Leave work at work!

Technology has certainly improved speed and ease of communication over recent years with increased productivity in general, but this increased accessibility has had much negative impact on many worker’s sense of career fulfilment. There are frequent distractions from push notifications emails, texts and calls that decrease our ability to focus on tasks. Junior staff find […]

Decision-making under pressure

Researchers have generated a lot of information about decision-making under pressure. At least two facts that arise are that it is important to (1) be able to manage your stress response, and (2) manage your decision-making strategies. Both of these factors can be learned and improved. Almost every job may require you, at some point […]

What is career fulfillment?

Seeking career fulfillment, we need to actively construct our career, rather than just keep following the path of least resistance doing whichever job falls in our way. However, fulfillment means different things for different people because we all have different aspirations, goals and talents. One common thread that unites most of us though is the […]

Job-crafting

Traditionally, if you were bored with or hated your job, you could either quit or eventually just burn-out. These days a third option is recognised as having great potential: shape your job so it’s more fruitful than futile. Amy Wrzesniewski, an associate professor at the Yale School of Management, says “We often get trapped into […]

Workplace-bullying

Three-part assertion messages It is important to have a good technique to respond to a workplace bully’s demands or accusations. An assertion technique that you can use is a 3-part assertion message where you state the behaviours of the bully, how it makes you feel and lastly the effects on you. For example, “When you […]

The Passion Myth

The Passion Myth: ‘Find your passion and follow it’ The Career Truth:Career direction must satisfy many factors not just one Has anyone ever told you that you should simply pursue a career that you are passionate about. Chances are that you have, but you have perhaps wondered how practical this advice is really? The ‘Passion […]
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The value of knowing your key Values

Related news article quoting Dr Moy in the New Zealand Herald What are “values” Personal values are the sense of worth that we place on things in our world; they are the convictions we hold about what we believe is important to have and uphold in life; and so, they are what we give priority […]

LinkedIn to optimise your career opportunities

Have you opened a LinkedIn account? Having a presence on social media is a must in today’s world and LinkedIn is one of the most useful websites for career purposes. Completing your profile, adding connections and displaying your areas of expertise can all increase your chances of landing your next job or being sought out […]
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The dinosaur question

A recent phenomena in recruitment interviews, apparently first started up by Steve Jobs who would who sometimes start prancing around like a chicken to test an interviewees reaction, is to ask random nonsensical questions like, “If you were a dinosaur, what sort would you be?”. Despite the unusual nature of these questions they do generate […]
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Meaning in Life and its relation to career

• Intuitively we know, and now recent psychological studies confirm, that people who work in a job that matches their meaning in life tend to flourish and have greater well-being in their overall life. • Meaning in Life is a broad concept that orientates our needs. It is the unconscious or conscious reason for wanting […]
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Using A Career Aptitude Test To Shape Your Future

The career aptitude test (also termed ‘career-building assessment’) is a good tool for you to take advantage of when you are trying to figure out which direction you want your life to go in . Trying to decide what career you want for yourself can be a very daunting task. With so many possible roads […]
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Boost your resilience: Developing mental toughness to reduce work-stress

Have you ever wondered why some people at work seem to be able to remain happy when their work-conditions suddenly worsen? How can they keep smiling when the boss just dropped a presentation on them to do tomorrow? Are they just putting on a brave face or could they genuinely be unaffected by the extra […]
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“The Zorro circle”: Managing big things by setting small goals

In the movie, “The Mask of Zorro”, Zorro in his younger days tried to take on every criminal he came across but was quickly out of his depth and ended up badly beaten and results in him turning to drink and losing his direction. A sword-master later discovers Zorro’s potential and agrees to train him. […]
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Top 5 myths about careers

There are many myths about careers that float around. Anyone you talk to will have some piece of career advice that they heard from somewhere or have read about in popular press. Unfortunately, career advice has different amounts of relevance to different people – what maybe useful advice to one person maybe the completely wrong […]
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Gen X and the demise of lifetime employment

Generation X (Xers) refers to the cohort of the population born between 1960 to1980, in 2011 they are aged 31 to 51 years old.  Xers are the main generation who have had to deal with the ‘demise of lifetime employment’. This group developed their first career schemas during the 70’s and 80’s when the expectation […]
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Doctors changing careers – options – part 4 of 4

Knowing your options is a critical element in making your decision about whether to change careers. Doctors often sell themselves short when they are looking at non-medical careers, because the medical career they first chose is one that requires a high level of specific education (ie a medical degree); however, not that many other jobs […]
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Doctors changing careers – decisions – part 3 of 4

People make decisions in different ways. We each use various rules to make decisions, and these rules change depending on the importance of the decision at hand and the current circumstances. As doctors, we like to think that we take a rational scientific approach to all of our decisions – but we don’t always. So […]
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Developing resilience

There is a growing amount of research and publicity about the power of personal resilience when managing pressure and avoiding stress. Despite this, many organisations still want to focus on stress management or wellbeing programmes. Although these are better than nothing maybe they, and their personnel, would benefit more from putting the attention onto developing […]
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4 Resume Tips From Career Pros

Job seekers find creating your resume the most challenging task of the job searching process. Here, we have talked to numerous career experts and hiring professionals to find out four tips that will help you write a better resume and get hired. 1. Research about the company and tailor your resume accordingly: In today’s job […]
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Returning to work after children

Parents, and in particular mothers, returning to work undergo a difficult transition. Having just adjusted (or in the process of still adjusting) to having an addition to the family, social and personal influences often generate pressure for parents to return to work quickly. This may include financial need, anxiety about faltering in one’s career ‘ladder’, […]
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Finding your way through career change

Do you want to be more excited about your work? Instead, are you dissatisfied with your job and feel stuck and/or frustrated? Often, people are unable to move forward because they don’t know what they want to change. That’s where the ADESA model comes in. The ADESA Model can help you build skills and experiences […]
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Career, do I even have one?

Reading recently about definitions of ‘career’. Here is one I prefer: Career includes many dimensions including: direction – current/future occupation e.g. accounting, labouring, medicine, home-making variability – how often over time the person changes career direction e.g. low-variability careers may stay in the same occupation throughout their entire life focus – how intensely focused a […]
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Career Change Takes Courage

Career transitions create discomfort. Often times it is not clear where you are headed. At other times you aren’t sure if you really want to make a change. Like a snake shedding his old skin you had adjusted to the “old skin”, your current career, but it just doesn’t fit any more. As you get […]
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Gen Y in the workplace

Flip Flops, Twitter, Instant messaging? Gen Y is here to stay folks and in fact, they currently account for approximately 20%-30% of the workforce. Seventy-four million strong (compared to the 78 million boomers), that percentage is growing and growing and certainly making waves in the workplace. Those in charge have voiced concern at the situations […]
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Resilience is “stickability”

“Resilience” in psychology is the positive capacity of people to cope with stress and adversity. This coping may result in the individual “bouncing back” to a previous state of normal functioning, or using the experience of exposure to adversity to produce a “steeling effect” and function better than expected (much like an innoculation gives one […]
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Career Planning After 50 – Mid-Life Career Change Tips

Here are five mid-life career change tips and career planning ideas. These tips are central to a successful career transition or job hunt with the integration of work, financial and life goals. It is important to consider the impact that a career change will have on your lifestyle, finances and your relationships. Successful career planning […]
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Doctors changing careers – barriers – part 2 of 4

Probably even more complex than the motivations to leave medicine are the motivations and pressures for doctors to stay in the profession. Doctor’s are regarded as having a special role in society as defender’s of health – changing careers is seen by some as turning your back on and abandoning the health needs of the […]
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A 10-step guide to developing resilience

The American Psychological Association has published a 10-point guide to developing individual resilience. A resilient person is not only able to handle such experiences in the moment, but also bounce back afterward: 1. Develop supportive and caring relationships at home, among friends and colleagues. Accept help and support, and help others when they need it. […]
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It is better to try and perhaps fail, than never to try at all

“It is better to try, and perhaps fail, than never to have tried at all” – M Dennison Attempting to overcome difficult tasks or problems may lead to failure but what we learn along the way can help us grow and be stronger. On the other hand, if we always avoid trying to overcome difficulties […]
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Doctors changing careers – motivations – part 1 of 4

This is the first article of a series directed at medical doctors considering a career change. Topics provide some insight into (i) factors that influence your career path (lifestyle, commitment, responsibilities, pride, finances, age), (ii) what keeps doctors from making career changes, (iii) attitudes of family, friends and the public to the career-changing doctor, and […]
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How do I make my employees happier?

A recent Australasian business survey found 16% of workers ‘hate’ their jobs and up to 62% are ambivalent and unhappy in their current job. How as employers and managers can we help to improve job satisfaction? A few quick tips from Positive Psychology research: 1. Losada Ratio – workplace performance improves significantly when positive interactions […]
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What is a career coach?

1. What is a Career coach? A Career coach is an expert in working with people who wish to improve their work satisfaction, change jobs, or make a career change. They are skilled in interviewing and counseling, and have specialist knowledge of the complex cognitive processes involved with making decisions about work choices and how […]
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Left school don’t know what to do?

Did you finish secondary school last year and are quite confused about what you are going to do for the rest of your working life? Many recent school-leavers answer “yes” to this question because they are indeed perplexed about their future. If you too have come to this situation, it means it is time to […]
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Crafting your own career

The boundaryless career is described as being “one of independence from, rather than dependence on, traditional organisational career arrangements involving opportunities that go beyond any single employer”. It highlights the modern concept of people drifting away from traditional roles and jobs to find satisfaction in such things as writing, crafts, arts even some types of […]
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