6 Places to Go to Tap into Job Shadowing Opportunities

In a conversation with a university professor today, I was struck by his comment that his high achieving students know what general field they want to go into (finance, engineering, nursing) but they actually have no clue what different career options are available in the fields of study they have chosen and they don’t have a clue what working in these fields would involve on a day-to-day basis.   If this is the case, most of us, even the high achievers out there are making careers decisions based on hope and prayer, on what just sounds good, not actually on

The What and Why of Competencies as Seen through CDF Training and SHRM’s new move

The HR world has been all a buzz with SHRM’s announcement of a switch to a competency-based certification. In an email to members, the SHRM CEO stated,  “We believe a competency-based certification is the new standard for HR professionals around the globe. Our members have told us this; and we have listened.” Regardless of whether or not you agree or disagree with SHRM’s move, competency models are prevalent.  The career development world has been competency-based through its Career Development Facilitator Training for quite some time. What is a competency? Good ole Wikipedia provides us with this definition: “A competency is

Career Development Facilitator Competencies in Action- Tell, Show and DO

One of the reasons I love CDF training is because the competencies that the training emphasizes fit together so nicely.  Not only that, but they also spur action through behaviors as any good competency model should do. An example of 2 CDF competencies in action Take these two competencies:   “Helping Skills – Be proficient in the basic career facilitating process while including productive interpersonal relationships.” And “Program Management/Implementation – Understand career development programs and their implementation, and work as a liaison in collaborative relationships.” In the CDF training, you learn that helping skills includes being competent in helping others

2 Reasons You Should Consider Dual Career Ladders

Being in a leadership role seems to be the ideal in most companies. Leading is what people strive for, and in most cases I think this is the norm because it is the only path by which advancement can take place. Want to move up and get paid more? Well then you have to lead and manage others. Another way to help people grow A client we’re working with is considering dual career ladders for the organization. With this organizational structure, there are advancement opportunities into the traditional route of leadership, but there is also a path by which people

4 Criteria for Creativity: Women Working or Drones?

What’s more creative:  1) drones delivering a Kindle to your door in 30 minutes or less or 2) women working? According to Fast Company’s  100 Most Creative People in Business, women in the workplace, in Saudi Arabia at least, is more creative. Princess Reema Bint Bandar Al-Saud topped the list of most creative people in business by inviting Saudi women to work. Quoted as saying, “You cannot have half your population not working,” the princess emphasizes why an “innovation” with people is more important than technology that allows all kinds of things to be delivered to your door as quickly