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!
Life and Career Lessons from a Power Outage
A massive storm hit last week that resulted in a tornado touch down (several miles from us) and many downed trees and power lines which cut off our electricity for 3 days. Luckily, the damage to our home was mild with a large tree limb that broke our backyard fence and many fallen branches and […]
Honor the Introverts and Give Them Space to Be Heard
Western culture 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 information shared, but the style with which it […]
What Might Happen if We Banished Our Obsession with “Busy”?
This is a guest blog post from my dear friend, Kris Taylor. She is the founder of Evergreen Leadership, an extraordinary coach, trainer, and speaker. Kris has taught me so much and graciously agreed to share her recent blog post about busyness. I’m confident you will learn from her as well. Enjoy! I admit it. […]
Leverage The Final Weeks of This Year
The countdown is on until 2022 is in the rear-view mirror of your career. While many organizations slow down during the final days of December, consider how you can use this time to leverage your influence and set your career stage for the new year. Make Connections Beyond Your Team Capitalize on the holiday party […]
Gratitude with Specificity
With the holiday season in full swing, we are reminded about the beauty of gratitude and how showing appreciation can be a powerful experience for the giver and the receiver. I am making a conscious effort to be more grateful on a regular basis, to acknowledge people authentically, and to show how much I value […]
Turn a Lay-Off into an Opportunity
With a flurry of companies laying off significant portions of their workforce as we finish out the calendar year, the holiday season may be career stressful for many. Whether you are part of the highly publicized Amazon, Twitter, or Meta lay-offs, or you are from a smaller company trying to make financial ends meet – […]
Mental Health Must Be a Top Priority in the Workplace
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. Dedicated to all the workers who lost their lives during the pandemic and their families, the report is a call to action to lift the voices of all workers, particularly those most vulnerable, and […]
Older, Wiser, and Career Dynamic
I have executive coaching clients in their fifth and sixth decade of life who are navigating a career change due to lay-offs, or company mergers beyond their control. Others are career transitioning by choice. My clients expressed worry about ageism as they consider what’s next on their professional journey and seek employment that honors their […]
Hire the Least Likely Candidates and Win with The Underdogs
I am so fortunate to meet and work with incredible thought leaders who are changing the world and Gil Winch, a guest on my Your Working Life podcast is no exception. When Gil learned that he had terminal cancer and a shortened expected lifespan, he decided to take on the challenge of changing the world regarding […]
What Are You Waiting For?
This was a big week for me. I left a senior leadership role in a large organization to pursue my executive coaching, speaking, and consulting practice full-time. My side-hustle entrepreneurial days are over – bring on the full-hustle! This was not an overnight decision. I have been pursuing my business on evenings, weekends, and precious […]
Hone Your Emotional Agility
As we continue to navigate the VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous) landscape and the ongoing pandemic journey, mental unwellness is at an all-time high. The World Health Organization reports that depression is the single leading cause of disability globally. Savvy organizations are offering more comprehensive wellness support like access to therapy as part of […]
The VUCA World-of Work
If you haven’t heard the trending business buzzword: VUCA, it stands for volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. The term originated at the US Army War College in 1980 to describe the global landscape after the Cold War, and quickly found traction in the business world. Our world circumstances have shifted from the 1980’s but the […]
Boomerang Talent is Ripe for Recruiting
The Worker’s Market is alive and well putting talent in the driver’s seat in this robust job market. While many employers are scrambling to attract and retain top talent, the often-unexpected population of boomerang and alumni talent is ripe for hiring. Boomerang and Alumni Employees Boomerang talent has worked in or applied to work in […]
4 Surprising Jobs You Can Do Remotely
I know you will enjoy this post by Andrew Anderson with some terrific resources about remote careers. Working remotely provides many benefits—you have no commute to worry about, you can customize your workspace according to your preferences, and you can work from anywhere. ZDNet adds that another remote work perk is that it forms better personal relationships. […]
