Fall 2012

By Louisa Jewell

I have been studying positive psychology for almost eight years now and I have determined that the key to success is perseverance. Often times we only hear about highly successful people after they have become successful so we are unaware of their struggles to the top. For example, Donald Trump has filed for bankruptcy four times and it would take Shania Twain 18 years of singing in some pretty shady bars before releasing her first album. Researchers are starting to determine it is not talent or IQ or an Ivy-league school that guarantees success; it’s grit.

By Christelle Agboka

In today’s work world, career change has become the new normal. While the reasons behind this are often involuntary (e.g., unemployment, lack of stability or low wages), voluntary career change is on the rise as people seek more challenge, satisfaction or balance from their work.

By Penny Freno

Just as learning opportunities are integral to the professional and personal lives of the clients our organizations support, ongoing learning is central to career practitioners’ professional growth and development. Many topics of interest to career educators can be explored through self-study, face-to-face workshops, conferences, in-service training and courses, a range of technologies (i.e. the Internet, video conferencing, webinars), and through social media networks and Twitter.

By Julia Lebedeva

Joel A. Garfinkle, Getting Ahead: Three Steps to Take Your Career to the Next Level (Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley, c2011)
This book focuses on three of the four building blocks of success – perception, visibility and influence (PVI). The use of three items is connected to the title, Three Steps to Take Your Career to the Next Level. Performance is not included, being one of the most highlighted topics in other publications. Developing perception, visibility and influence is an option and choice to which most professionals give little conscious attention. Working to increase PVI is more complex than going to business school and working towards an MBA because it is less structured. Getting Ahead is written as the step-by-step PVI model instructions that will ensure your future career success. PVI is not a degree, but should be taken as seriously as an MBA, PhD and other degrees, since mastering these factors are so important for career advancement. There are, however, several reasons why PVI is considered optional: it is not a part of any job description, and there will not be any direct payment for this work. In many cases, working on PVI may be confrontational and challenging. It can take individuals outside their comfort zones, and it involves risk taking. It takes a lot of courage and confidence to create an ideal PVI state. This book gives the PVI concept a structure. Reading this book leads to the start of making the commitment to implement as many of the ideas, concepts, tips, suggestions and insights shared by the author as possible. You also become a true believer in the concept. This resource is as motivational as it is instructional. We all are familiar with the classical theories of motivation as being conceptual: ERG Theory, McClelland’s Theory of Needs, Goal Setting Theory, Reinforcement Theory, Equity Theory of Motivation, Expectancy Theory of Motivation. This book is an additional practical tool to support these theories.