Career Professionals of Canada News Feed
By Maureen McCann. Some days our clients may feel that they have the worst jobs in the world. Every once in a while we are there to remind them that perhaps when compared to other jobs, their jobs aren’t as bad as they might seem. As career professionals, we know there’s no such thing as the “worst job” or “best job” because both are subjective. “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” What might be horrible from one client’s perspective is an amazing opportunity for another. The only “worst job”…
By Lysa Appleton. It is no secret that networking is an integral part of any job search, and an essential activity for long term employability. So, how can we support and guide our clients in networking successfully? To begin, I believe that we need to clearly define what networking is – and what it is not. Networking is not about dressing in power clothes and asking for a job. That tactic may have worked 10 years ago, but it’s not a comfortable or appreciated approach today. Networking is about building…
By Makeda Waterman, Guest Contributor. There is a popular misconception that December is an unfavourable time for clients to find quality job opportunities. Clients may believe this for various reasons. They may think that most organizations do not have the budget at year end to hire new employees, that it is a busy time of the year for human resources to conduct interviews, or that the economy tends to slow down in December. All of these pre-conceived notions are often untrue and may be detrimental to a client’s job search. According…
By Skye Berry-Burke. Career Professionals employ many strategies and approaches to guide clients to access the hidden job market. The “hidden job market” is a broad term used to describe jobs that aren’t posted online or in advertisements. With more than 80% of positions being filled by direct and indirect job leads, clients need to go beyond online job boards and search engines to find their next opportunity. I recently facilitated an online discussion with members of Career Professionals of Canada. My colleagues agreed that the number one way job seekers can tap the hidden…
By Richard Hamilton. Unemployment can have a profoundly adverse impact on our client’s self-esteem and motivation. Clients come to us with some feeling of failure, fully focused on their short comings rather than their strengths; we need to move that self-doubt out of the way. By exploring our client’s interests and related successes, we can help reconstruct self-esteem and activate motivation. You may be thinking, “Who has the time to explore our client’s lives, uncovering hidden interests and mining for strengths?”. Our instinct is to move to action, resume writing,…
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…