Career Lock

“You start doing something and close your eyes long enough, you can’t imagine doing anything else.” a bartender explaining why he still works at a bar despite being an alcoholic in The Numbers Station (a forgettable John Cusack film). That’s what seems to happen to many adults.  They start down a career path that leads to absurd […]

Work and Life: What if these were not entirely separate?

Those on a mission  – think of Peace Corp workers and religious clerics – often do not have a bright line between work and life.  Their work is so integrated into what their lives that they are either always working or never working, depending on one’s perspective. Given my expertise in career coaching, there are […]

College graduation and the job search

Many of Career Counseling Connecticut’s job seeking clients are recent college graduates living in Connecticut who are trying to find jobs.  They almost always need help with crafting resumes, interview help, and overall job search strategy.   But most importantly, many do not really know what they want from a job. That shows.  Hiring managers interview […]

Happy Work is Part of Happy Life

Most people wouldn’t feel sorry for Rick.  He’s made a lot of money in business.  But he was hurting.  I can’t stand going to work.  I feel trapped. My life work has essentially been helping people attain their goals. When I started my first education venture, the focus was on helping young people do well […]

The dangers of career drift

“If you told me that I would be in this career path at 40, I would have laughed at how ridiculous that sounded,”  Henry said. Henry had an mid-level executive position with a national rent-a-car company.  He fell into an entry level job with the company when he graduated- his older brother’s friend was the […]

What is your calling?

“How did you find your life’s work?” Career counseling clients are often interested in my story.  I tell them the truth: “I had a calling to help others and specifically to do so through educating and counseling.” I used to give less authentic answers, particularly at cocktail parties where I would interact with business types […]

Interview prep and personality testing

Interview prep has become a bigger part of Career Counseling Connecticut’s work.  My deepest technical expertise in relation to such prep stems from my work with personality testing. I have been working different personality tests for the last couple decades to help clients figure out “what” to do for their jobs.  Of late, I have […]

Are you stressed about work when not working?

“I feel like I’m working all the time.”  Laurie said.when she started her career coaching session at Career Counseling Connecticut.  Her work day was fairly normal 9-6 at the office was standard.  She did have work to do at home a couple of nights a weekend and a couple of hours on the weekend.  But compared […]

Is your career worth more to you than a race?

Kevin finally came in for career coaching after two years of urging from his wife.  Kevin describes himself as frugal.  “Actually, I’m pretty cheap.”   He’s also cynical.  He doesn’t trust almost anything or anyone immediately.   By happenstance, one of Kevin’s friends came to Career Counseling Connecticut.  Since he had a recommendation, he now at least listened.  […]

Career wilderness

Winston Churchill was born to the English aristocracy.  He had a spectacular early career and seemed destined for greatness.  But his party suffered a devastating defeat in 1929.  He spent almost the entire next decade in what he called “the wilderness” as he was no longer a rising star and, indeed, was a political has-been […]