Photo Credit Tomasz Stasiuk We all know the old adage that says that failing to plan is planning to fail, but that’s a completely different topic. What I’m talking about here is developing a plan for dealing with failure before it happens. Most times, we plan things out while wearing our rose coloured glasses and…
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The French word, chef, translates to leader in English. I was reminded of that this weekend as I baked a batch of gluten-free muffins. Without sugar, flour or baking powder, it would seem that this enterprise was doomed to failure, and yet they came out amazing. Managing a team is a lot like baking – you…
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Photo Credit Scragz Would you go to a networking event wearing a mask that obscures your face? Hand out business cards that have no name or contact information on them? No, of course not! Unfortunately, more and more people are doing this sort of thing every day when they change their LinkedIn privacy settings to…
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Photo Credit _Abhi_ When I was 25, I started in my first professional position after graduate school, as an assistant at a financial institution. I was the primary line of contact for 3000+ clients, and 2 pension plans, and I had 16 phone lines that came straight to my desk. It was busy…
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Photo Credit CCAC North Library Starbucks recently announced a tuition subsidy program to help employees complete their undergraduate degree. Fantastic news for those just starting out, but what if you already have a degree and you’re looking to advance your career, or move into a different field? The mistake that many people make is…
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Photo Credit Fifth World Art It might seem counter-intuitive, but studies have shown that if you want to be more productive, you should take some time off work. Ahhh if only it were that easy! Many employers offer paid time off (PTO) as part of the benefits package, but set roadblocks to actually accessing…
DetailsCareer advice for the class of 2014 from CMCoachingServices
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In her first two weeks at home, Ella got her entire head stuck in the baby gate 3 times. Once was frightening, twice was hard to believe, but after the third time, I realized that she doesn’t have any sense of consequences. She just acts without any kind of planning. In short, she doesn’t…
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Photo Credit Joanna Poe About 7 years ago I made a potentially big career mistake. I saw a posting for a newly created management role in the department where I work at McMaster, but I didn’t apply for it. The job description focused on the administrative components of the role rather than the professional/managerial aspects.…
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Image Credit Jeffrey If at least 80% of jobs are never posted, how do people get hired? The hidden job market is like the secret underground for jobseekers and everyone wants to get in, but most people don’t know how. I think that’s because we don’t take the time to look for the easiest solutions,…
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