Cannexus 2009 – Engaging and Inspiring

By Paula Wischoff Yerama

As a self admitted conference junky I carefully consider every conference opportunity I come across.  Because of my connection to the Career Development Association of Alberta (CDAA) and my interest in connecting with professionals in the career development field I regularly attend the Building Tomorrow Today (BTT) Consultation in Edmonton, and the professional development opportunities offered by the Association’s Chapters. This year, in an effort to build partnerships for CDAA and spread the word about BTT, I decided to travel to Toronto, ON for Cannexus 2009.  What began as a profession trip with a mission soon became personal as well as I found myself engaged in conversations with people I would have likely never met had I not attended Cannexus.

In order to take full advantage of the Cannexus experience I flew into Toronto a day early to attend Norman Amundson’s preconference workshop, Active Engagement: The Being and Doing of Career Counselling.  Dr. Amundson’s session set my frame of mind for the entire conference.  I can summarize my learning during his session with this quote:

“If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten” – (unknown).

Dr. Amundson actively engaged his session participants in ‘doing’ the counselling process differently to get different results and shared a variety of techniques to engage clients and help them realize their strengths and achievements in a way that is meaningful to them. With refreshed enthusiasm I carefully reviewed the concurrent session offerings and chose those which I hoped would build on the learning I had experienced during Dr. Amundson’s preconference session.

Choosing just one session from a selection of twelve to fourteen proved to be a difficult task; there was definitely something for everyone.  One session in particular stood out for me and that was “Valuing the ‘Human’ over the ‘Commodity’” with Cathy Keates, MA, and Carol Roderick, MEd, PhD. I was inspired to rethink and re-evaluate my personal beliefs about job search metaphors and their impact on my clients. Cathy and Carol provided food for thought with their well researched topic that is sure to gain momentum in the field.

Innovation and passion are abundant in the field of career development and conferences such as Cannexus and the Building Tomorrow Today consultation (among others) are excellent opportunities to connect with others. Cannexus 2009 was a phenomenal experience and I am looking forward to keeping in touch with my new friends!

Paula Wischoff Yerama, CCDP, is the President of Career Designs for Life Inc. and the Vice Chair of the Career Development Association of Alberta (CDAA).