By Mark Franklin, M.Ed., P.Eng.
One poll after another reveals that North American workers feel frustrated or unchallenged at work and would make a career change if only they felt they could. The travel and tourism industry is experiencing a boom in active travel vacations. As a career counsellor and an active travel leader, I drew a connection between these two seemingly unrelated phenomena.
By Marc Verhoeve, Cybertraining Consultant
The city of San Antonio, Texas, is a picturesque city located within 200 kilometers of the Gulf of Mexico. Comparable to Toronto in population, it is imbued with Mexican culture and cuisine; its economy is dependent on two industries: five armed forces bases and conventions.
San Antonio is this year’s location for the 2001 American Counseling Association Conference, which hosted from March 15th to 20th professional caregivers, representing specialties such as career development , mental health, geriatrics, rehabilitation, marriage, social work, spirituality, and gay, lesbian and bisexual issues. Daily, from 8AM to 8PM, a total of 578 workshops competed for the professional development thirst of 4100 delegates
The delegates and presenters were primarily American; the non-American presenters [in addition to myself] hailed from Israel, Mexico, and Taiwan. My two sessions were “Cybercounselor’s Professional Toolkit” and “It Takes a Community to Develop a Career“.
The conference theme, “Counseling at Its Best: Celebrating the Human Spirit” nurtured a plethora of workshop topics, such as:
- Violence Prevention in Urban Schools
- Recovery from Severe Long-Term Illness
- Empowering Women for Equity
- Living a Virtual Existence: A Look at Internet Addiction
- Adoption and Family Rituals
- Strategies for Developing Web-Based Counseling Courses
- Counselor Training Model in Taiwan: Retrospection and Future Development.
Because of the number of simultaneous workshops, the delegates utilize a “drive-thru learning model”. They plot their workshop priorities, and may only stay in a session until the handouts are distributed. Presenters respond to this tactic by keeping the handouts until the end of their session. One popular format are the poster sessions, where the presenter posts details of a project, and responds to delegates’ questions.
Despite the expenses involved in attending this conference, it provides an incredible smorgasbord of professional development experiences. I heartily encourage counselling practitioners to consider attending [and presenting] at this outstanding conference. The locale for next March’s ACA Conference is New Orleans.
If you wish more details [or advice about proposal/ presentation protocols], please feel free to contact me:
Marc Verhoeve
Cybertraining Consultant
verhoeve@sympatico.ca
The 28th National Consultation on Career Development (NATCON) will be held Monday to Wednesday, 21 – 23 January 2002 in Ottawa, Canada. NATCON is the largest international bilingual conference addressing career development and employment related issues.
Becoming Adult: How Teenagers Prepare for the World of Work
By Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and Barbara Schneider, Basic Books, 2000
ISBN: 0-465-01540-9
An excellent book for guidance counsellors, parents, teachers, and anyone working with teenagers, though it has somewhat of an academic bent. Readers may be familiar with Dr. Csikszentmihalyi’s books on flow (losing oneself in enjoyable activities – living in the moment) and creativity.
www.wcginternational.com/portal_jwbc.html
www.enablelink.org
www.makingcareersense.org
www.cchrei.ca
www.explore.cornell.edu/newcareerzone
Be a part of the tradition…
Be a part of the future!
Past speakers have included Denise Bissonnette, Richard N. Bolles, William Bridges, Rubin Hurricane Carter, Janis Foord Kirk, David Foot, John Godfrey, Thomas Homer Dixon, Howard Figler, Peter Jensen, Mark Kingwell, John D. Krumboltz, Stephen Lewis, Linda McQuaig, Heather Menzies, Vance Peavy, Bob Rae, Judy Rebick, Jeremy Rifkin, Mark L. Savickas, Nancy K. Schlossberg, Barbara Sher, Lauren Woodhouse, Bob White, and David Whyte.
By Monika Simans, Arkimedes Pty Ltd, Brisbane, Australia
This is the second of three marketing articles. This article will present the P’s of marketing and be directed to those in private practice and professionals wishing to market their services. The last article will be focused towards individuals wanting and needing to market themselves to source and secure work. Read the first article: Marketing – An Art and Science.
By Dianne Seed
Employers and apprenticeship candidates/apprentices can now link up via the internet on the website www.apprenticesearch.com. This free service was initially piloted in Halton Region, but after great success, expanded to nearby Peel and Dufferin, encompassing the larger cities of Brampton, Mississauga, Orangeville, Caledon plus the surrounding areas. Informational areas of the website such as About Trades, Corporate and Training Profiles, What’s New, Trade Talk, Leads on Jobs are open to anyone with an interest about finding out more about the skilled trades.
Be Hunted! 12 Secrets to Getting on the Headhunter’s Radar Screen
Smooch Reynolds, Wiley, 2001
ISBN: 0-471-41074-8 ,www.wiley.com
Webmaster Career Starter, 2nd edition
Joan Vaughn, Learning Express, 2001
ISBN 1576853713
Career Solutions For Creative People: How To Balance Artistic Goals With Career Security
Dr. Ronda Ormont, Watson-Guptill Publications, 2001
ISBN 1581150911,http://www.watsonguptill.com
Opportunities in Psychology Careers
Donald Super, Charles Super, Vgm Career Books, 2001
ISBN 0658010530
The First Step: Student Safety Handbook
London Occupational Safety and Information Service (LOSH), 2000
ISBN 0-9681735-1-9, spiral bound book or CD
Ordering information:losh@execulink.com, www.losh.on.ca
Future Focus: Occupational Trends in the Greater Toronto Area
Toronto Labour Market Information Service, 2001
Available for free download at: www.on.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca/english/welcome_e.shtml
What Color Is Your Parachute, 2002 Edition
Richard Nelson Bolles, 10 Speed Press, 2002
ISBN 1-58008-341-2,www.JobHuntersBible.com
Who’s Hiring 2002 – Canada’s 5000 Fastest Growing Employers in 61 Major Occupations
Media Corp Canada Inc., 2002. Also available in CD-ROM
ISBN 1-894450-08-6,www.mediacorp2.com
The Career Directory, 2002 Edition, 11th Edition
Richard Yerema, Media Corp Canada Inc., 2002
ISBN 1-894450-07-8,www.mediacorp2.com
Canadian Directory of Search Firms 2002, 5th Edition
Media Corp Canada Inc., 2002. Also available in CD-ROM
ISBN 1-894450-04-3,www.mediacorp2.com
Knock’em Dead 2002
Martin Yate, Adams Media, 2002
ISBN 1-58062-537-1,www.adamsmedia.com
Keirsey Temperament Sorter
www.keirsey.com
This is the official Keirsey site with information on the test, types and an on-line personality temperament test.
Discover Your Type Quiz
www.personalitytype.com
From authors Barbara Barron-Tieger and Paul Tieger. Descriptions of the four “dimensions” of Type (based on MBTI). 4 questions. Description of 16 types, possible careers and personal interaction tips.
The Riso-Hudson Enneagram Type Indicator
www.enneagraminstitute.com
This is a free introduction to the complete Riso-Hudson Enneagram Type Indicator (RHETI, Version 2.5). It has 36 questions. There is also a link to the full, 144 question RHETI which costs $10.00. (US)
Utne Reader Emotional Intelligence Quiz
www.utne.com
This is a 10 question quiz that will generate an E-IQ score out of 200. Provides the “correct” answers and a link to a discussion group but no analysis.
The Platinum Rule
http://www.mentoru.com
This free self-evaluation will identify your dominant behavioral style and offer advice on how to be more compatible with other styles different than your own.
The Personality Profile
www.personalityonline.com
The Personality Profile measures people on 14 different profiles or such as idiosyncrasy and conscientiousness. Each type relates to a number of personality traits. This test has 104 statements and is quite straight forward and understandable.
Kingdomality
www.cmi-lmi.com/kingdomality.html
What is your medieval vocational personality? Try out Kingdomality and find out.