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!
Don’t be a Career Loser – Take All Your Paid 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 […]
Should I Stay, or Should I Go?
The world-of-work is changing fast with unemployment at a record low and the Talent Wars in full swing. The Worker’s Market has given everyone the opportunity to reconsider their values and assess whether their current workplace is a best fit. As a career and leadership coach, I hear on a regular basis from clients asking […]
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 […]
Why Women Should Ask for a Raise
Women’s earnings relative to men’s have stagnated at 73.2%. Research tells us that women feel a great deal of apprehension about the idea of negotiating for a raise in a current job or asking for a higher salary with an initial job offer. The fact is – it’s necessary for women to negotiate now more […]
Set Smarter Goals
Many people set goals at the start of a new year but why wait if you are ready to take control of your future and your career destiny now. Resolutions are powerful tools and can take your career to the next level but most people get stuck on the follow-through of the goal and it […]
Let Your Strengths Blossom
One of my favorite new resources is Ivy Sea www.ivysea.com Founder, Jamie S. Walters is a visionary author and culture shift leader helping women to reclaim their feminine Mojo and express is to the world. Jamie takes you beyond business as usual and offers individuals and organizations help in transforming unhelpful perceptions and patterns of […]
How to Get Time on Your Side
Everyone seems to be looking for work/life balance but what I have come to learn is that I can do it all, just not all at the same time. Finding more time in life is part strategy and part learning to say no. Laura Stack, author of Find More Time and Leave the Office Earlier […]
Create a Vision Board to Discover Your Passion
One of the first steps in finding a career that you love it to identify what you are passionate about. Many people have a hard time identifying this so creating a vision board can be a way to help you focus. This treasure map, or creativity collage is simple to construct and can really help […]
Nurturing Junior Employees
Great leaders are not always great managers and finding a boss that is willing to nurture and grow their staff is becoming very difficult. Supervisors have a responsibility to get their job done first but they also need to take part in shepherding the next generation in the work force and empowering them to grow […]
Establishing Your Home Office
Many organizations are rewarding and retaining employees with more flexible work hours and the option to work from home. Some professionals work exclusively from their home office and others enjoy the perk every now and then, but unless you have a designated space, the work-from-home situation can be more difficult than not. Home based workers […]
Use LinkedIn to Nurture Your Network
Of all the social media sites, I use LinkedIn most frequently to make professional connections and to inform my network about my career updates and accomplishments. I have joined several groups and participate in discussions, post comments, and develop new relationships through my growing network of career minded individuals. The beauty of LinkedIn is that […]
When and How to Say Thank You after an Interview
Over the years I have facilitated a myriad of job searches and conducted countless interviews with hundreds of candidates. This summer is no different as I have been involved in multiple searches for a variety of new positions. As the selection for one position in particular draws to a close, I am in shock that […]
