Outplacement … what you need to know.
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about the challenges that many people in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and in Alberta are currently facing. By now, you’ve probably heard about the low oil prices in Alberta and the ripple effect that it’s having on those businesses,...
Working from home – five ways it may work against you.
Last week I wrote about some of the advantages of working from home. With more virtual offices being created, and employees finding that they can easily remain productive on their work tasks from their personal domains it’s easy to see that this could be the new way...
November 2018: What Will the New Year Bring You?
November 2018: What Will the New Year Bring You? View this email in your browser November 2018: What Will the New Year Bring You? The holidays are on the horizon. With just under four weeks until Christmas, decorated trees are on display in stores and Christmas music...
Working from home … alone
In today’s world, we can do almost everything without leaving the comforts of our home. There’s online shopping, therapy via Snapclarity, advice and expertise via Magnifi, dining in courtesy of Uber Eats or Skip the Dishes, studying, and online dating. Even job...
Dear Dr. Helen, how do I pick a career that’s just right for me?
Falling into negative ruts and difficult breakups … and I’m talking about career problems, not romance gone wrong. I’m talking about the places where we work and the careers that we pick which sometimes feel like a doomed relationship, and with bad patterns that...
Positivity is your best action … take it to work
These days lots of folks are positive that only negative things are happening around them. We’re all seeing worrisome news headlines which doesn’t help. I’ve started asking myself “What is going on here? Are we watching historic changes unfolding?” I don’t have...
Mentorship: a Predictor of Success
During the summer, Diana Davies-Harju, the CMO of Magnifi asked me to talk about the benefits of working with a coach, and mentorship as part of strategic planning at SparkFest. Sparkfest was an evening of networking, learning and inspiration for young tech...
Covering at Work – The Pros and Cons of Being Ourselves at Work
We live in complicated times. It can be tough to know what to think or how to behave. On the one hand, we hear that diversity is “in” and “important.” On the other hand, what is happening in some workplaces and is being reported in news headlines is sending the...
Weeding out cannabis concerns in the workplace
It’s high time things change In Canada, the legalization of marijuana on Oct 17, 2018, was a historic day on par with the end of prohibition in the 1930s. The decriminalization of medicinal and recreational cannabis/marijuana has been a long-fought battle. Now that...
Hiring is like dating. Do you need to up your game?
Many employers treat hiring like a blind date, hoping for “love at first sight.” They spend a little bit of time with a candidate. They ask some basic questions, then ask a few more questions as they come to mind. They think they have the job candidate all figured...
The Relevance and Absence of the Reference Check in the #MeToo Era
If anyone is looking for evidence that the background and reference check are still worthwhile, look no further than the current headlines around the ongoing Supreme Court nomination process in the US. Suddenly we are witnessing, in real time, a job interview that has...
Working Through the Fallout of Climate Change
Storms make the oak grow deeper roots ~ George Herbert Climate change, we hear about it on the news and how it’s affecting our environment. We see how it’s drastically influencing average temperatures. We notice records breaking for natural disasters...
The Season is Changing; Lately So Are the Usual “Rules”
Fall 2018: The Season is Changing; Lately So Are the Usual “Rules” View this email in your browser Another Version of #MeToo We’ve all seen the headlines about men in power positions exploiting women in the workplace. Well, in the interest of gender...
The Queen Bee Syndrome – Not Sweet Like Honey …
Over the past few years, there’s been a lot of attention paid to the topic of bad behaviour in the modern workplace. Often, it’s taken the form of sexual harassment of women by men … but according to a recent study, it’s often garden-variety harassment of women by...
How to Recover after Losing your Temper at Work
These days, there’s a lot to lose your temper over. Dreadful news headlines about high profile bad behaviour and divisive politics. While that’s all true and legitimate, most of us don’t get a pass when we lose our cool. We’re still expected to act like...
Incidental Networking and the Hidden Value of a Diverse Network
In previous blog articles, I’ve discussed the importance of networking, both for entrepreneurs and people who are employed. I know that for many people, networking is played out; the idea of networking may even inspire eye-rolling, but bear with me. For entrepreneurs,...
One More Reason to Take Care with Office Romance
It occurred to me while watching a rom-com recently that the office romance antics that go on in these movies could get a person in some serious hot water in real life, especially now that victims of sexual harassment are speaking up and saying “me too.” I’m not...
Encore Entrepreneurship: The Gray Edge of the Wedge
Ask a lot of people to think of successful entrepreneurship and they’ll imagine a “millennial” in ripped jeans and rubber-toed sneakers, a couple of ping-pong tables close at hand. Well, not so fast. It turns out those of us with a touch of gray at our temples have...