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Before my last career change, I was introduced to an incredibly helpful book, The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting up to Speed Faster and Smarter by Michael D. Watkins. This book became an essential guide as I started my new role. Watkins argues that your first 90 days in a new role is… Read more

I have enjoyed many careers. I was Daisy the Clown, a college instructor, primary caregiver, a University Academic Advisor and most recently, a Registered Clinical Counsellor in private practice. This is my 10th career transition. Through each career I derived a sense of identity, purpose, and worth. In each career transition, I felt self-critical, fearful,… Read more

In comparison to the time you invest in crafting your resume, employers spend only a fraction of that time reviewing it. For your resume to make it to the list of “to consider” candidates, you need to provide clear evidence that you possess the right strengths and experience for the advertised position. In this post,… Read more

“When one chapter closes, another opens”. Gone were the long bus rides to campus, the weekly VSEUS meetings, and days of frantically cramming for exams the night before. The idea of having to face new challenges in life seemed so expectable, yet that reality did not set in for me until my last moments on… Read more

I love a good podcast. Although, truthfully, I really only started enjoying them quite recently. I am more of a visual learner; and it was difficult to adapt at first.  However, I decided to try it again and I found so much joy tapping into this super popular medium covering so many topics – including… Read more

There are very few people who feel comfortable having difficult conversations with someone on their team, their supervisor or even in their personal lives. But they are so important as you move forward in your career.  To reframe the idea,  I like to think of them as courageous conversations. Tough and direct conversations can be… Read more

UBC. It’s yours. My hope for the international graduates reading this post is that the allegorical “it” will refer to a successful journey through your post-graduate career. For me personally, this journey included more than six months of job-searching before I finally settled into a permanent position, which allowed me to become a Canadian Permanent… Read more

For a lot of people, the thought of journaling sounds like writing in a diary, but it can be much more than that. Journaling is a powerful outlet to jot down thoughts, questions or insights, and it can help settle the brain and create greater self-awareness; a key component in career self-management.