Seven Professional Lessons from Star Wars
Star Wars: The Force Awakens is playing in theatres across the galaxy. It’s all that people can talk about and, if you’re like me, then you might even be more excited to see Star Wars than for Christmas! With seven…
Three Career Lessons I Learned from Tossing Hay Bales
I grew up in a small rural community on Vancouver Island, British Columbia called Merville. When I was a kid I helped my dad help his best friend clear hundreds of hay bales from his field. When I was a…
When Employees Win, Organizations Win
Career development within organizations is at its best when corporate culture, learning experiences and peoples’ individual growth align to serve the organization’s vision and values. Simply put, when employees win, organizations win. Vancity is one of Canada’s largest financial co-operatives…
Top 5 Things Cooking Can Teach You About Career Development
Cooking has long been a passion of mine. As an amateur cook (and armchair career advisor) feel there’s a lot of cross over between both these pastimes. Here are John and my top five tips that anyone can follow to…
Career Lessons from Climbing Mountains
A few weeks ago I attended and presented at Canada’s leading conference for career practitioners, Cannexus. One of the workshops that I attended was led by Rob Shea and Senator David M. Wells – it focused on the connection between…
How Talking to Strangers will Enrich Your Career
On Saturday I celebrated the life of my grandmother, Virginia. One of the themes from her memorial service was how my grandma loved having conversations with anyone and everyone about anything and everything. So, I thought it fitting to write…
10 Ways to Get the Most Out of Conferences
On Saturday I’m flying to Ottawa for Cannexus15 – I’ll be presenting about Vancity’s Orientation Immersion program, connecting with folks from the Canadian Education and Researching Institute for Counselling (CERIC), and learning a lot about how career development is central…
How to Maximize the Art of Reflection
Yesterday was Remembrance Day in Canada. It’s specifically designed for people to reflect on conflict, specifically the First World War, and make meaning of the events of 1914-1918 in the context of our lives today. While somber, I love Remembrance…
Six Professional Skills Developed by Traveling with an Infant
Over the past month, I’ve traveled by car, train, boat, and plane with my now seven-month old son, Miles. Successfully traveling with an infant requires some luck, and it also requires a diverse set of skills, many of which are…
Professional Lessons from Popular Board Games
We all have our favourite board games. The professional lessons from popular board games like Monopoly, Risk, Settlers of Catan, Clue, and Scrabble can have a powerful impact on your career. For example, while almost all board games involve chance, many…