Conestoga College did a smart thing last week: they recruited from among the very talented people who already work and teach at the college, and had them turn their attention on follow staff and instructors for a week called E3: Employees for Excellence in Education.
I had the pleasure of attending a number of workshops related to writing curriculum, handling intercultural situations, and working more effectively with students whose first language is not English. For fun, we were also offered flower arranging (clearly just for fun) and chocolate dipping. But I digress.
It's easy for professionals to get wrapped up in our work, and forget about the value of ongoing learning and training. The Canadian Counselling Association, of which I am a member, requires that I complete so many "units" of continuing education in each 24-month span in order to maintain my certification. (My certification can be revoked if I am not a "current" counsellor, for the protection of potential clients.)
I try always to have a book related to career development on the go, and I try to attend any relevant conferences that come nearby. When someone recommends a resource to me, I try to write it down somewhere I'll run across it again. I certainly lose and forget more than I am able to track down, but I do make the effort.
At the risk of causing a stir, I feel like there's nothing more dangerous than a professional in any industry who rests on her/his laurels. Professional development should never stop, since the world is always changing and there's always something new to learn. Professional development is absolutely invaluable.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Review: jobhuntersbible.com
I am currently putting together a Job Finding Club at Conestoga College, and I am reading What Color Is Your Parachute? by Richard Bolles (2007) for the first time. I'm really enjoying it! He offers some great statistics that I think most job seekers can benefit from.
The book is a more in-depth resource, but his website offers some great things too:
http://www.jobhuntersbible.com/
Most especially, I like Mr. Bolles' outline (throughout his book and website) of what the Internet can and cannot be counted on for. I see it relied on far too much, in a wide range of settings and by a wide range of job seekers. Only 20% of available work makes job boards, and that work is often the easy-to-fill (entry level) and hard-to-fill (executive) jobs. The mid-range stuff is usually hidden, filled through internal candidates or through connections. (Why hire a stranger when you can hire someone who is known? That's much safer.) So don't just use the job boards - use the internet to make connections with people via Usenet, chat areas, discussion boards, etc!
Overall, the site offers a nice selection of resources with descriptions of what each site offers - very helpful!
The book is a more in-depth resource, but his website offers some great things too:
http://www.jobhuntersbible.com/
Most especially, I like Mr. Bolles' outline (throughout his book and website) of what the Internet can and cannot be counted on for. I see it relied on far too much, in a wide range of settings and by a wide range of job seekers. Only 20% of available work makes job boards, and that work is often the easy-to-fill (entry level) and hard-to-fill (executive) jobs. The mid-range stuff is usually hidden, filled through internal candidates or through connections. (Why hire a stranger when you can hire someone who is known? That's much safer.) So don't just use the job boards - use the internet to make connections with people via Usenet, chat areas, discussion boards, etc!
Overall, the site offers a nice selection of resources with descriptions of what each site offers - very helpful!
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Career Success
I saw a great speaker today. His name is Ron Budreau, and he is an entrepreneur and business coach. I found him very engaging, and he offered two pieces of advice closely related to career planning.
The first key to success that he offered was DWYSYWDWYSYWDI (Do what you said you would do when you said you would do it). It connects very closely to the concept of Credibility - that people will believe you will meet deadlines and do what you agree to do on time, but it only takes one or two failures to keep your word to lose your credibility, and building it back up is really, really difficult. And believe it or not, according to Ron, only about 10% of people manage to do this!
The second key to success that Ron offered was to have a goal (or several goals) that take you into various periods of the future (6 months, 6 years, 60 years old, etc). When you have a goal - and when you write it down (that was important) - your action and effort will be purposeful. It's really easy to be busy, and 'getting nowhere fast' if you don't have a goal in mind.
Ron described DWYSYWDWYSYWDI and Strategy/Goals as two axes on a graph that plots level of success.
I agree with him completely!
The first key to success that he offered was DWYSYWDWYSYWDI (Do what you said you would do when you said you would do it). It connects very closely to the concept of Credibility - that people will believe you will meet deadlines and do what you agree to do on time, but it only takes one or two failures to keep your word to lose your credibility, and building it back up is really, really difficult. And believe it or not, according to Ron, only about 10% of people manage to do this!
The second key to success that Ron offered was to have a goal (or several goals) that take you into various periods of the future (6 months, 6 years, 60 years old, etc). When you have a goal - and when you write it down (that was important) - your action and effort will be purposeful. It's really easy to be busy, and 'getting nowhere fast' if you don't have a goal in mind.
Ron described DWYSYWDWYSYWDI and Strategy/Goals as two axes on a graph that plots level of success.
I agree with him completely!
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