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!
Everboarding Improves 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 […]
Are You Coachable?
It’s international coaching week and a great to time to consider working with a coach to empower you on your career and life journey. Savvy coaches offer a free Discovery or Chemistry call to determine if the coach/client relationship is a good fit. It’s important for the coach to ascertain if a client is ready […]
A Career Letter to The Class of 2022
It’s graduation season and I’ve had the honor of speaking at commencement ceremonies this spring. Here is my career wisdom for the multigenerational Class of 2022 that still holds true for seasoned professionals. Dear Class of 2022: As you head into the endemic work world you have an opportunity to design your own career destiny […]
Single Task Your Way to a Healthier Life and Career
Multitasking used to be a sought-after professional competency thought to be a valuable skill for the busy professional. Research tells us that single tasking is more effective and can result in higher productivity and time efficiency. I can envision the woman working at her desk, reading this piece while eating her lunch, checking her email, […]
Approach Work Conflict with a Coaching Mindset
Most of us have experienced an uncomfortable situation at work with a colleague that resulted in a conflict, heightened emotions, or ideological differences. While some conflict averse individuals use avoidance to sweep problems under the rug, that technique does not solve the issue and often results in festering and rumination that can be emotionally debilitating. […]
Should We Fist Bump, Bow, or Shake Hands?
After the long pandemic hiatus from in-person gatherings, I recently attended a few professional events with people in attendance at large venues. It was delightful to see colleagues face-to-face whom I had only communicated with via Zoom after almost 2 years. Some people I met in-person for the very first time since our entire professional […]
Earning the Respect of Others at Work is Worth the Effort
It is human nature to want to be liked at work, but I urge you to go the extra mile to earn the respect of your colleagues and your boss. There is a difference between being liked and respected in a leadership role. If you earn the respect of your team, your people will be […]
Can You Really Love Your Work? Marcus Buckingham Weighs In
I’ve been a longtime consumer of the research, thought leadership, and wisdom of Marcus Buckingham. A New York Times best-selling author of two of the most popular business books of all time. He also has two of Harvard Business Review’s most circulated, industry-changing cover articles, and his strengths assessments have been taken by over 10 […]
A Teamwork Reboot for the New World-of-Work
Change is ubiquitous and the world-of-work is evolving at a relentless speed. Hybrid work environments, labor shortages and 55% of Americans looking for new roles has made creating team culture a moving target. It’s time to rethink how you lead a team or contribute as a colleague, and as you would expect emotional intelligence tops […]
Can You Hear Me Now? Active Listening 101
The human attention span has decreased from 12 seconds in 2000 to 8 seconds in 2022. Goldfish have a 9 second attention span. Ponder that. The over-stimulation of too many meetings and not enough process and creative time have exacerbated the situation. The good news is that active listening is a learned skill we all […]
Prepared for a Career Change? 5 Strategies That Can Help
Unemployment rates are low and hiring opportunities abound, but the workplace will always be ripe with company re-organizations and right-sizing. As the Greek philosopher Herclitus said, “The only thing that is constant is change.” My question to you is, are you ready for it? Job security is an illusion in this day and age, and, […]
Implementing Psychological Safety at Work
The term psychological safety is all the rage in workplace research and publications. I’d like to de-mystify this term and break it down so it’s easily implementable in all work environments. By Definition Katie Taylor wrote a great piece in Atlassian that defines psychological safety as follows: Psychologically safe work environments allow team members to […]
Go Ahead, Be Ambitious!
I was conducting a mock interview for a client, a focused, smart, and confident woman pursuing an executive leadership role. When I asked her if she considered herself ambitious she recoiled as if I used an inappropriate word. After further inquiry she revealed that she never wanted to be seen as the run over your […]
Establish a Gossip Free Workplace
I read a fascinating New York Times article by Shayla McKnight who shared a story about her job interview with an online printing company. The Human Resources Manager was clear about the no-gossip policy and no office politics rule before she was even hired. While McKnight thought the policy was refreshing it also seemed hard […]
