Managers are often drained by the people part of their jobs. After working for years as an individual contributor, they are finally rewarded with a management role. But, management is not as fun as they had hoped. In addition to their old tasks, the manager is now saddled with a job that feels like a […] The post Making Management Easier appeared first on Copeland Coaching ..read more

Have you asked friends how they’re doing at work lately? Many people are feeling scared. The national news is filled with headlines about layoffs and an unstable economy. Unlike before, the layoffs no longer feel small and isolated. Big companies that we all know are laying off hundreds, if not thousands, of workers. Many are […] The post Loving Your Job appeared first on Copeland Coaching ..read more

Most job seekers have very strong feelings on one particular topic: job interview assessments. It is not uncommon in today’s job market for an employer to ask you to take an assessment. Yes, they may ask you to take a test. An employer may ask you to “do a case study.” An employer may ask […] The post Your Ideas Are Not That Original appeared first on Copeland Coaching ..read more

Do you ever wonder what your life would have been like if you had taken a different path? For example, what if you had studied something different in college? Or, if you had worked in a different industry? Or, if you had a different role at work? When I was in graduate school, a professor casually mentioned that I should go into consulting at a big firm. I had no idea what that meant. I never asked, and he never explained. I have wondered what my path would have been like if we had just one conversation. In the past, I would have said career differences don’t matter much. You simply needed to ..read more

Do you ever wonder what your life would have been like if you had taken a different path? For example, what if you had studied something different in college? Or, if you had worked in a different industry? Or, if you had a different role at work? When I was in graduate school, a professor casually mentioned that I should go into consulting at a big firm. I had no idea what that meant. I never asked, and he never explained. I have wondered what my path would have been like if we had just one conversation. In the past, I would have said career differences don’t matter much. You simply needed to ..read more

Do you remember the dot com crash in 2000? And, do you remember the mortgage crisis in 2008? When those devastating events occurred, it felt like things might never turn around. Finding a job felt impossible. And, if you had one, you may have felt stuck. There weren’t many options. I remember friends who both could not find a job, but who could not sell their home. The stress was high all the way around. When you’re in the middle of a difficult time, it’s hard to picture a different reality. It can feel hopeless. Hard times can bring up feelings of fear and desperation. We may feel paralyzed ..read more

One thing that is notable about the job search process is just how easy it is sometimes, and just how hard it is other times. If getting a job has always been easy for you, and you’re finding it to be hard now, you may feel like you’re doing something wrong. Or, that perhaps you’ve changed. Although that could be the case, sometimes, it’s really not you. There are many external factors beyond your ability that impact whether or not you get the job. First, the economy plays a bit part of your job search experience. When the economy is strong, and when it’s a job seekers’ market, interviews move ..read more

As children, most people are told that if you work hard, it will pay off. Working hard is the key to success. This makes a lot of sense. Hard work should be the foundation for accomplishments. For each degree you earn or position you hold, you become more qualified. You are checking off more and more boxes that make you a better and better fit for a future role. This theory works fairly well in fields such as computer programming. It is not uncommon for computer programmers to earn certifications and take courses, even beyond their degrees. The qualifications to be a computer programmer are mo ..read more

Last week, the Federal Trade Commission announced that they are banning non-competes across the country. And, this new ruling applies to almost all workers. You read that right. The FTC does not want your employer to be able to force a non-compete onto you. Employers have long believed that a non-compete allows them to protect their trade secrets. They believed, non-competes allowed them to protect their financial investment into workers. And, employees often had no choice. If you wanted to take a job, a non-compete was just part of the arrangement. In reality, non-compete agreements often tie ..read more

After spending many years as an executive coach, I learned a clear lesson. People hate looking for jobs. They hate switching jobs. The process is stressful and painful. Most employees only consider a big job change as a last resort. They wait until the pain of staying is bigger than the pain of walking away. So, why do employees change jobs? It’s complicated. There is no one size fits all answer. Many people are looking for an opportunity to grow their skills at work. They may feel stuck. But, more than that, they may feel unhappy. They may feel unrecognized. They may even feel mistreated. In ..read more