Career Professionals of Canada News Feed
By Richard Hamilton. Amongst the many innovations that the founders of Solution- Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) have introduced to the world of counselling is the exploration of pre-session changes. These changes can lead to a treasure trove of useful motivational strategies, if you know how to tap into them. Research has shown that 40% of clients have made some improvement to their problem prior to their first session (deShazer and Berg), however clients will not reveal these improvements unless asked; that’s a lot of valuable information hidden away. Accessing this information…
Contributed by Richard Hamilton. In career counselling, our clients come to us needing to make a big life change -to become employed or improve their employment situation. There can be obvious substantive benefits to succeeding in this challenge, including improved work life, home life, sense of personal accomplishment and/or improved financial well being. Given such rewards, our clients should be coming to us highly motivated to succeed. Wouldn’t your job be so much easier if that was the case? Making change is difficult. Think, for example, about how we as…
By Lori Jazvac. The labour market is increasingly competitive. Employer and recruiter expectations, changing technology, and shifts within certain industries are forcing job seekers to stay relevant or reinvent themselves. None of us wish to go through challenging career transitions. But, the reality is that we do not have a crystal ball to forecast career changes, and career transformations can arrive quickly – at a moment’s notice – and often without warning. Ironically, the one thing that we can count on is change. Whether change involves our role, company, team, industry, field, or even…
By Laurie Neave. Pre-interview – clients report suffering from stomach ache, sleepless nights, fear, excitement, and exhaustion. Do these things sound familiar? Post-interview – “the blues”, emotional swings, crankiness, sleeplessness, sadness, anxiety, and nausea may follow an interview experience. Have you had clients describe these things to you? Believe it or not, there is actually something worse than anything listed above…that is not hearing back from the recruiter or hiring manager! As career practitioners, we’ve all witnessed the devastating fallout on clients when they do not receive a response from a…
By Sharon Graham. Even with all the resources available these days, far too many career practitioners are reluctant to promote their own career brand. Granted, if you don’t have a strong personal career brand in the first place, you don’t have a foundation. So, there is nothing to promote. Let’s assume for a moment, however, that you have a personal career brand, which you really believe distinguishes you from others with similar qualifications. What needs to happen next is that you live that brand. The first step is awareness. The efficacy of…
By Lori Jazvac. Have you ever found yourself in a perplexing situation where you had to choose between your client’s interests and your professionalism and integrity? In fact, you may have been faced with a few different potential choices and asked yourself, “Am I making the right choice in this particular situation?” and, “How will my choice affect the outcome for my client, my practice, and other stakeholders?” Self-Reflection on Ethical Dilemmas Do you recall writing the first draft of a resume to be told later by the client about…