-traditional students embark on professional or graduate degrees and additional credentialing to increase to their skill sets and marketability. Whether you are a recent high school graduate or a seasoned […]
Speak Up for Yourself!
In the business culture of 2010 it’s still widespread for the gender roles to be strongly defined with (often supported) male aggressive behavior and female deferent behavior. Ladies, I urge you to take more control of your professional persona and speak up at work! According to Dr. Linda Tillman, a licensed Clinical Psychologist and founder […]
Phone Etiquette 101
I returned a call from a prospective client who did not answer the phone and instead of a professional sounding voicemail message, I was greeting by 30 seconds of Mick Jagger singing “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction” before the proverbial beep. While the lyrics of the song might actually echo the current sentiment of this […]
