Career Coaching & Career Advice Blog

Beyond strengthening bonds with those around you, the Holidays offer an invaluable opportunity for reflection.

In recent years, the New Year’s resolution has been battered in the media. However, there is a natural cycle occurring that we can and should benefit from. We are hardwired to wind up the old year and ring in the new. It is a natural time to reflect on where we have been and where we want to go. The Holidays also offer the potential for time off, or, depending on the business you are in…

Of course, during the Holidays, you have competing demands for your time and attention. Parties to attend. If you celebrate Christmas, shopping and preparation to do. The lead-up to Christmas is a natural time for socializing. While your schedule may be crammed, there is a career development opportunity.

1. Build Ties within your organization

The Holidays are a natural time to solidify ties within your place of work. Let’s face it. The bonds between colleagues can get stretched. Difficult decision…

The Holidays are not a career development wasteland. In fact, December & January are a powerful time for career development. There are 3 time periods, or natural phases that take place during the Holidays and each phase has its own inherent opportunities. They are:

1. The Social Phase

2. The Reflective Phase

3. The New Beginnings Phase

How can you make the most of the Holidays? I will look at each of these in turn over the next day or two.

I have a book that I bought, apparently in London judging by the price sticker on the back, many years ago. I don’t remember doing so, but I have read this book, cover to cover, several times and it has a permanent place on my shelf. Back in the 18th century, there was an English Lord, diplomat, and politician by the name of Lord Chesterfield (yes, that’s where that word comes from). He had a son who he sent away to be educated from an early age. Rather than neglect, he had a very specific educa…

Heather Hamilton at Microsoft has a superb blog.

Any long-time readers here and my clients will know that I am a strong advocate of the hand-written post-interview thank-you note.

In my opinion, Heather has nailed the subject with her recent post:
Heather’s “Marketing and Finance at Microsoft” Blog : Post-interview ‘Thank You’ notes

Back in the 18th and 19th centuries, once the printing press had become more common, there was a self-publishing phenomenon. Books, yes, but from what I understand a great deal of pamphlets, or what we might understand as articles, white papers, and booklets. For political purposes. For scientific glory. For vanity. For scandal.

Great titles like "The Migratory Habits of the Peruvian Mudhatch, Modestly Proposed by a Gentleman."

The means of publishing had become accessible enough that people were …