Etch a Sketch to Oil Painting: Where Do You Need To Take A Stand?

Featured Article & Career Coach: Elizabeth McAloon

Maybe can be a great place. It’s full of possibility, it can feel like there’s an escape hatch available at all times. Maybe can also be what holds us back the most.

Take the Etch A Sketch, for example. One of my favorite childhood toys. Full of temporary satisfaction, and a great place to play with maybe. Sometimes we get stuck in the Etch A Sketch place in our lives, carefully keeping one eye on the exit. Etch A Sketch life is a great place to try things on: dating without commitment; temping at a job; renting instead of buying; testing a business instead of truly owning it; dabbling at being leader without claiming it. It can be a valuable place—a testing ground on which to get a sense of what it might be like.

There are deeper Etch A Sketch places, too.

I often hear from clients that their number-one frustration is that they feel as though they’re not making an impact—or at least that impact isn’t palpable. They feel as though they’re in the soup in their jobs and lives and that there’s no distinct footprint they’re leaving behind. They are in the Etch A Sketch place of making daily transitory impressions, but nothing long lasting—there’s no momentum of purpose.

And they’re hungry for it. [read more...]

Learn more about the benefits and value of working with a career coach to help put your career into gear. CertifiedCareerCoaches.com connects you with a career coach who meets your specific coaching needs and can provide you with the support to overcome any roadblocks you might be facing.

Working Within Limitations

Featured Article & Coach: Sharon Good

While we all dream of having ultimate freedom to be and do anything and everything we want, the hard truth of the matter is that we all face some limitations, large or small. Limitations may be things you've dealt with all your life, or they may come upon you suddenly through an accident or change of circumstances.

But limitations don't have to be a jail sentence. In art, for example, while complete freedom can be glorious and expansive, sometimes the most innovative ideas come from solving a problem. Having boundaries forces you to use your resources in imaginative ways, and a limitation viewed as a challenge can inspire you to create something completely unexpected.

Limitations can take many different shapes. The most obvious are health or physical disabilities and limited financial means. Others are limited time or energy; lack of skills, knowledge or credentials; and reduced opportunities due to age, gender and/or racial bias or economic background. A change in status due to divorce or job loss can also be a limiting factor. [Continue reading...]

Want to learn more about the benefits and value of working with a coach to help put your career into gear? Let us help you find a career coach who meets your specific coaching needs and can provide you with the support needed to overcome any roadblocks you might be facing.

Bringing Your Individuality to Work: Brilliant or Taboo?

Featured Article & Career Coach: Elizabeth McAloon

"Personal branding" is the latest buzzword. It's a topic that cuts across a number of career management areas. The concept can be extremely helpful, but the language leaves many people feeling that there's a big mystery out there about how to be successful. Let's demystify it right now!

There are products, and there are brands.

What's the difference? Well, a brand is made up of all the intangible associations that go along with a particular product: the romance of Chanel No.5; the sexiness of a Ferrari; the cachet of a Rolex. To the working world, you are, in part, a product. Sure, you've got that dazzling smile and you're the one everyone wants to sit next to at the holiday party—that's part of the product. But it's more than that.

Your brand is the unique special recipe of you—your experiences, skills, personality, talents, creativity, wisdom, ability to connect with people. It all adds up to what you specifically add to an organization.

I've asked dozens of people about their brand, and very few can convey it with any clarity. Personal branding is not your title. Personal branding is the "youness" that you bring. It's not necessarily what you do, but the particular way you do it.

Let's look at some examples: [Read more!]

Coaches specializing in the careers industry help people overcome hurdles that are preventing them from moving forward. Coaches also help managers and corporations improve their methods of leadership to build and maintain productive employees while building their overall personal and corporate value. These are just a few examples how career coaches can make a difference. Visit CertifiedCareerCoaches.com to discover what career coaching is all about!