At some point in your life, you will feel stuck.
You wake up each morning, head into the office, get through the day, and head home.
Repeat it the next day, and the day after, and the day after that.
You feel undervalued. You feel like you have nothing to contribute. You feel like you’ve done it all, like there’s nothing new to learn. You might have colleagues who are backstabbing you. Or a boss who doesn’t offer an encouraging word or champions your growth.
And yet, you keep doing what you do because you can’t figure out what else…
Are You Ready for the Next Recession? Ten Tips to Prepare Your Career to better navigate life’s ups and downs.
By Stephen Dupont, APR
The U.S. economy continues to expand. In fact, according to the Federal Reserve of St. Louis, we are currently in the third longest economic expansion since World War II.
However, if you’ve been around long enough, you know that a recession will likely happen sometime in the future. It’s not a matter of if, but when. And while the stock market is not the economy, one can’t help but wonder what the future may hold after…
Developing critical soft skills is the key to long-term success in the workplace of 2030 and beyond (and even now)
By Stephen Dupont, APR
If you think you’ll be working in a business profession such as marketing, communications, legal, finance or sales in 2030 or beyond, let me put this simply and bluntly: the robots are coming.
In the not-so-distant future, it’s highly probable that one of your co-workers will be a robot or droid, assisting you in the development of your work. Or, it may be software that replaces you. …
12 Tips on Career Planning for Couples
Stephen Dupont, APR
Over the course of my career I have met with dozens of people of all ages seeking advice about their careers, from college students anxious about launching their careers to seasoned executives who need to make a mid-life change (sometimes, not necessarily by choice).
In reflecting on those conversations, I noticed a pattern — most people, in talking about their individual careers, rarely mention their spouse or a long-time partner. …
By Stephen Dupont, APR
What is the secret to a great story?
It’s this: With every sentence, the story advances.
Word by word, sentence by sentence, paragraph by paragraph, page by page, the story moves forward.
Each word and each sentence compels the reader to read the next word and the next sentence and the next page.
This is how great books, movies, speeches and albums are built.
And, it’s how you should think about building your career.
Sure, there are some shortcuts you can take on the way to your desired career goals. …
Everyday, we ask others for things, to do something for us, or for favors. Some asks, however, are more difficult than others, such as asking for a sale, the money to fund a new business, or for a donation to fund a big cause. Here are some thoughts on learning the art of asking.
By Stephen Dupont, APR
How will you ever know, unless you ask?
For many people, asking for something from another person is very difficult.
In fact, sometimes, it feels like the hardest thing to do in the world.
Asking for money…
For a date…
For a…
Kick your career into high gear starting with committing to investing in your career every day.
By Stephen Dupont, APR
Do you feel stuck in your career? Do you feel like you’re ready for a change? Do you want to get your career back on the fast track? Do you want to do work that feels more fulfilling? Are you ready to take on the next big challenge in your life?
If so, here’s a quick checklist of 23 tips to start kicking your career into high gear. The key to using it is to jump on your bike and…
By Stephen Dupont, APR
So there you are, interviewing someone — for a job, an article, a podcast, or a research report.
Or maybe you bump into a leading influencer at a major conference, or the CEO of your company in the hallway at work.
Is it better to demonstrate that you know the answers, or is it more important to ask a particularly relevant question?
The Impact of a Great Question
We all know the power, emotion and the impact of a great question.
“Will you marry me?”
“We need a person like you. Would you join our company?”
“Will you be my…
How do you know if a career choice is the right one for you… or not?
By Stephen Dupont
At some point in your career, you will face a big opportunity or challenge that — based on the decision you make — could significantly alter the path of your life.
One of those fork-in-the-road moments came for me as a young account executive working for a Minneapolis-based advertising and public relations firm.
I received a phone call from a devilishly smart headhunter on a frigid day (-10 degrees Fahrenheit) in January to consider moving from Minneapolis to Los Angeles to…
By Stephen Dupont
Over the past three years, I have had the opportunity to interview hundreds truck drivers, construction workers and heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) technicians about their jobs, gathering insights to develop content for my clients’ websites and social media pages.
Who are these people?
Whether they’re Americans, Canadians, British or Australian, they’re down-to-earth, hardworking people who want better lives for themselves and those they love.
I learned all about their work. What they did each day and how they did it. As well as the tools they used to complete their work.
But I wanted to…
Stephen Dupont
Minneapolis public relations/marketing professional exploring creativity, idea generation, careers and change. Subscribe to my blog at www.stephendupont.co.
