I recently spoke on the topic of career development in front of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute ASCE chapter in Albany New, York. This chapter is very active and they have about two meetings per month with members. It was a very enjoyable experience as they were all very attentive and asked great questions.

I try to speak on career development in front of as many societies and organizations as possible including both college and professional chapters. Why? Read More »

I have said in the past that it is extremely important to have career goals, which act as a destination for where you are taking your career. It is important when setting your goals, to take the time to figure out exactly what you want, nothing more, and nothing less.

Clearly defining your goal is extremely important. Use an analogy of driving to a destination. Is it easier to get somewhere if you only know the city or state or if you know the exact street address? Your goals act as that street address that constantly tells you where you are going. Read More »

I have seen quite a few discussions on this topic as of late in the social media arenas, so I figured I would give my input, being that I have always been very involved in professional societies.

I am a firm believer that your career advancement is strongly related to the relationships you build in your industry. I have built many solid business and personal relationships through professional societies. Not only has this helped advance my career, but it has made my career very enjoyable.
Read More »

I thought today I would write about a subject people tend to avoid, conflict in the workplace. Webster’s Dictionary defines conflict as the following:

a) competitive or opposing action of incompatibles : antagonistic state or action (as of divergent ideas, interests, or persons) b) mental struggle resulting from incompatible or opposing needs, drives, wishes, or external or internal demands Read More »

Whether you are just starting out in your career, or you have some experience in your field, there will come a time when your career will seem to hit a brick wall. This can be caused by a number of situations including: not being able to land a job upon college graduation, layoff at work, or even lack of interest at work due to change in responsibilities and/or work load that make you feel that you are not using your experience or knowledge. Instead of sitting back and letting time and faith lay the path for your future, you need to step up and initiate change. Here are a few things that you can do to help your career when it seems to come to a halt: Read More »

Lately during my career development seminars, attendees have been asking for advice on interviewing. In this article I intend on providing you with some recommendations when trying to make a sale. This absolutely pertains to job interviews, because when you go on a job interview, you are selling your biggest asset, YOURSELF! Read More »

Engineers, and pretty much all of human civilization are always looking for “What’s wrong”? We are always analyzing situations to try to identify a problem so that we can fix it. The author of the book states that by asking “What’s wrong?” questions, you cause all of your thinking to be done by the analytical part of your brain. Asking “What’s wrong” questions constantly puts you into a negative state of mind. Read More »

In this article, Babette Burdick, discusses how staying outside of your "Comfort Zone" you can help you continually advance your career! See article below or read entire article at http://tiny.cc/CqaVn Read More »

I have spoken in front of many different engineering societies on the topic of career development and before I speak I always try to find out from the attendees what some of their main concerns are around the topic. With regards to career development, many of the comments I received back were related to work-family balance. Most people said something to the effect of, “I would like to have more work-family balance.” Read More »

Engineers typically work a lot of hours and oftern times we forget about our own career......

This down economy is providing many of us with some down time due to lack of work.  Whether there is some down time at the office or you are currently unemployed.  What are you doing with that down time?  Why not spend it pursuing a license or certification that will add value to your credentials? Read More »

How many people have clearly defined career goals? Unfortunately the answer to that question is not many at all! Do you have clearly defined career goals that you review regularly? If your answers to these questions are no, you should really consider taking the time to clearly define your career goals. Career goals are critical because they act as a destination for our professional lives. Think about it this way, when you get into your car to drive somewhere, do you have a selected destination or do you just start driving nowhere? Of course you have a destination or at least I hope you do! Now if you are familiar with the area you are driving towards, it will be easier to get there, but even if you haven’t been there before, as long as you have an address you’ll find a way to get there (GPS, Google Maps,etc.). How can you get where you’re going if you don’t know where you want to go????? Read More »

Ernest Hemingway one said, “When people talk, listen completely.  Most people never listen.”  I believe this quote to be so very true.  Until I attended coaching school and learned how to listen, I was often guilty of selective hearing.  I believe this was in large part due to my engineering background.  Engineers as well as other technical professionals are always geared towards problem solving.  Therefore when we listen, we listen for “answers” needed to solve problems.  Once we have these “answers” we tend to tune out the rest of the conversation as we are already solving the problem in our heads or we start looking for the next problem to solve!