Non classifié(e)

Contract World
A unique website at the centre of the expanding world of contract work for home-based customer service agents.
contractworld.jobs

Elance
You create a profile and businesses invite you to submit proposals for jobs. Has a focus on contract positions in programming, marketing and administration.
elance.com

Remote Worker Daily
Offers free resources, advice and daily motivation for “Making Work at Home Work For You.”
remoteworkerdaily.com

Experiencing e-Learning
This blog provides information for people interested in a career in e-learning.
christytucker.wordpress.com/instructional-design-careers

FlexJobs
This site connects jobseekers with “flexible” jobs, including telecommuting, part-time and freelance roles.
flexjobs.com

Source: Anne-Marie Rolfe

To obtain a 20-page report of verified links to remote worker opportunities, sign up for Anne-Marie Rolfe’s webinar on February 26, 2013: cericwebinar4.eventbrite.com.

Discover the new ContactPoint and OrientAction!

In 1997 the contactpoint.ca website was launched as an innovative virtual community dedicated to the needs of career development professionals. ContactPoint has been around ever since, offering free access to job listings, learning opportunities and support.

Now, ContactPoint is relaunching – harnessing the power of social media to build community, delivering updated content that reflects the changing information needs of a growing field and presenting a fresh, sleek design. ContactPoint’s French-language sister site, OrientAction, is also being redesigned.

Among the new community features of the websites are the ability to create a profile and virtually network with other users via discussion forums and groups. A wiki section will enable those of you with a deep knowledge of the field to share your expertise in this people-powered encyclopedia of career development. The job board will remain, and will be enhanced with a skills database, detailing the competencies required for different positions. And, of course, all the resources you know and love will remain – only updated with new directories, such as promising practices in career services, multimedia content and assessment tools.

ContactPoint and OrientAction are also embracing the latest technological innovations, as the websites will now be compatible with all mobile devices.

Special thanks to our ContactPoint Task Force, who helped us to update the content: Basak Yanar, Connie Augustus, Deirdre Pickerell and Krista Payne.

Stay tuned for the launch of the new sites on January 21, 2013!

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Report urges private sector role in employment for homeless youth

A new report by the not-for-profit organization Raising the Roof advocates a greater role for private businesses in addressing youth homelessness, by providing at-risk youth with opportunities such as mentoring, training and apprenticeships. The report also presents concrete ways in which the private sector can engage with this collective issue that, in a time of high youth unemployment, is more relevant than ever.

Titled Everybody’s Business: Engaging the Private Sector in Solutions to Youth Homelessness, this report seeks to complement the work accomplished by myriad community-based agencies across the country that deliver valuable services to youth by helping them develop life and employment skills. Such efforts can only bear fruit if there are businesses to hire these youth. However, homeless and at-risk youth often lack the connections and support necessary to land a position.

The report draws on already existing, successful partnerships between private businesses and community agencies to offer recommendations to those wanting to emulate this model. It is hoped that sharing this knowledge will make this kind of initiative more common, change attitude and policy in the private sector and create more opportunities for at-risk youth across the country.

The full report, as well as a summary, can be downloaded in both French and English at raisingtheroof.org

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First-of-its-kind career and employment website for Canadians with vision loss

A new career planning and employment website features dedicated resources for teachers, guidance counsellors and employment specialists working with individuals who are blind or partially sighted.

Created in partnership with the World Blind Union and the CNIB with funding from the Ontario Trillium Foundation, the site is called Project Aspiro and includes information about education, interview techniques and workplace accommodations.

Individuals with vision loss experience among the highest unemployment or underemployment rates of any group in Canadian society. Project Aspiro was designed to ensure individuals who are blind or partially sighted have equal access to information so they can be independent, productive members of society.

The digitally accessible website also supports friends and family, and employers. To learn more, visit projectaspiro.com.

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‘Haves’ and ‘have nots’ in the labour market

A new CIBC report points to a growing divide in Canada’s labour market with, on the one hand, an increasing number of positions going unfilled for long stretches of time because of a lack of skilled candidates; and, on the other hand, a growing “surplus pool” of lower-skilled, unemployed workers. The report, The Haves and Have Nots of Canada’s Labour Market, states that the vacancy-to-unemployment ratio is at its highest point since Statistics Canada has started to measure vacancy information.

This is a symptom of a shift in the labour market, where some traditional employment opportunities are disappearing (office administrators, school teachers, butchers, tailors, etc.), while other occupations, especially in the health care sector, face a skills shortage.

The mismatch of companies unable to hire and people unable to find jobs « is simply big enough to impact the economy as a whole, our productivity, our potential growth and therefore our standard of living in the future, » says the report’s author.

Recent changes in the immigration system are meant to address this issue; however, the report warns, these changes are too small to deal with the current skills gap in the Canadian labour market: no less than 30% of businesses in the country have indicated facing a labour shortage.

The report is available online at research.cibcwm.com/economic_public/download/if_2012-1203.pdf

Occupations in demand

• Construction and transportation
• Auditors, accountants and investment professionals
• Human resources
• Physical and life science professionals
• Civil, mechanical, electrical and chemical engineers
• Physicians, dentists and veterinarians
• Optometrists, chiropractors
• Nursing
• Psychologists, social workers, counsellors
• Mining, oil and gas

Occupations with surplus supply

• Manufacturing and utilities
• Clerical, general office skills
• Finance and insurance
• Secondary and elementary teachers and counsellors
• Sales and service
• Cashiers
• Food and beverage services
• Travel, accommodation and recreation
• Butchers and bakers
• Pulp/paper production and wood processing

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Canada’s Career Imperative: How do we fix the ‘talent disconnect’ dilemma?

In 2013, CERIC will launch Canada’s Career Imperative, bringing together leaders from business, education and government for a series of cross-country interactive roundtables to find some common ground for answering the question: “How do we fix the ‘talent disconnect’ dilemma?”

All groups have a stake in the economic imperative of crafting a clearer strategy to develop, connect and retain the best of our talent to meet the ever-changing needs of disruptive regional and global markets.

Recognizing the constant swings in and out of recession and the major forces that influence the changing world of work (technology, demographics and social behaviour), our need for a genuine fix to our “talent disconnect” will require a greater grasp of how:

• Regional markets across Canada differ in the skills shortage and talent match
• The educational process could better prepare and connect young people with realistic choices offered by employers
• Patterns of recruitment and selection are amplified by social networks
• Society’s cycle of work, continuous learning and personal life aspirations is upside down to 21st century norms

At CERIC our goal is to be a catalyst for conversation on this topic. The aim is to promote networks across the country to foster a better understanding on how career development services intersect as part of the solution for fixing the “talent disconnects”.

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Career Evaluation Guide showcased as an innovative tool

A career centre evaluation tool developed in partnership between CERIC and a working group of university career centres directors was recently cited by a report of the Council of Ontario Universities (COU) as a promising practice. The report, How Ontario university career services prepare students for the future, highlights “the breadth of services and innovation in career services at Ontario universities” that helps their students adapt to a labour market that is constantly changing. The report showcases the best practices in fields such as experiential learning, skills development, understanding and adapting to the students’ way of life, diversity and services to alumni.

Career Centre Evaluation: A Practitioner Guide is a customized online resource to help university career centres design effective evaluation strategies. This resource provides a look at how five different career centres have tried to understand the components of evaluation and how they developed tools to use in their settings. The guide provides an introduction to a framework for evaluation, sample tools that you can adapt to your own setting, and case studies of evaluation activities at other career centres.

This project was created through a partnership between CERIC and a working group of the career centre leaders at the University of Toronto, Trent University, the University of Waterloo, the University of Western Ontario and the University of Windsor. The evaluation guide can also be used by career centres in other post-secondary as well as community settings.

The COU report cites it as a promising practice to prepare the next generation of career services, along with other initiatives such as the WhoPlusYou system developed by Ryerson University to revolutionize the concept of the job board, and municipal partnerships established by career centres at Queen’s University and McMaster University.

The guide is available online at ceric.ca/careercentreevaluation.The COU report is also available online at cou.on.ca.

by Anu Pala

Technology has played a significant role in the evolution of distance learning and how we access education today. It feels like just yesterday when I received my learning materials for my very first communications course in the mail. I still recall how excited and enthusiastic I was. After all, I loved to learn, and courses offered through correspondence were outside of the regular public school program – kind of outside the box. Some years later, during a career transition, I was once again led towards courses offered through distance learning.

Even though the concept of taking courses in the comfort of my own home appealed to me, it also presented some challenges – especially the second time, as I had lost my vision a few years prior. Although reading materials in audio format were sent by mail, they did not always reach me on time. Along with this, simply navigating through the cassettes was time consuming and draining. Being a person who thrives on social stimulation, staying motivated and engaged was a task at times.

Now, thanks to the web, accessing online programs and courses has become simpler and more interactive. For example, participants learn through numerous mediums including videos, articles, forums, etc. Not only does this create variety, it also keeps participants engaged not only with the content but also with other participants. Along with this, the advancement of screen reading software for sight-impaired individuals allows users to navigate the computer just as efficiently as their sighted peers. Platforms such as Moodle and Blackboard Collaborate, just to name a few, have the capacity to be made into a user-friendly format.

As I reflect back, I wonder if my past distance learning experiences have prepared me for my career on some level? I was working recently as a facilitator and career coach in a national online employment program for people with disabilities. Along with this, I recently completed my coach training certification online.

From both perspectives, I can speak to the value of participating in an online course or program. However, it is important to note that online learning is not for everyone. Whether you have a disability or not, some questions to ask yourself include:

1. What is my personal learning style?
Some students learn better by reading and working through things on their own, while others need that physical connection.

2. Do I have good computer skills?
In order to maximize your learning opportunity, moderate to advanced computer skills are usually required.

3. Am I disciplined?
It is important to be realistic and determine if you have the discipline and time management skills as you most likely will not have someone nudging you.

Anu Pala, a certified life coach and career development practitioner, brings her positive attitude and pro-active nature to her life and work. Over the past 15 years, Anu has worked towards initiatives that promote women’s empowerment and the inclusion of persons with disabilities. Through her vision loss, she uses her personal journey to inspire, empower and move her clients towards reaching their personal and professional goals.

by Sarah Lupker
What do a sommelier, a cultural heritage specialist, an event co-ordinator and a support rockstar have in common? They are all in the early stages of careers they love. And they have all shared their work story on WorkStory.net!

WorkStory.net is a web-based initiative, and pet project, created last year by two Canadian psychology professors, Natalie Allen from Western University and David Stanley from the University of Guelph. Their goal was simple: to create a place where those in the early stages of their careers could share their work-related stories with their peers and near-peers. The project was inspired by conversations Natalie and David have had with their own students and by their recognition that – although people love to talk about their work – many of us only know about a small selection of jobs. And by their conviction that hearing an authentic story, from someone who is not-so-very-different-from-you, can inform, intrigue and inspire.

Aimed at high school, university and college students, recent grads, those new to the job market, and career changers, WorkStory.net features a collection of videos and text-based stories. Think “virtual information interviews”. Each WorkStory is recorded – or written – by someone in the relatively early stages of his or her career. In each WorkStory, contributors explain what they do and what they love about their job. And, perhaps most importantly, they describe the (sometimes unexpected and convoluted!) path that they took to get there.

Still in its early days, WorkStory.net currently features over 50 videos. From the science-grad-turned-sommelier to the English major who landed a job in publishing (her dream industry!), contributors to WorkStory represent a variety of occupations and wide range of experiential and educational paths. Currently, WorkStory features graduates from over 25 Canadian universities and colleges, who were in various programs, as well as participants whose paths included less formal post-secondary activities. Sharing one’s WorkStory is easy – and requires no invitation! Simply visit our website and follow the Sharing your WorkStory instructions.

Since its launch, WorkStory has enjoyed terrific support, and received great ideas, from career professionals across the country. This year, based on one of those ideas, WorkStory initiated a student ambassador team at Western University. The team is comprised of four students in different programs who work together to spread the word about the project to students and recent grads. In the coming years, we plan to roll out WorkStory Ambassador Teams with students in other educational institutions across Canada.

Interested in learning more about WorkStory? Or sharing your WorkStory? Visit our website at workstory.net to learn more!

Sarah Lupker is a third-year anthropology and psychology student at Western University. She is a member of the student WorkStory Ambassador Team at Western. She can be reached at slupker@uwo.ca.

In every issue, Careering will present an interview with a practitioner in the field of career development that we feel you may want to know more about.

For our launch issue, we chose to learn more about Tannis Goddard, the founder and President of Training Innovations, a career development organization that delivers community-based career services in British Columbia. Tannis has been a pioneer in the delivery of online career development services in Canada, an accomplishment that is reflected in the numerous awards she has since won for her contribution to the field.

Tannis will be a keynote speaker at the Career Development Association of Australia National Conference (May 22-24, 2013, in Sydney).

Tannis Goddard

In one sentence, describe why career development matters.

Career development is a life-long activity that involves change, learning and achievement. When individuals make positive career decisions that result in inspiring and satisfying work – our whole community benefits.

Which book are you reading right now?

Design for how people learn by Julie Dirksen. I am really interested in the effective design of career learning interventions and what we can do in the field to make our services even more relevant and impactful for clients.

What did you want to be when you grew up?

As a child I was always interested in education – yet oddly I never wanted to be a teacher. My parents always encouraged that I could be anything I wanted. In summer breaks I often threw myself into self-study to explore occupations that interested me (one summer I thought I wanted to be a botanist!). I often think this early exploration into many occupations is what made coming into the career development field a natural fit for my curiosity and passion for education.

Name one thing you wouldn’t be able to work without?

My laptop – it is always with me and when I travel it’s my link back to my family and my company.

What activity do you usually turn to when procrastinating?

I start to plan my next travel adventure!

What song do you listen to for inspiration?

“Born to Live” by Ann Mortifee

Which word do you overuse?

Context. I think context is so important in our work with clients and in understanding the social and political systems within which we practice – but those around me probably get tired of me pausing to examine context!

Who would you like to work with most?

I feel fortunate to have collaborated with many people I respect in this field here in Canada and internationally. I really appreciate the team I work with at Training Innovations. But if Oprah wanted to collaborate on a career development project – I’d jump at the chance!

Which talent or superpower would you like to have?

With my leadership team we often joke about “cloning”. In a field where resources and skills are always tight, we laugh about cloning ourselves to extend our reach and capacity to do more for our staff, our clients and the field.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?

Being able to nurture my daughter, my marriage, my business and my academic pursuits at the same time.

by Angie Knowles

Turn on the news or open the papers, and one is bound to come across a reference to the greening economy in Canada. This transition is about more than just economic growth or environmental protection. With more businesses incorporating environmental practices into their day-to-day activities, the shift to a greener economy means that the actual quality of many available jobs has improved.

A perfect example of this can be seen in the high rates of professional engagement and motivation amongst green workers. Compared to 64% of the general Canadian workforce, 78% of environmental employees felt engaged in their work according to ECO Canada’s 2011 Professional Engagement report. This meant that these workers were more likely to go above and beyond their job’s requirements, feel that their contribution was valued, and recommend their company as a great place to work.

The Green Jobs Map helps address some of the misinformation and lack of information on available jobs and required skills for work in Canada’s green economy.

There is also a strong, growing demand for green workers. Over the span of just three years, the number of organizations in Canada who had environmental professionals on staff jumped from 105,221 in 2007 to 318,000 in 2010 (2010 Profile of Canadian Environmental Employment, ECO Canada).

Clearly, job seekers who have their sights set on a green career don’t have to choose between a job that is in high-demand or a job that is deeply rewarding – they can have both. Thus, the real challenge for career counselling professionals is not so much about convincing their clients of the value of green jobs as it is about providing up-to-date insight on green employment trends. Green careers offer numerous opportunities, but since these jobs are part of highly dynamic and constantly changing industries, more information is needed on the types of jobs available and the skills that professionals require in order to be employable in these positions.

The Green Jobs Map: Tracking Employment through Canada’s Green Economy was designed to meet this need for clear and practical guidance on green jobs in Canada. This study addresses three crucial career planning questions regarding green employment: where are the most job openings, what education and experience are required, and which skills are in the highest demand?

Where are the most job openings?

In the report, researchers conducted a detailed analysis of job vacancies that were linked to eleven contributing sectors in Canada’s green economy. The results of this analysis came as a surprise. Contrary to a lot of the existing literature on projected green employment, sectors such as green manufacturing or carbon and climate change mitigation only accounted for a small percentage of new green job vacancies. Instead, established sectors such as environmental protection and resource conservation actually represented the lion’s share of green job postings. Environmental protection had 37% of green job listings and resource conservation had 21%. Renewable/Green Energy completed this list of the top three hiring sectors, with 11% of recent green job openings.

What education and experience are required?

High levels of education and experience were paramount for work in the Canadian green economy. Only 2% of the green job postings mentioned a requirement for a high school diploma or less, while a hefty 78% of these jobs required at least a Bachelor’s degree. Many employers were also looking for significant levels of experience in job candidates, with 44% of job openings listing a requirement for 5 to10 years of relevant work experience.

Job seekers who have their sights set on a green career don’t have to choose between a job that is in high-demand or one that is personally rewarding – they can have both.

Which skills are in the highest demand?

If there is just one major take-away point from The Green Jobs Map, it is the fact that employers are really looking for professionals who can integrate environmental knowledge into business planning and development. The study found that 32% of green job postings requested competency in corporate environmental program planning and implementation, while 31% of these same job ads also mentioned a need for proficiency in environmental business, technology and product development. In order to be marketable to today’s green employers, job seekers clearly need to demonstrate their ability to bridge the gap between environmental expertise and business savvy.

As Canada’s green economy continues to transform the way that many companies now operate, the need for skilled professionals who can support this transition will be greater than ever. Armed with new information on the latest green labour market trends, career counsellors can help ensure that great professionals are matched with great careers in a field as exciting and dynamic as the environment.

Angie Knowles is with ECO Canada, a not-for-profit organization that supports Canada’s environment industries by communicating with industry leaders, conducting labour market research and creating the necessary tools to address the human resource needs of this dynamic sector. Learn more about ECO Canada’s national research at eco.ca.

Interested in knowing more about green jobs? Check out the Emerging Green Jobs in Canada report, a project partnership between CERIC and the Green Skills Network. This report provides career counsellors with information regarding entry-level employment opportunities in the renewable energy and energy conservation sectors of Canada’s emerging green economy.

by Anne-Marie Rolfe

Work from home: scam or opportunity? That was the question that clients posed. We did not have an answer, so we clicked, emailed, live chatted, and Skyped our way to an answer. Yes, there are legitimate opportunities for remote employment.
The opportunities available include telephone-based work, transcription services, virtual assistant services, online tutoring and teaching, careers in e-learning, technology, design, editing and writing, to name a few. What we did not find was the ability to make a living playing video games, or any legitimate opportunities to stay home and get rich quick!
What we did find is real businesses, with legitimate human resourcing needs, looking to work with those who have a self-directed work style. Some businesses do take you on as an employee, some as an independent contractor, and in some cases you set yourself up as a freelancer. The distinctions have implications for income tax and other deductions, however there are plenty of resources to help understand and set those up.
These opportunities are of tremendous benefit to those living in rural areas with available Internet infrastructure, or those with disabilities who need to manage their own environments as part of their wellness. Add to that caregivers with a need to be home for little ones, or aging loved ones, this is a trend that will continue to rise. All of these job seekers have skills and abilities to contribute to the Canadian labour market; remote employment connects the workers to the work, without all the bother of heading to a physical location.
However, remote employment is not for everyone. The truly social and gregarious amongst us may find the isolation of working from home daunting. Reality is there is nothing between the employee and the temptations of home life but the motivation to get the work done. To be successful, self-discipline is required. The reward is a work schedule that allows flexibility for other commitments while earning money.
There are benefits for both employees and employers in remote employment. According to the Teleworkresearchnetwork.com, the following are the benefits to employers:

• Save money
• Reduce employee work-life conflict
• Increase employee engagement
• Increase employee loyalty and reduce turnover
• Attract and retain talent
• Reduce absenteeism
• Increase productivity
• Reduce healthcare costs
• Slow the brain drain associated with retiring Baby Boomers

Interested? Go ahead and do searches on terms like “remote employment”, “work from home” and “virtual work”. Numerous sites will be available but proceed with caution and research those of interest carefully. If the site asks you to send money, don’t. If it asks you for too much personal information up front, do not provide it. If it offers the opportunity to get rich quick, do not believe it. Bottom line, where there are legitimate opportunities, there are also those willing to prey on the unsuspecting. So suspect everything! Research and validate the links you find. You can use tools such as the WHOIS database to validate website registration or do a search on the particular company and check with the Better Business Bureau online to see if there are complaints.
So while no legitimate positions to get paid to play video games all day panned out, there is a labour market ready for willing, entrepreneurial spirits yearning for an independent lifestyle.

 
Anne-Marie Rolfe is the Manager of Special Projects at the Employment and Education Centre, where she works to identify creative ways to connect employers and employees. She is currently working on her MEd with a specialization in distance education. She loves doing high-quality research and sharing it with others.

Interested in learning more about remote employment? Check out Polly Smith’s article on self-employment. Also, stay tuned for the CERIC webinar “Remote Employment 3.0: Legitimate Opportunities to Work from Home”, facilitated by Anne-Marie Rolfe, on February 26, 2013. More information available on cericwebinar4.eventbrite.com.

by Nicole Miller
When Hannah Leroy found out last November that her spouse, a retail manager, was going to be promoted to vice-president, her enthusiasm was stifled by the news that this move up the corporate ladder would entail relocating across the country. As a paramedic, she had spent the last 12 years moving up the seniority list of the local county services, only to have to face the prospect of starting at the bottom once again!

As the business world begins to demand the relocation of more executives, the sub-community of trailing spouses will grow exponentially. In our practice, we have found that with a structured coaching approach, these willing clients increase their perceived potential while allowing their career star to shine brightly within portable careers. Utilizing Hannah’s situation as an example, we have sketched out one of our most successful methodologies that will help you commence to work with the growing number of trailing spouses within your own coaching practices.

1. Identifying skill sets and personal goals. As a paramedic, she identified her abilities within the context of her position with county services. When she came to work with our firm, she soon realized that she could not hang her hat on landing the perfect position within a new institution (and hope to retain seniority). As with each and every trailing spouse, Hannah was shown that she has her own unique experiences that have shaped who she is and where she saw herself going. Helping her to solidify her goals was done through formal assessments, many of which were accessed through the Internet. Taking the time to ensure that she owned her unique career path helped frame the rest of the process.
2. Create fervour about their abilities and begin marketing their unique personal brand. The creation of superior marketing documents (résumé, cover letter, social media bio/profile) was the next important step. Remember to take time to get this right the first time; your clients will not get a second chance to make a first impression. Ensuring that Hannah could speak to each point that was included within her marketing documents guaranteed authenticity in everything that created her brand. Helping her to reframe her skills set as her own personal brand, she discovered that this could help her market herself as a desirable commodity. Active marketing utilizing more than one avenue ensured success.
3. Identifying possible road blocks within the new locale. By utilizing the web, you can help teach your clients to quickly identify any and all possible difficulties that securing employment in their new city would bring; be that language differences, lack of industry within the area, etc. Planning for these will raise the success rate amongst your clients in securing employment. In Hannah’s case, research identified that the paramedic and county agencies were in a hiring freeze and would make her securing a position within the next few years an impossibility.
4. Guidance through entire process. With the help of her coach, she repackaged herself as a corporate first aid trainer within the medical field and now enjoys contracts (making much more than a paramedic would) with the various hospitals in her new city. Your clients will require this continued support not only as a way to market their new brand effectively, but also as a means to ensure that they maintain themselves on the path to success.
5. Identifying a spousal network. Within the scope of your guidance, helping your clients find a community of like-minded individuals will assist in maintaining positivism during their job search. One idea is to create an online forum within your own practice, which then would be a means to assist in perpetuating your coaching methodologies, and thus ensuring identifiable collaboration of success stories such as Hannah in the continued support of future trailing spouses.

Nicole Miller is at present working at the University of Ottawa, helping prepare students with their job search. She is also the President of Mil-Roy Consultants, a career transition firm that dedicates its practice to helping trailing spouses. You can contact her via email at nmiller@uottawa.ca or resumes@milroyconsultants.com.

Interested in the plight of trailing spouses? Check out Miranda Vande Kuyt’s article on how trailing spouses can adapt their careers to frequent moves.

by Marc Verhoeve

In an earlier article I wrote, A Look at Donald Super’s Stages of Career Development in the 21st Century (available on contactpoint.ca), I ended with a discussion about Super’s redefinition of the Decline Stage. As I have just reached the “65 Level”, I thought that I would discuss this stage… as a member of the first wave of Baby Boomers edging into retirement.

In my previous article, I stated:

“As I counsel these clients, I have the challenge of investigating with the client the range of options, from full-time to part-time “portfolio workers” to searching vehicles that service the non-work dimensions of one’s career. I have defined this stage as “career renewal” because it allows the client to investigate a wider range of activities because they are, in many cases, not constrained by the financial bonds of a full-time job. They become a “temporal millionaire” because they now fully own their time.”

Five years ago, when I turned 60, I “retired” from the education sector as a school counsellor after 32 years. I immediately transitioned to the role of Executive Director for the Ontario School Counsellors’ Association (OSCA). The transition of work culture was quite dramatic. After being in a work environment where I interacted daily with almost 2,000 students and over 100 staff, the shift to SOHO worker (Small Office/ Home Office) was a culture shock. No more bells to remind one of the time and no more interruptions via walk-in traffic or phone calls. While I missed the face-to-face interaction with students, teachers and parents, working from home significantly increased my productivity in projects and research. The downside was two-fold. First, one is forced to be an aggressive time manager, otherwise it can evolve into a 24/7 job. Second, there is the danger of professional isolation, unless one continually communicates with colleagues (via phone or email) to network and solicit feedback.

After five years, I have left my position at OSCA… to transition to the next stage in the retirement continuum. Interestingly, I received inquiries from colleagues and friends asking whether I was now REALLY going to retire. My response was: “You can’t pasture-ize me yet!”

As I indicated in my previous article, I have been consulting with Research Psychologists Press since the 1980s. When I left OSCA, RPP contacted me about providing input on the development of a new career assessment tool, Jackson Career Explorer, as well as working with them in the design of a JCE training webinar for school counsellors.

In addition, my previous career assessment private practice has auto-rebooted thanks to referrals from colleagues. (I had placed my practice in hiatus while I was working for OSCA). I have also initiated re-involvement with professional and community agencies.
On reflecting on my career-pathing in this last stage of Donald Super’s developmental model, I return to his redefinition of “career”, as I had discussed at length in my JVIS Manual:

Donald Super stated that one’s “career” encompasses all activities that comprise your identity; your job is that part that you get paid for. One’s “career resilience” increases when one does not invest all of one’s identity into one’s job (I termed this being “fire-proof”).

As one moves into retirement, this becomes even more critical. I have watched friends and colleagues move into retirement. Those who had extended their identity into the other sectors of Super’s constellation experienced a smooth transition into retirement. However, it was tragic to watch teacher-colleagues who retired before me return to the school staff room daily after their retirement day… lost, and not knowing where else to go.

Havighurst discussed this issue in his Activity theory:

“Thus older adults who are actively involved in a variety of situations and who establish new roles and relationships are more likely to age with a sense of satisfaction.” (Mosby’s Medical Dictionary, 8th edition. © 2009, Elsevier.)

This final stage in “career” development is becoming more critical because it has become a larger segment of one’s lifespan. German chancellor Otto von Bismarck created the world’s first comprehensive government social safety net in the 1880s, providing for old-age pensions and setting 60 as the age of retirement. He chose 60 because he thought that the number of citizens older than 60 would be insignificant. At a Teacher Pension info-session that I attended, we were told that, for most retired teachers in Ontario, their years in retirement usually outnumber the years that they worked as teachers!

A segment of my private-practice clients were “golden-handshakers” (early retirees). Their career paths were in one of three directions:

• Continuing (part-time) in their work sector
• Trying a new work sector
• Community/Volunteer work

These clients were proactive. They sought input before they reached retirement, not after retiring. I well remember an American Counseling Association conference workshop I attended 20 years ago which spoke to this; it had a very articulate session title: “After the World Cruise, What Then…?”

As I stated in a previous article about the evolution of one’s job, a bend in the road is not the end of the road… unless you fail to make the turn.
As one sees the distant pasture on one’s career path, one must remember that the pasture is not a destination, but a gateway to new activities, events and bucket-list locations that continue to enrich one’s life.

After 32 years in secondary school counselling, Marc Verhoeve has just completed a five-year term as the Executive Director of the Ontario School Counsellors’ Association.  He continues in his role as a Careerpathing Consultant. You can contact him at careerpathing@bell.net.

by Tami Anderson

The experience of being human entails being connected and interconnected to a whole. The workplace is exactly the same. We are in touch directly and indirectly to the entire world. What we do in our daily lives affects the people we can see and those we do not. The products and services provided by a company links to companies around the world, through consumers, suppliers, raw material producers and as far as global economic relationships. This has always been the case yet we are now more aware of these connections through instantaneous access to information, email, online shopping, social media and by local effects of foreign financial circumstance. Our world is becoming accessibly smaller.

Being this integrated means employers and employees are no longer tied to their immediate geographical resources to handle their employment needs. Then why do they both continue to stay within boundaries? Well, although human beings have a natural instinct to survive, moving to where food can be found (or jobs to pay for the food), we are limited by our thinking, expectations and perceived needs. The survival criterion has personalized from our prehistoric ancestors. Now, our perceived eminent danger includes any form of change that causes or could possibly cause a negative emotional response such as fear, shame or pain. When faced with something new, we challenge it with resistance or avoidance. We become stuck. Moving beyond boundaries takes awareness that we exist within those borders.

Awareness can be exactly what we need for a psychic change to a new way of thinking. A paradigm shift: At any given moment in time, there is an exact workplace for every person because for every job there is a person and for every person there is a job. Denise Bissonnette shared this thought with us at Cannexus 2010 in her keynote, Beyond Barriers to Passion and Possibility. That, in itself, is an absolute truth. We are interconnected for this primary reason. Every person is here to fulfill a purpose and their purpose includes having a job where their work is an extension and expression of who they truly are; not the role they play. It is each person’s job to figure out what this looks like and where it is because that is our key barrier.
Moving beyond this barrier, we actually begin to own this responsibility, the intent sets into motion our future. Alternatively, since nothing actually happens by chance, if we always do what we have always done, we will always get what we always got. What prevents each of us from this path of discovery is the change required to do it. It takes great fortitude, courage and supporters in our corner to make this happen.

Those in the career field are those supporters; guiding their clients to broaden their scope for opportunities into new, different or other areas. We remove barriers in this self-discovery.  According to a Cannexus 2010 and 2012 keynote speaker, Mark Savickas, people shift toward their life design when they move from tension to attention to intention. Seeing our life tapestry, we can break free to focus our work, enabling us to identify the job, industry and company that best fit. Or, a person may know their work passion and transcend their skills into a different industry. Which job, industry or company? What are my choices? Where is it? Endless possibility presents when we move beyond these self-imposed borders.

Alison, unhappy with her employer, asked for a resume, cover letter and job search direction, staying in her field. First, we looked at her uniqueness – her distinct skill, passion, aptitude, experience and essence. She discovered what she has that 98% of the population doesn’t. Then we identified the thoughts and feelings blocking her from seeing her special gifts. Then a package was creatively compiled to present to employers or clients. The final step is to investigate all the places to offer her unique solution. This blockage comes when people only see what is immediately in front of them, such as location. An opportunity presented itself to work in Australia! This did not come to pass but it opened the mind and she now explores all possibilities.

Many jobs are outside our home territory and our comfort zone. The same effective search tools apply to all job locations. Right now there are companies across Canada literally screaming for employees. Relocating to foreign countries may be desirable, especially among the youngest working generation; it may be preferred since working abroad fulfils both employment and the travel bug. Who needs what your client has to offer? Search location sites, company websites, employment agencies, outplacement firms, companies growing or diversifying, even recruitment agencies. Network and communicate with people working in a selected region. Help clients create a list of Canadian companies in their field. Find out what they offer such as training, career advancement or relocating. The cost of relocating can be cause for concern. Negotiating the cost over a period of one to three years minimizes the pressure and shows a two-sided commitment.

The biggest hurdle to change is feelings. In our field, we need to deal with these more effectively to help people move beyond what is holding them back. It takes support, knowledge, courage and a plan to make these kinds of changes happen and move beyond the borders.

 
Tami Anderson lives in Okotoks, AB with her hubby, Jack. They enjoy their array of pets – cats, horses and anew dog. Through her business, Best Foot Forward Consulting Inc., her focus is on the essence of Life at work for companies and all their people.