We’ve just completed the month of December, a time often regarded as the “season for giving.” And for many of us, “giving” involves gifts we buy or make and then distribute to friends or family — the people we care about and value. The recent tragic events in Newtown, Connecticut, however, started me thinking about another type of giving that I consider just as important. While a fuller picture of the Newtown shooter is bou...

As an experienced career practitioner who has partnered with many young to older adults to help them identify satisfying career goals, one complaint I often hear from clients is “Why can’t I be like most people, who know early on what they want to be when they grow up?” My response is “Actually, you’re not in the minority, in terms of career decision making. While some people do follow a career pathway they determined at a...

Whether you’re outdoors reveling in the warm air or you’re a curious window shopper gazing at the new pastel-colored clothing in store windows, it is clear; we’re now well into Spring. And, to many of us, that is a welcome change. With a new season often comes a desire for transition in other parts of our lives as well, such as creating a fresh new look in our garden or home decor. But, let’s not stop there. As part of t...

With the national unemployment rate currently hovering over 8%, I am still seeing a significant number of clients who are experiencing the adverse effects of suddenly becoming unemployed. Upon losing a job, one possible early outcome of that loss can be the commonly expressed feeling of paralysis or numbness, a sense of being stuck, with an inability to move forward and take some constructive action. For clients soon appr...

As an experienced career-counseling practitioner, a question I am asked most often is: “I am over 40 years old; is it too late for me to make a career change?”The short, off-the-cuff answer is, “Of course not.” But, given the chance to respond in a more thorough fashion, I prefer to add a few comments. Basically, the answer to that question depends on two significant factors: (1) how realistic and serious your career prefe...