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Chris Callanan

With a goal of bringing greater clarity and consistency to our national conversations about career development, CERIC developed a set of “Guiding Principles of Career Development” that have been enthusiastically embraced across Canada. These eight Guiding Principles are intended as a starting point to inform discussions with clients, employers, funders, policymakers and families.Each issue of Careering features a Guiding Principle “in action,” exploring how a career professional is applying a Principle in practice.

Guiding Principle: Career development is dynamic, evolving and requires continuous adaption and resilience through multiple transitions.

As career development practitioners (CDPs), we work with individuals primarily at key transition points in their lives. This can include job loss and relocation as well as the desire for a change. Our role is to empower clients to make sustainable choices, aspire to goals, and identify their strengths and weaknesses. This process is unique to each client and can produce many varying results. As CDPs, we work with our clients to guide them down this path and the twists and turns that go along with it to reach the end goal of sustainable employment. I help clients learn to embrace opportunities by recognizing that personal growth comes from change.

Embrace change

People are affected by and interpret change in different ways. As a CDP, I often meet individuals whose resumes state that they “love change” and “enjoy new challenges.” However, a new dynamic in their previous or current employment is often what led them to my office in the first place. When this is the case, I find it helpful to have the client define what they like and don’t like about change. I also explain to clients that this self-knowledge helps them better understand what is happening around them. This allows them to identify any barriers that may get in the way of embracing change. Clients can then apply this objective self-knowledge to examining and strengthening their resume.

When clients are struggling with transition, whether it be job loss or having to move into a completely new sector, I also respond to them with empathy. I tell them that I understand change and uncertainty can be scary and unnerving, but it can also create opportunities for personal growth and development. I share that embracing change is what led me to my current career; had I not embraced it, I would have been on a very different path. After spending the bulk of my career within the retail sector, the company for which I worked was facing a complete closure of all stores. During my job search, an opportunity to work within the career development sector presented itself. I embraced this change and this transition has been key to my career. Sharing my story allows the client sitting across from me to see that I have also faced change and used it to move forward.

Learn from experiences

The skill of learning from one’s own successes and failures is also a key component of thriving amid transition. Sometimes, a shift in mindset can be what’s needed to have a clear understanding of the situation. This shift can be seen in the client building upon their self-knowledge to better understand what caused them to arrive at this new turn in their career path.

I guide clients through a reflection of their entire work history. Working in a resource-based community, I often meet with clients who are being laid off after holding a long-term position due to changes in labour market conditions. Clients share that their work is their life and it is who they are. This can be a difficult process for clients to face.

I can recall one client who was displaced by a workplace injury after 30 years of working for a forestry company. After many conversations, it became clear that this client had a passion to teach his trade to others. We worked on having this client apply to a local college as a part-time trades instructor. Allowing the client to share his journey helped me determine how to best offer support and assistance.

Don’t miss our previous Principles in Action articles:

Embracing external influences to help guide career exploration

Uncovering interests to find the best career fit

Understanding, navigating and choosing career options

Be resilient and adaptable

As this Guiding Principle of Career Development asserts, change is inevitable in career development. The ability to embrace it exemplifies a resiliency that many employers look for in potential hires. Adaptability and flexibility are integral to this.

Adapting to a change at a workplace could include gaining new skills, using a previous skill set in a new way or learning to appreciate constructive criticism. More significant events such as a major health incident, workplace injury or job loss can require more intensive adaptations such as physical, mental and financial shifts. It’s at this point that the ability to become resilient and learn from the process comes into play. We cannot control everything in our lives, but we can control how we react to it. Being open-minded when they are pushed out of their comfort zone helps with clients’ personal growth.

To help clients build resiliency, I encourage them to adopt a growth mindset, wherein they learn from their mistakes and take the necessary actions to correct them. To do so, I guide them through a reflection on these questions:

1. What employment goal are you working toward?
2. How are you going to achieve it?
3. What do you need to do next to move forward?

As CDPs, if we take time to ask clients these questions, we will see greater engagement and a willingness to strive further. This critical-thinking exercise will better equip clients to face future challenges with perseverance and resiliency.

Facing the future

Career development is dynamic, evolving and requires continuous adaption and resilience through multiple transitions. It is my experience that the jobseekers’ path from job loss to gaining employment can be ever-changing, and learning to embrace challenges, evolve and be ready to face what comes next are skills that should be encouraged and developed. A growth mindset is one of the most valuable things a client can bring to the process.

Chris Callanan is the Regional Manager for Employment Services at North Island Employment (NIEFS), a BC-based, award-winning not-for-profit workforce development organization. He brings a diverse background in leadership and human resources roles to NIEFS, allowing him to foster meaningful and valuable relationships in his community with clients and employers alike.

Successfully narrowing down a high schooler’s university choice involves commitment to exploration and to uncovering passions 

Hoda Kilani

In this recurring Careering feature, career professionals share their real-life solutions to common problems in the field

I wear many hats working with high school students. I guide them to self-reflect. I mentor them to explore different career options. I scaffold them to pinpoint an academic path. They are on a journey to develop self-awareness and self-knowledge, eager to narrow down choices and make informed decisions. I view my role as their coach, guide, cheerleader, mentor, motivator and accountability partner.

I love working with these clients as they start their independent life journeys. However, there are many ethical considerations involved since they are considered minors. When working with a high school student, I am not only committing to help my client but am also bound by the parents’ hopes for their child. This requires balancing and interactive processes that implore all parties to work toward finding the right fit for the client. It is an extra challenge I take on as I add the hat of discussion facilitator to my role.

Despite their young age, each client brings a unique story. The hats I wear vary depending on their story. One young client’s case vividly displayed how I wear all of the above hats. His name was Peter.

Peter’s story 

Peter’s mom and dad were first-generation immigrants and expected their son to attend university. They were both successful professionals working in their specialized graduate engineering degrees.

Peter did not want to disappoint his parents and admitted that he needed help choosing a university program. His interests were so diverse that he was challenged by the idea of narrowing down his choice to one program. Peter was in Grade 11 and was eager to find a university program that would both interest and challenge him. He was clear that he wanted to attend a prestigious university that would provide him with access to the best academic, technological and vocational resources. However, he wanted to take a gap year to figure out which program he would choose. His parents were worried that a gap year might lead him to give up on attending university altogether. They were hoping he would choose an engineering program due to his passion for mathematics.

Peter was designated by his school as a “gifted” learner, a term that the school defined as having an IQ score of 130 +/- 5, implying above-average intelligence. In school, he was on the honours list, having received above 95% in all subjects. He had also taken Advanced Placement courses in six subjects, an indication of his strong academic skills. His resume was full of accomplishments. These included accolades from multiple volunteer positions as well as awards from debate competitions and science fairs.

Peter was a confident young man, a planner and a positive thinker. He was looking for a program that would allow him to develop “real-life” experiences and acquire “hands-on” knowledge. With his ability to excel in intellectual, academic and artistic fields, Peter was apprehensive about choosing one program that would limit his use of his multiple talents. 

The coaching processes 

With Peter, as with all my young clients, my coaching services included two processes.

The first process involved sessions with Peter and his parents. The parents’ role is important when working with high school students. They are paying for my assistance. Peter’s parents trusted me and suggested Peter uses my services; their expectations were an important part of exploring his choices.

During our first session, I actively listened to Peter and his parents to learn about each of their expectations and assess the level of open communication between them. Subsequent sessions updated Peter’s parents of the progress happening in the second process.

The second process engaged Peter in research and self-assessment tasks. The aim of these sessions was to help him develop the mindfulness necessary to learn what is best for him. Ultimately, the goal was for Peter to make his own decision about his career pathway.

“Peter had the freedom to develop self-awareness and apply processes for self-knowledge through independent exploration and guided reflection.”

As part of his research, Peter had already accessed personality and career assessment resources that are freely available online. He told me that these tools did not inspire him to find his true passions. Peter needed help to reach the decision for himself. My role was to mentor him to bring out what was already inside while providing him with support along the way. I guided him to continue his individual research and report results that he deemed valuable for us to reflect on together. I also assigned two tasks.

The first task required Peter to complete a Career Self-Assessment Chart. With the help of questions provided as part of the task (eg, what do you like to do during your free time? What are the first words that come to mind when describing yourself?), he chose three personal skills, abilities and interests to help him better understand his personal value.

Next, I asked Peter to reflect on his academic, volunteer and extracurricular activities and identify three real-world STAR (Situation, Task, Accomplishment, Results) experiences. I challenged him to be ready to explain his reasons for choosing these experiences. My goal for this task was to help Peter prioritize his passions.

Passions uncovered 

Our exploration sessions were based on Peter’s research results, Career Self-Assessment Chart responses and chosen STAR experiences. My priority was to establish trust throughout our sessions. Peter had the freedom to develop self-awareness and apply processes for self-knowledge through independent exploration and guided reflection. He felt safe, supported and respected to voice his inner thoughts, and was inspired to pinpoint his passions.

Mathematics, drawing and writing were his top choices. Through exploring various educational pathways and career destinations based on these passions, Peter was able to envision potential university programs. My role was to facilitate the extension of every career pathway that Peter chose through powerful questioning, creating awareness and envisioning progress.

Peter initially came up with nine possible programs – three from each passion. I challenged him to think of interdisciplinary programs that would allow him to combine two or all three of his passions. Peter’s parents were engaged at this point and were prompted to share their thoughts. In these sessions, I was the discussion facilitator, observing the brainstorming and prompting exploration. Using a flowchart helped everyone envision the career pathway of every potential university program. Architecture won the day.

Peter’s parents shared that this was not a pathway that they would have considered, since their focus was solely on Peter’s strength in mathematics. Peter was particularly happy with the ability to have a say and take ownership of his future. The support he received to research and recognize his gifts, strengths and interests allowed him to see himself as a resource. He felt that he had control over his life pathway.

Peter was accepted into the university program of his choice. He completed a Bachelor of Architecture and is now working in a world-renowned architectural firm.

Hoda Kilani, EdD, CPCC, is a career coach specialized in working with emerging adults (ages 14 to 25) at Right Career Fit. She strives to increase the level of understanding and awareness of the importance of career literacy among her young clients through workshops, speaking engagements, blogs and research.  

Lindsay Purchase, CERIC Content & Communications Editor

In between watching Office Space and Gladiator in my Grade 10 Careers class (essential viewing for our career education), we took an online career aptitude test. Would I be a veterinarian? An author? No, the destiny that awaited me – a student who later quit school sports for human rights club – was to be a professional athlete.

I found this process confusing and unhelpful – hardly a unique first experience with career assessments. However, it illustrates a couple of important points: 1) Not all career assessments, formal or informal, are created equally, and 2) Results interpretation with a trained career professional is an important part of the assessment process.

CERIC is thrilled to share with you our second collaborative issue of Careering magazine with the US-based National Career Development Association (NCDA) on the theme of “Career Assessments.” A robust overview of informal and formal assessments, the feature article by JoAnn Harris-Bowlsbey from the NCDA’s Summer Career Developments magazine, is included in Careering. Both magazines also contain an interview with assessment expert Dr Chris Wood of the University of Las Vegas and an infographic exploration of how career professionals can best use assessments. You can learn more about Career Developments at ncda.org.

Our print articles and robust offering of online-exclusives approach the Career Assessments theme from a broad range of perspectives. This issue examines a variety of assessment tools and strategies, from widely used career tests to unique, homegrown approaches (try bringing music into your career conversations for surprisingly insightful results). Learn tips for weaving assessment results into a meaningful whole, what happened when one career professional decided to test out five popular assessment tools on herself and much more.

A secondary theme of career transition emerged in this issue’s recurring features. Principles in Action looks at the dynamic nature of career development, while our Client Side writer shares her experience with career counselling during a mid-life career pivot.

Happy reading!

CERIC-funded project to examine role of career education on outcomes of young Canadians

The Social Research and Demonstration Corporation (SRDC) is undertaking a project, supported by CERIC, that will identify the impact of career interventions/education on high school students’ post-secondary choices and workforce outcomes. The project will use data documenting 10 years in the lives of 7,000 young Canadians across 72 schools in British Columbia, Manitoba and New Brunswick, including their occupational aspirations at age 14, their post-secondary education and their earnings. It aims to help equip the career counselling profession to respond authoritatively to increasingly urgent policy questions about how best to structure career education for young people.

Visit ceric.ca to learn more about the project.

Brookfield Institute report examines diverse drivers of change in Canadian labour market

Turn and Face the Strange: Changes impacting the future of employment in Canada illuminates the diverse and intersecting trends driving change in Canada’s labour market. While technological trends will play a significant role in the future of work, many other trends could also influence future skills demand in positive and negative ways. Turn and Face the Strange paints a complex picture of the future, exploring 31 broad trends in the areas of:

• Demographic change
• Globalization
• Technological change
• Environmental sustainability
• Urbanization
• Increasing inequality
• Political uncertainty

Brookfield Institute is continuing research in this area and is planning to share an insights report in summer 2019 based on workshops held in six Canadian locations.

Head to brookfieldinstitute.ca to read the report.

Training for working Canadians is scarce, Public Policy Forum report finds

This report examines Canada’s strengths and weaknesses in skills development as well as training models from around the world, and suggests improvements to lifelong learning systems. It suggests that while Canada’s K-12 education system is a world leader in equipping children and young people with the skills they need, training opportunities for workers in the labour force are scarce and unevenly distributed. Among the findings:

• Less than one-third of Canadians receive job-related, non-formal education.
• Those who do get job-related training receive only 49 hours of instruction annually, below the OECD average of 58 hours.
• Less educated, Indigenous and older workers, as well as workers living in rural and remote communities, are less likely to receive workplace training.

Check out the full report at ppforum.ca.

Research report sheds light on Canada’s settlement sector

The Competencies of Front-line Settlement Practitioners in Canada: A Background Research Report is part of a project funded by CERIC and led by ECaliber Group and Calience Research that aims to enhance understanding of capacity-building among settlement workers. This timely report examines the nature of front-line settlement work and the context in which it is carried out. It also reviews what research and work has been undertaken toward strengthening the competencies of front-line settlement practitioners.

A finalized set of competencies and career pathways as well as insights gained during the implementation of the project will be captured in a final report and an infographic.

Find out more about this project at ceric.ca.

Ontario inadequately preparing students for jobs, adulthood: report

Ontario schools are falling behind in preparing students for future jobs and adulthood, according to a Counselling Foundation of Canada-funded report by People for Education titled Roadmaps and roadblocks: Career and life planning, guidance and streaming in Ontario’s schools. The province has a policy aimed at supporting students, from kindergarten to Grade 12, for career and life planning, but schools are struggling to implement it, the report says. These challenges come at a time when there is growing pressure to prepare students for a rapidly changing, increasingly complex future, the report suggests.

Read the report at peopleforeducation.ca.

View PDF here: What’s in your career assessments toolbox?

This infographic was also published in the 2019 Summer issue of Career Developments, the National Career Development Association print magazine.

Dr Chris Wood is an Associate Professor and Department Chair in the Counselor Education, School Psychology and Human Services Department at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He has been a faculty member at Old Dominion University, Seattle University, Ohio State University and the University of Arizona. Dr Wood has previous experience as a high school counsellor, a counselling/guidance department chair, a counsellor/group leader at a residential youth facility for troubled teens and a career counsellor at an alternative school serving grades 7-12.

Dr Wood was the editor of the Professional School Counseling Journal for six years. He has been the principal investigator or faculty research associate on over $3 million in state and federal grants. He has over 30 conference presentations and 30 publications including articles in Professional School Counseling, the Journal of Counseling & Development, the Journal of College Counseling, Counselor Education and Supervision, Career Planning and Adult Development Journal, and The Elementary School Journal. Dr Wood was co-editor of the 5th and 6th editions of the National Career Development Association (NCDA) publication A Counselor’s Guide to Career Assessment Instruments. He was honoured with the American Counseling Association’s Fellow Award in 2017.

Dr Wood was also interviewed for the 2019 Summer issue of Career Developments, the National Career Development Association print magazine.

In a sentence or two, describe why career development matters.

Career development matters because it helps individuals actualize their dreams and it gives society a chance to ameliorate inequities created by sociopolitical oppression. When individuals don’t experience adequate career development interventions, they are susceptible to socializing forces that minimize their career opportunities and society misses out on the many benefits such individuals could have provided.

Which book are you reading right now and why did you choose it?

I’m trying to finish The Truths We Hold by Kamala Harris. I heard her speak on my campus several months ago and was immensely impressed. Her children’s book is good, too – my daughters and I enjoyed reading it.

What was your first-ever job and what did you learn from it?

My first real paying job was as a kennel person at a veterinary clinic. My job was to clean cages and clean up after animals. It was a dirty job but I enjoyed it. They made a special award for me after I had been there a year because no one had lasted in the position more than a few months.

One of the veterinarians was going to night school to study/learn to be an engineer. He hated being a vet but was visibly animated when discussing vectors and related math.

So, I think from that job I learned lessons both about the value of hard work and the importance of matching intellectual interests to a career.

What do you do to relax and how does it help you?

Relaxing is definitely a weakness of mine, but I love to read and I enjoy playing the game Words with Friends on my phone. Both of these activities help me unwind before bed.

What is the one thing you wouldn’t be able to work without? Why?

A good desk. I like to work in the library – it feels like a special treat, to have a large table and be surrounded by books. I try to get work done on airplanes but it’s a physically and mentally taxing process.

What is the most unusual interview question you’ve ever been asked and how did you respond?

I was asked, “What kind of plant would you be?” I think I said, ”I don’t know.” Such questions make me wish I would say something like “Venus flytrap, for obvious reasons,” and then just wring my hands like a villain.

What’s something you want to do in the next year that you’ve never done before?

I would like to be on time more often than I am late!

Who would you like to work with most and why?

I’d like to work with Ruth Bader Ginsburg (RBG). I think I would learn a lot from her. I found the documentary on her life and career to be very inspirational. A colleague of mine gave me an action figure of RBG and I keep it on the shelf in my office.

Which talent or superpower would you like to have and how would you use it?

I wish I could pause time – if I had that superpower I would never be late. Maybe eventually I would also figure out ways to use it to help people and for the greater good of society, but the initial appeal is just being on time for appointments and finishing tasks on time.

What do you consider your greatest achievement and why?

Being a father to my 4-year-old and 6-year-old daughters (as author and therapist Virginia Satir pointed out, ‘peoplemaking’ is probably the most important thing we can do). Like their mother, they are very smart, funny, beautiful, multi-talented and seem to like hanging out with me (despite the fact that I lack most of the aforementioned qualities!).

Check out our previous 10 Questions interviews with: 

The Rt. Hon. David Johnston

Dr Mary McMahon

Deborah Saucier

In this Careering feature, jobseekers reflect on successes and struggles in their career development 

When a series of life changes left Debra Thompson at a fork in the road, she turned to a former client for guidance – and became the client herself

Our business relationship started several years ago, when she was the client and I was an account executive for a global training company. We met a couple of times while working on a project and I immediately felt a kinship and a professional connection that is rare in such a short time. Afterward, we remained in touch professionally over LinkedIn. Fast forward a couple years later and I noticed some of her social media posts focused on career coaching. Barbara Wilson was launching a new venture: Thrive Career Consulting.

Over a year ago, I reached out and suggested we connect. I had no plan, but I was curious about what she was doing and how it might help me. This time, I would be the client and she would be the coach.

I shared with her that I had reached a stalemate in my career journey, a fork in the road and that I was unsure about where to go next or how to get there. My work environment and my job were changing dramatically, I had lost my father to suicide, my mom was going through cancer treatments for a second time and my only daughter was finishing university. Meanwhile, I was trying to make sense of what the next 10-15 years of my career were going to look like as I approached retirement. I didn’t know if I had the strength to start another sales career to build my brand and I had no idea what I wanted to do. I was also tired, unbalanced and desperately in need of self-care. I knew one thing – that I needed help to navigate or I would continue to flounder.

I had no idea what this call for help would mean to me in the coming months and how it would lead me down a path I could have never envisioned for myself. The journey had pivots and pitfalls and helped me learn the world is much smaller than I thought.

Assessing values and weighing possibilities

Our work started with a short phone meeting and Barb giving an overview of how she could help. I remember her telling me I had a lot on my plate, which was true. During my rare moments of spare time, we continued with the coaching sessions.

We spent time talking about my career goals and what I liked and didn’t like about my current job, where I was facing organizational and industry changes. I often felt relieved after each session, when I unloaded all of my “life updates” on Barb. She was a patient listener and she kept me on track.

We did questionnaires and a Wheel of Life assessment, where I was asked to assess my focus on various aspects of my life and do a values exercise. This last exercise yielded three values – resilience, initiative and life balance. I was then asked to reflect on these values in a number of ways to find my own career values.

Additionally, we spent time reflecting on homework and actions I was taking during the process. One of the pieces of homework was to “hire a financial planner.” This might be unexpected advice from a career coach, but this was what I needed to assess what kind of career I could pursue and what retirement would look like for me. I did values and skills card sorts and I involved my family in assessing my skills and values – they were along for the ride whether they wanted to be or not. I reminded them that my happiness was their happiness.

Big network, small world

After a few weeks, we determined the not-for-profit sector as an area of interest. I have been a lifelong volunteer and wanted to spend time in my next career giving back. I also enjoyed the creative pursuits of writing, communicating and building relationships.

While I spent time researching roles, Barb connected me with her network and encouraged me to contact people in the NFP sector to conduct informational interviews. Having honed my cold calling and prospecting skills in my sales work, I was ready for this, but my “interviewees” made it that much easier and the NFP sector was particularly welcoming. Even those who were complete strangers to me openly shared their advice and career journeys, and even introduced me to others in their own network. Many have become valued mentors.

I developed an amazing network and the small world stories started piling up. One of the first informational interviews I had was with a recruitment professional who had posted a role I was interested in on LinkedIn. We discovered we had many connections and had likely crossed paths a few times without even knowing it.

Read more:

Client Side: How I found my career fit in science

Client Side: How my disability changed my perspective on jobseeking

Finding fit with career values

A few months into the coaching process, while I was still figuring out the role I wanted and had not yet applied to other positions, I was restructured out of my job. After the initial shock wore off, I was relieved because I had already started the journey. After a short break, I kicked things into high gear. With Barb’s help, I remained connected with my network, built an amazing resume and cover letter, and upped my interview game. Looking for a job became my job.

After three months, I found an amazing job with a local education council that checked all my boxes and aligned with my career values. I realized in the first interview that it was a fit for me and my new employer.

On my first day, I realized I had a connection with most of my new co-workers from either volunteering, my previous career or my personal life. The recruitment pro I mentioned? Turns out she’s one of my employer’s greatest community supporters and was thrilled to learn I’d joined them. Small world indeed.

We don’t hesitate to hire a professional to help us with our physical or mental health, but many are reluctant to reach out to an expert for career development assistance. I say, do it! Without going on this journey, I would not have found the role I now know is a great fit for me.

Debra Thompson is Communications and Community Outreach Manager for the Halton Industry Education Council (HIEC) and resides in Burlington, ON. She’s also a girlfriend, mom, daughter, reader, photographer, volunteer, self-professed foodie and tweeter of randomness.