You better reflect on your career: a starter’s guide

For many people, career reflection is not a priority, but done on a reactive basis, involuntarily, to an unexpected negative event.

Sometimes a boss forces you to reflect on why something bad happened, by asking…

Why I hate the word mentor: Tips for finding career advisors

I hate the word “mentor.”

(Ok, not for “young” people, but in the traditional business context)

Career coaching is not enough

There are a lot of career coaches out there. In fact, there are over 15,000 certified career coaches in the United States. The vast majority work in private practices serving individuals. Most are pretty expensive, typically charging between $150–250 per hour for their…

You would ask friends to help in a relationship crisis, so why not a career crisis?

A few years ago, I had the dubious experience of exiting a romantic relationship and a working relationship of over a decade’s duration, each, around the same time.

Career pivots are common and predictable

Various studies conducted by Pew Research, the Department of Labor, and others clearly demonstrate that people will have more careers and more jobs over their lifetimes than ever before. This is especially true with Millennials, but applies to older workers…

I blazed my own career trail, so can you

At the time I joined a management consulting firm — another in a line of pivots from teacher to interim dean to business student — I thought I was going to stay for 2–3 years, pretty much as a postgraduate degree in business, and then work my way back to the…

10 dating tips that can help your job search

I’ve written before about the need to reach out for career advice in the same way…

The one thing people almost always get wrong when networking

You may think you’re not very good at networking, and you may be right. The “good” news is that most people are even worse at it than you. But by the time you’ve finished reading, you’ll be on your way to being a brilliant…

Your mentors are allowed to be younger

In a recent piece, I declared my hatred for the word “mentor.”

My reasons for such strong dislike include the framing of the relationship. Another reason is what mentors are “supposed” to look like. Ignoring the full range of…

A View of “Career” from a College Frosh

I recently finished my freshman year at Stanford University. I have felt happy here, in this moment and place. Lucky. I have learned and made friends and had fun. In this present, I am content.