F11 – Others

By George Dutch

Ken’s Story

Like many young adults, Ken made a “practical and realistic” career choice, and entered the work force with technical skills that were in high demand by employers. He landed a job as a software tester in a large company during the hi-tech boom…and got stuck there.

Ken was reliable, dependable, and competent at his job, one that provided the stability and security that he needed in his 20s to get married and start a family. Before Ken made his practical career choice, he spent hours as a child and teen drawing and designing cars, planes, airports, museums, and once won a prize for a model home he built for a school project about homes of the future. It wasn’t building the model that stimulated Ken, rather it was telling his classmates about the new smart technologies that would revolutionize home construction and convenience.

By Rhonda Singer

Culturally Intelligent Career Professionals achieve greater client results

Cultural Intelligence (CI) makes diversity and inclusion a positive force for enhancing client performance and economic growth.

By Mario Gravelle

The Counselling Foundation of Canada, CERIC and Ashoka Changemakers are pleased to announce a collaborative initiative to support Aboriginal learning and improved outcomes for First Nations, Métis and Inuit learners in Canada. We invite you to participate!

By Christopher Little

My name is Christopher Little; I am a careers co-coordinator at the University of Lancaster in the UK, presently on a five month exchange program with the Career Planning Service at McGill University.  How did this exchange program come about?  Interested in looking for a possible job exchange with someone in another country? Read on!  Back in the winter of 2010 on a visit to Quebec the idea of an exchange came to mind. This was not the first time I had  gone down this road, for back in 2003, I had come up with a similar idea to undertake a professional exchange, at that  time I was looking towards the southern hemisphere.  Back then, one thing led to another and I began looking up universities on the web, and contacting various career departments in Australia and New Zealand. This process took quite a bit of time and persistence, sending emails to the various heads of department and enquiring if any members of staff wished to undertake an exchange. I thought the duration of the exchange would be manageable with around three to six months, though I was always flexible in my communications. Eventually, through trial and error, my hard work paid off and I was able to start a dialog with a colleague in New Zealand, after drawing a blank with Australia.

By Sean Townsend

“High-performance coaching” is how executive coach Laurie Hillis describes her recent experience with Patricia,* a senior analyst focusing on operational excellence in a Calgary-based pipeline company. Patricia was looking for ways to improve her communication skills to meet the challenges of her unique position.