Considering A Career Change Because of the Pandemic?
According to a Washington Post survey, one in three workers under the age of 40 have thought about making a career change during the pandemic. With a record number of people quitting, it seems like people are making good on their dreams, but it isn't easy. Most people we talk to know that they want a professional change, but [...]
When Is the Right Time to Hire A Career Coach?
How do you know when it’s time to bring in a career coach? About 95% of our clients have never worked with a professional career coach before. With that many people climbing their own learning curve when it comes to coaching, it’s understandable that many of the people I talk to who are considering coaching are unsure if they’ve [...]
5 Ways To Prove You’re Ready for a Promotion
It feels like the world is waking up again. Whether you’re planning to go back to the office or continuing to work from home, there’s more energy in the air. The vaccine is here, summer is here, and at work, it feels like people are coming out of their cocoons. Over the last year, it felt like a lot [...]
College to Career: Helping Your Kids Transition
Graduating from college is the transition that so many of us work toward, but all of that excitement and achievement gets tempered by the anxiety that comes from diving headfirst into the job market. COVID-19 has complicated that transition in a really big way. When the pandemic exploded in the US in early spring, more than one in five [...]
How I’m Making Meaning In A Pandemic
COVID-19 has made us painfully aware that things aren’t what they used to be. For many, it’s also helping us realize that the “used to be” version of our lives needed a kick in the pants anyways. Maybe we needed a catalyst—like a global pandemic—to both value and experience our lives to their fullest? Aldous Huxley said, “Most human [...]
What’s the Deal with Informational Interviews?
Here at Happy Spectacular, we are really big fans of the informational interview. We believe that no one has a successful career alone, and the more people you connect with in your career, the better. As often as possible, we do our best to act as the facilitators for informational interviews for our clients, acting as the middle man [...]
43 Ways To Live Forever, Almost
Who isn't angling for a few more years above ground? While Anatole France said, "The average man does not know what to do with life, yet wants another one which will last forever," let's skip the judgment about how we're living our lives (for now) and just focus on "proven" ways to stuff more years into the lives we've got. (We'll talk about the [...]
Culture Killer: PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT PLANS
Welcome back to this never-ending series of ways in which you’re thoroughly screwing up the culture at your company. (This series is never-ending for a. job security on my part, and b. because as human beings we’re just wired to go haywire with one another at work, especially when you sprinkle in the complicated dimension of leading other people. [...]
Burnout Is Real
By now, you’ve probably heard: burnout is real. A word and a concept that’s permeated our culture is now an official diagnosis according to the World Health Organization. The WHO added the diagnosis to its updated diagnostic manual (ICD-11) specifying that the diagnosis can only be used around work and careers (or in an “occupational context”), and there are [...]
Ask A Coach: My “Guaranteed” Job Disappeared
We have two responses for you today. One is in high-snark mode if you need a dose of tough love to learn your lesson, and another response is cushioned in fluffy pillows of career love. Take your pick (or even better, read them both): RADICAL CANDOR + TOUGH LOVE: Dear Peeved in Portland, I cringed when I read your [...]
Try Not To Ruin The Longest Day Of The Year
June 21st is the longest day of the year, which means we can either savor or squander the extra two seconds of daylight bestowed upon us by the people who made up astronomy. (And I am being exact here: Chicago, for example, will enjoy 15:13:40 of daylight compared to the depressing day before with a measly 15:13:38 of time [...]
When Leadership Feels Like You’re Being Stalked
One of the most daunting things about being a leader is that you’re almost always being watched by your team and that it almost always matters– even when you think the stakes are low or there are no stakes at all. There are always stakes in leadership. You’re putting a stake in the ground with every breath you take, [...]