Summer: Career Exploration for college students

Even though Connecticut has some of the best high schools in the nation and Connecticut parents tend to be among the most educated, most students head to college with limited understanding about which career paths might suit them.  Once in college, students make a few decisions – “I’ll major in business” or “I’ll become a nurse” […]

Career Freedom

17 voicemail messages.  Many took the full three minutes of message time allotted. I was an associate at a large Washington, DC law firm.  All 17 messages were from my “bad boss”, the micromanaging neurotic law partner who oversaw the case. Most of you can picture trial lawyers from movies and in real life.  The good […]

Save yourself from Career Drift

“If you told me at 20 or 25 or even 30 that I would be in this career path at 40, I would be immediately depressed.” John said.  By conventional standards, John was a success.  Having graduated from UCONN, he worked in a large Stamford marketing agency for a few years and then migrated closer […]

Career Unhappiness Leads to Family Unhappiness

I distinctly remember telling a good friend: “I live a split life. I am happy at home and unhappy at work.” This was 20 years ago when I was in private practice at a big law firm.  I also remember my discussion with an older wise mentor who urged me to find work that made […]

Putting on a facade each day? Change careers

Gretchen Rubin wrote The Happiness Project.  I’m surprised by how much I like it but she writes honestly and with great insight.  One of her comments about happiness relates to “feeling right”.  In unpacking the idea, it essentially means feeling like you are leading the life that is right for you.  In other words, you could […]

Career Accountability: We will help you change by being there

“When should meet again?” my clients almost always ask. When I was younger, I would say “I think we are good. Call me as needed but you know what to do.”   My general preference for both keeping costs down and only having high impact meetings was the impetus for my response. Clients – usually the […]

Be a great career role model for your children

“Do you want your kids to follow your career path?” I ask. “You mean doing a job I hate just for the money? No way.”  Common career counseling client response. “I always said I don’t want a job like my father had and now I’m wondering if my kids will say the same about me.” […]

You are not going to starve or become homeless

In my experience career counseling, most people are not too reckless but rather too safe.  Maybe because Connecticut is known as the land of steady habits, my career coaching is usually centered upon showing clients how to take calculated risks. “You are not going to starve or become homeless.”  That’s one of the lines I […]

Too skeptical for getting help with your career?

Most everyone who contacts Career Counseling Connecticut is terrific.  Those who are career seekers are usually people who are trying to make the most of their lives, my kind of people.  Many, of course, are in some ways dissatisfied with their work and even if I can make a suggestion or two informally, I’m happy […]

Career Opportunity Cost

“I should have come here years ago.” Taylor said as she explained her work drudgery. Much like many of Career Counseling Connecticut’s clients, Taylor, manager in a small business in the Hartford area, had found her job through circumstance – her friend’s Uncle was the owner – and had stayed because the job “wasn’t that […]