Career Goals: The Difference Between What You Want to Get and What You Want to Do
“I want a flexible job.” said a working mom from Guilford, CT. “I want to enjoy my work.” a young twenty something from Middletown, CT wrote. “I want to make enough money so I can quit and start a business,” a fifty year old corporate warrior from a Hartford insurance agency told me. “I want… […]
Career Searching v. Career Building
This is a true story. I was having a dream last night. A stressful one. I was still in law school and searching for summer internships. I couldn’t find anything that interested me. I was also having anxiety over whether I wanted to practice law at all. As I was coming out of the […]
Trapped in Your Career Due To “Certainty”
“I can’t leave my job to something so uncertain.” so spoke a career counseling client who worked at a large corporation in New Haven, CT. “Alyssa” had just finished telling me how much she hated her job. She didn’t like the people. Several of her co-workers were the adult equivalent of mean girls. Her boss […]
Career Change For Those On Their Second Act
I recently met with three career counseling clients in their late forties-early fifties. Two of the meetings were potentially life changing and made both client and counselor incredibly happy. One of the meetings was depressing for both client and counselor. In each case, the client had come in to shift careers. Each had spent 20-25 […]
Are you reading this on Sunday night? If so, commit to exploratory career work.
Career Counseling Connecticut sprung up as a mission to help those unhappy at work. But, this mission was borne not only from a calling to help others find a career they love but also from my own career searching a couple of decades ago. I remember how work affected my weekends. Saturdays were mostly […]
The Expert’s Path to Happy Work
The great thing about Netflix is the ability to check out unusual movies. Jiro Dreams of Sushi is worth watching if you want to see a master at his craft. I had no interest in watching the movie. Strange title and I don’t eat sushi. But, I saw the reviews as I was scrolling through documentaries. […]
Good News For Liberal Arts Graduates Seeking Jobs
The last decade has been brutal to liberal arts graduates seeking jobs in Connecticut. The focus on jobs in healthcare, technology, and other STEM type work has seemingly made liberal arts graduates archaic. But, practically focused liberal arts graduates who understand the work world have plenty of opportunities. Unquestionably, liberal arts graduates could benefit from […]
What does the market want? The Missing Piece of Advice from Most Career Books and Career Counselors
“I am passionate about…” I hear this a great deal from my career counseling clients as they walk into one of Connecticut offices. I hear you. I made the radical switch from big city attorney in Washington, DC to education-entrepreneur in small town Connecticut. My idealistic nature is in sync with those who are […]
Career Counseling For the Old and New World of Work In Connecticut
Last week, my career counseling work provided a glimpse of the increasing contrast of the new and old world of work. On Monday, I met “Bob”. He was conventionally successful but unhappy. He worked at an old line Connecticut service firm. His job provided prestige and money. But, he found his work meaningless. He […]
Over-identification With One’s Corporate Identity
I was at a social gathering a few years ago. Chuck was speaking in a small circle. At the time, Chuck was working for a large corporation in Fairfield County. I noticed that he kept on saying “we” when he referred to what the large company that he worked for was doing. ”We” are developing […]