Articles

Let's be honest here. It's not that easy to change careers. As the years pass, we may regret that we didn't follow another career path. There are times when certain industries, such as manufacturing, fade away to a certain extent. Take for example the automotive industry, it diminished and now is trying to make a comeback. You may have worked in the automotive industry years back, but the responsibilities you would have performed 10 years ago as a manager for example, have likely changed.

“To set things in motion, to move from one thing to another, you need to go backwards,” says Norman Amundson, professor of counselling psychology at the University of British Columbia. “Whether it’s a tennis racket or broom or hammer, you’re using a backswing to move things forward.”

Mary Ellen was frustrated. After 10 years in tech PR and 3 years of hating it, it was time for a career change when her contract was up, but she had no clue of what her new career could be. Her uncertainty meant that she didn’t connect in job interviews. Yet, having chosen the wrong career path thus far, she felt a desperate need for the next job to be the “right” one.

The world of business is all around us, consuming most of what we do. From the clothes that we put on in the morning, to the cars we drive, to our favourite shows on television, we are all consumers. Millions of Canadians wake up every morning to take part in this process – capitalizing on the business of our wants and needs.

Are you going through transition? Are you looking for opportunities that might just give you back your self-respect and credibility?

Sometimes the answer is right in front of you. The problem is that you haven't recognized your skills are transferable.

There is a new buzz word taking the world by storm, it called Integrity. In today's every changing world, we need to revisit the people we know, that in the past we've held in high esteem. No longer does position equate to respect and trust, now everyone has to earn that respect.

Self-described introverts often says, "It's so easy for extroverts to network. They are not shy about approaching someone they don't know or introducing themselves at social functions." In fact, while that may be how things appear, many extroverts have their own set of challenges. By understanding the pitfalls that one another faces - and understanding how those can turn into opportunities - both introverts and extroverts can learn from each other.

It’s just before 7:00 a.m. it’s an early-riser business-and-education conference at the Metro Convention Centre. The attendees are a mix of over 800 entrepreneurs, educators employers and new graduates. Everyone has come to scout for clients, money, new contacts and jobs.

One of the things I do, as a career coach, is to make sure I keep on top of trends that can enhance my own professional development and by extension allow me to further help my clients. While I sometimes get dizzy from all the online resources that are available, since 2005, I have been experimenting with a number of online networking tools to see what value they offer and how I can incorporate them in my work. So popular have these sites become that hiring managers, recruiters, proactive jobseekers and business people are using them to market their skills or services, or to find the right talent. I am talking about online social/business networking tools or Web 2.0 technology, which refers to the changing trends in the use of the World Wide Web to connect, share information, and yes, find opportunities.

Imagine that everyone in the world is part of an endless chain of connections, and that the best way to build business is to be part of that chain. It might be easy to connect, but does that connection actually link into other profitable connections? The Link and Think™ theory shows everyone how to be aware of their missing links and to use the theory to build their own chain of connections.