How to Help Clients Find Their Ikigai

January 22, 2021 |

Certified Work-Life Strategists Lori Jazvac and Ksenia Lazoukova learned about the fascinating concept of ikigai while participating in CPC’s pilot Work-Life Strategist program in December 2020. Intrigued by this concept, they collaborated to learn how they might incorporate ikigai into their client practice. Here, they share how you can help clients find their ikigai. What is Ikigai? Ikigai (pronounced ee-key-guy) is a Japanese word meaning “one’s reason for being” or “life’s worth.” This concept integrates the joy of doing something with a sense of purpose, meaning, and well-being. Many disillusioned…

New Work-Life Coaching Program: A Transformative Experience

January 15, 2021 | Comments Off on New Work-Life Coaching Program: A Transformative Experience

I recently had the experience of providing input to the curriculum that was designed by Career Professionals of Canada for their new Work-Life Coaching Program. As part of this initiative, I helped develop The Canadian Work-Life Strategist eGuide, a 200-plus page study guide along with the Certified Work-Life Strategist (CWS) designation. I was also fortunate enough to be a student participant in the pilot Work-Life Coaching course. I don’t really know how to describe the experience because it was unlike anything I’ve gone through before. What I do know that…

Supporting Clients in Achieving Their Goals

January 8, 2021 |

As each new year begins, our clients think about their goals and what they would like to achieve. They start out being optimistic and hopeful that they can achieve the success that they seek. Many of them have good intentions of getting a new job, changing careers, starting a business, improving their financial situation, volunteering more, or continuing their education, but as the weeks and months progress many will abandon their goals. Our clients look to us to support them in achieving their short-term and long-term career goals. As career professionals,…

The Power of Metaphor in Career Journeys

November 20, 2020 |

CERIC, the Canadian charitable organization dedicated to advancing education and research in career counselling and development, helps us to make sense of career development through the lens of a canoe metaphor. In their Guiding Principles of Career Development, CERIC explains how the canoe represents our career, stating: “We use it on our journey, we stock it with the tools we need, and we proactively steer it to our destination; sometimes we face rapids, and as conditions change, so might our course.” Personally, I’ve discovered that powerful revelations — “aha moments”…

Doing What We Do Best: Supporting Clients Through a Time of Uncertainty

November 13, 2020 | Comments Off on Doing What We Do Best: Supporting Clients Through a Time of Uncertainty

The last seven months have presented an unprecedented period of uncertainty and disruption for all of us. As I work to support undergraduate students and recent alumni in their career development and job search, I have been amazed by the resilience demonstrated by many of these young people. Not everyone has found success during these times. Some have experienced rescinded job offers, while others have questioned their career direction. However, I have found that by employing some proven tactics while coaching students on navigating the job market in these unsettling…

Hidden Disabilities: Should Our Clients Dare to Declare?

October 23, 2020 |

Living with a hidden disability is challenging enough, but when we try to hide it from our workplace we only end up suffering in silence. October is Disability Employment Awareness Month (DEAM), a good time to start some conversations and share our personal stories of living and working with hidden disabilities. Don’t “DIS” Our “ABILITY” The question often comes up with our clients about if and when they should self-declare a disability to an employer. Everyone’s circumstance is different but, at the core, we all share the same internal experience.…