If you are making up an excuse not to go into work,  (sometimes using depression or mental health as a reason) because you dread going to work, you may heading towards a real problem if you do not do something about it.

However, many of us legitimately wrestle with chronic stress. If stress is causing psychological symptoms   that disrupt how you live your daily life, you need to be informed about the state of your health. Self-diagnosis, is unacceptable and dangerous when it comes to mental illness. This means you should see your doctor and conduct personal research into your diagnosis (if you get one). Finally, you want to be ready to inform your employer in an open and honest discussion if you feel safe doing so.

KNOW the FACTS!

FACT # 1:  

Mental illness does not mean you are abnormal or “sad and miserable”, or a “crazy person”. There are all sorts of conditions that impact the mind and they may cause a range of stressors, or even physical symptoms. The most common conditions have little to do with “going crazy” either.

FACT # 2:

Mental illness is not a choice and does not make you a less valuable person. It is not a direct consequence of any one thing in particular and is not a complete reflection of who you are as a person. Mental illness often is triggered by a complex combination of stress factors both in your environment and/or inherited through genetics. Sometimes making a change in your environment can help alleviate symptoms.

FACT # 3:

One of the most common conditions caused by unhappiness and burnout at work is depression. The most common misconception is that you are simply sad about something, bored, or getting lazy if you are depressed. You may not feel sad most of the time. Clinical depression is different and complex. Recognize the signs early! (http://www.cmha.ca/bins/content_page.asp?cid=3-86-87&lang=1) Since any illness or health concerns can be an impact of employment, it is very important to consider whether you are mentally and physically ready for the job.

Prevention is key! Leading a balanced lifestyle is important. If you work hard physically at work, make sure you have enough down time to relax in your personal life. Having a hobby is often beneficial. If at work you typically sit and vegetate, or it is not physically demanding at all, incorporating an active lifestyle is necessary. The link below is to an article that presents evidence that it can even help shape you into being a better, happier person and boss (yeah, when you get to tell people what to do in the future). http://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode.cfm?id=bosses-who-work-out-are-nicer-12-01-26. A balanced life makes it feel worthwhile. Perhaps you can encourage your supervisor or employer to pursue a healthy lifestyle! A constant unhappy, or even toxic routine or environment will likely induce symptoms such as clinical depression, or trigger other mental health concerns. Substance abuse, especially heavy use of marijuana, can also trigger psychosis. http://www.psychosissucks.ca/epi/whatispsychosis.cfm

Be responsible. Most of the time it is not your fault that you are suffering from mental health problems.  When it becomes a hindrance however,  you are accountable to do something about it as best you can! Having a job you love is not always easy. If you have one, don’t flush it down the toilet. At work, find your niche, find your balance and remember you always have a choice.  Listen to what your mind and body is tells you.

There is much more about mental health care that is interesting and complex. To read more about various conditions, their possible causes, or simply how to effectively take care of your already rock-solid mental health, please visit the Canadian Mental Health Association website: www.cmha.ca; you will find information on specific conditions, illnesses and disorders, as well as community resources and tips on staying healthy!

This article was written by career development practitioner Andrew Lim.

Let’s start with a simple definition of the term “mental health” to make clear what I’m about to touch on. Mental health is like your physical health, but it has to do with your state of mind. What is your headspace like? Your ability to think, relate to concepts and ideas, problem solve and manage your emotions is what mental health is about. Mental health and physical health are inseparable. The above is just my simplified take on mental health. According the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), mental health is no longer focused just on mental illness and disorders, nor is there an absolute criterion as to what is “healthy”.

So how do you measure your mental health? According to the CMHA, the following factors help paint the full portrait; Ability to enjoy life, resilience, balance, self-actualization and flexibility. So what do they mean?

“Ability to enjoy life – Can you live in the moment and appreciate the “now”? Are you able to learn from the past and plan for the future without dwelling on things you can’t change or predict?”

“Resilience – Are you able to bounce back from hard times? Can you manage the stress of a serious life event without losing your optimism and a sense of perspective?”

“Balance – Are you able to juggle the many aspects of your life? Can you recognize when you might be devoting too much time to one aspect, at the expense of others? Are you able to make changes to restore balance when necessary?”

“Self-actualization – Do you recognize and develop your strengths so that you can reach your full potential?”

“Flexibility – Do you feel, and express, a range of emotions? When problems arise, can you change your expectations (of life, others, yourself) to solve the problem and feel better?”

Since the average full time employee works 35 hours or more a week, a large slice of life is spent at work. It only makes sense to keep your physical and mental health in check to be the best you can be. How can such a large part of your life not affect your mental health? Needless to say, those who love what they do enjoy better mental and physical health than those who dread going to work everyday. Unfortunately, 80% of people dislike, or even hate what they do. One in three Canadians suffer from mental illness. Mental health can pose as a formidable barrier and work against you and your performance at work if you choose to ignore and brush off signs and symptoms. The unemployment rate for persons with mental health disabilities is a staggering 70% to 90%. Take care of your mental health everyday; prevention is key. My next article will wrap up on the important tie between mental health and employment. I will also shed light on silly and harmful myths about mental illnesses. Stay glued to your screen!

This article was written by career development practitioner Andrew Lim.

1. You’ve Got to Have A Plan

Super villains know that they need to have an action plan to achieve success. Whether it be capturing a pesky do-gooder or landing a job, a plan is needed. Unlike super villains that carefully plan their next scheme, job seekers often go about their job search in very unimaginative ways. One of the more popular methods is sitting in front of a computer and applying for everything that’s available online. This is not a plan. Planning involves setting goals and time lines to achieve them.

Do you think that the Joker just said he was going to capture Batman? He used S.M.A.R.T. planning to define specific, measurable, attainable, and realistic timely goals. A job seeker can improve their chance of success by targeting their goals. An example of this would be determining a specific amount of resumes and cover letters that are going to be submitted to employers in a specific industry. A big part of the success of employment programs is that they help job seekers devise and implement a job search plan.

2. Forget All The Bells And Whistles

Super villains often make the classic mistake of devising schemes that are overly complex. For instance, surely there exists a simpler way to determine Batman’s true identity that doesn’t involve dangling him over a shark pit. Job seekers make this same mistake with their resume. Using more than three fonts, brightly coloured paper or coloured ink can be a turn off for employers. Job seekers often become overly committed to the words in their highlight/summary section of their resumes. There is no list of words that are going to work magic on every employer. It is important to rework the highlight/summary section so the words used reflect the job posting or company’s profile.

3. Persistence

Super villains may be nasty, but there’s one good thing that we can say about their character—at least they’re consistent! Think of how dedicated Wile E. Coyote is in his pursuit of the Road Runner. Admittedly he does continue to fail, but sometimes he comes real close to achieving his goal. Persistence is key to success in job search because the more job searching you do the more you are able to promote yourself to employers.

Think about how many times Wile E. Coyote slammed into the side of a mountain because he tied himself to a giant stick of dynamite. Super villains seem incapable of learning, whereas job seekers are capable of learning from their mistakes. If a job seeker bombs an interview they can ask for feedback so that they can improve for the next interview. Perhaps their resume hasn’t led to interviews. An unconfident attitude often leads job seekers to attribute employers’ lack of interest to something that they are personally lacking. In contrast, a persistent attitude looks for solutions asking themselves questions about the quality of their application package and whether they need to do more networking.

4. Self-Promotion

Super villains know that if they want to be taken seriously they need to get their name out there. That’s why the Riddler leaves clues lying around everywhere. The same is true for job seekers; they need to get their names out there; this is often referred to as personal branding. When a job seeker applies for a job that has been publicly posted, it is possible that they are competing against 100 other people. With such a large quantity of resumes, there’s a pretty good chance that their resume is going to be just as good as a lot of other candidates. The good news is that there is one thing that can skyrocket a job seeker to the top of the call back list: networking.

Networking is the difference between whether or not an employer knows a job seeker’s name when they see it. If a job seeker has a friend, family member, or former co-worker put in a good word for them, there’s a pretty good chance that they will be getting an interview. Social networks can be expanded through career groups on Facebook and LinkedIn. Another method for establishing a strong network with employers is to ask for an informational interview. This is a quick interview with employers to learn more about a prospective industry. In addition to learning a lot about the industry, job seekers establish personal connections with employers before they have even applied to work with them.

Why Super Villains?

Super villains are bold and aren’t afraid to go for what they want. Often job seekers spend a lot of their time thinking and planning but not a lot of time implementing a plan. In contrast, super villains delight in both the planning and the implementation of their schemes. The super villain is a symbol of all that is dastardly in our society. One of the character traits of a villain is to be overly boastful or prideful, often to the super villains own down fall. However, job seekers could learn from the super villains wiliness to promote themselves. As a job seeker where do you draw the line between clever self-promotion or villainous pride?

This article was written by career development practitioner Mike Bourke.

2. Add children

3. Hold on for dear life!

When you make the decision to be a working mom (whether it is for necessity or by choice), you know that your life will not be easy and rarely straightforward. When you have children, all of the predictability in life goes away with your two-seater sports car. Ironic really, when families with their minivans and their soccer practices are the ones with the reputation for being scheduled and boooring! But let’s face it, how many of you parents out there have been stopped in your tracks because a teddy bear went flying out the car window, someone got sick, or the dog got out? Add a job to the equation and it becomes far from boring!

Trying to accommodate children, a boss, and a husband (or lack of one) is exhausting. Even the most organized SUPERmom can get overwhelmed. Trust me, we’ve all been in that place where we feel like if that kid makes that noise one more time our head might actually explode this time. So how do you avoid being the screaming mom in the supermarket, the mom who never shows up to appointments, or the mom who no longer enjoys her kids? Here are some of the tricks I use to stay sane:

1. Figure Out Your Family’s Needs

It is near impossible to balance everyone’s educational, vocational, community, recreational, physical, and social needs (not to mention finding time in there to feed everyone and do the housework!) We try to pick activities that will meet more than just one of these goals and for more than one member of the family at a time. I won’t lie, part of last year we spent almost five evenings a week on the softball field, but as a family we chose that as our priority activity and it meant other activities had to go on hold during that season. If there is a school activity that conflicts with a sport activity, we had to figure out which need (educational or recreational) was more important and which value (work vs. fun) was our priority as well. When you have decided what values and priorities you wish to encourage in your children, it makes these decisions easier. Don’t forget to give them a choice, but only if you can live with the decision they are going to make. Just remember that you can’t do everything!

2. Take Care of Your Family’s Health – Even Yours!

You know how grumpy your kids get when they don’t get enough sleep or don’t eat properly? That happens to everyone, even you. Make sleep a priority, but remember to get up in time to eat something for breakfast. It doesn’t have to be a huge meal (us busy moms so frequently are not morning eaters), but even just grabbing a piece of fruit or a yogurt gives you more energy to start your day. Making sure your kids have enough to eat in the morning and at school will go a long way towards avoiding meltdowns in the car on the way home from daycare. Try packing an afterschool snack like an apple and a cheese string to keep them busy on the way home. This is good for their physical health and your mental health if it avoids the “MOOOOOOMM, she’s looking out my window” fight.

3. Invest in a good calendar – and check it!

Honestly, I don’t know how I would survive without my Blackberry. It is always with me, and whenever I make a commitment I immediately save the appointment on my calendar. This keeps me from double booking myself and it also makes a noise to remind me of things. I used to have a calendar on the wall, but I find I have trouble remembering to check it in the morning. Do whatever works best for you, as long as you remember to use it! All that aside, there will be time that you just need to go with the flow and not punish yourself for leaving work early because little Suzie is throwing up all over the daycare floor, and the calendar will just have to wait for another day.

4. Remember that nobody’s perfect

The person we tend to expect perfection from the most is ourselves, but it is so hard not to when other people walk around making life look so easy! Don’t forget that people show their best face to the public. Ever been arguing with your husband and the phone rings and you switch over to that perfectly pleasant “Hello?” It doesn’t mean that we are like that all the time, nor is the “perfect person” in your life always the way they present to the public. We all do the best we can, and you can’t expect any more than that from yourself.

5. Take time for yourself

As important as it is to make sure your children’s needs are met, you also have your own needs as a parent for quiet time or socialization with friends. Try to take that time, even if it means leaving your kids at their lessons for an hour and going for a walk when you would normally stay and watch, or dropping them off at daycare anyway on one of the days you have off from work. Sure you may feel a bit guilty, so pick them up earlier than you normally would and take them to the park. Trust me, they’ll be thrilled!

So in conclusion…how do you be a SUPERmom? You do it by doing all the things that you have been doing all along. Moms are the magic behind family vacations and Sunday breakfast, the hug goodbye at daycare, and the kiss goodnight. They are the alarm clock in the morning and the person the kids turn to when they are angry, sad, frustrated, happy, hyper, and exhausted. Moms are also cashiers, nurses, carpenters, politicians, lawyers, and police officers. We represent a significant percentage of the labour force, and are becoming increasingly SUPER every day with the support and encouragement from other moms like us.

This article was written by career development practitioner Kirsty Peterson.

Social networking is a free, easy way to meet other professionals and develop relationships that can propel your career in the future. When you are starting out there are several mentors that will try to help with advice for your career and job search, such as teachers, parents, career counselors, or others. Instead of advice though, I am going to give you a few tips on how to begin social networking through LinkedIn.

LinkedIn is a fantastic platform to meet other professionals that is growing at a meteoric pace. It took almost five years for LinkedIn to reach 100 million users, and less than a year after that to get to 130 million users. You can use it to reach out globally to find trends, share ideas, and become known as a subject matter expert. For that to happen though, you have to begin by looking to the future and taking some small steps. Before you decide to jump right in, you need to ask yourself three questions in order to have a strategic, successful, and bountiful social networking journey.

1. How much time will I spend per week?

This is a HUGE question to decide on. Decide on it, and then stick to it. There is so much information that it is easy to get lost going from link to post to group. I recommend you get an egg timer, set it for a certain amount of time, and log off when the timer goes off. The best memories in life are when life happens—and that does not happen in front of a computer monitor! I suggest starting with two to three times per week, ten to fifteen minutes per time, and then you can increase your time while your network grows.

2. What do I want to be seen as, and what do I want to be known for?

On your journey through your career and even life itself, it pays to remember one single truth—others will constantly evaluate your communications and performance. It pays to consider what you want people to think of you; think about what you want your reputation to be. The first step is to create a list of adjectives and attitudes you feel are important, not only for you to live by, but for the role you want to be hired for. Post it where you can see it while you’re actively social networking. By keeping a consistent attitude within your writing and communications, new people coming into your network can see your potential value. As they network with others, they will talk about your expertise; creating your online reputation.

Writing a personal vision statement related to your career will focus your communications even further. These adjectives and skills are the raw materials. My personal vision statement is “To provide clients with a holistic approach to career choice and development by using tools that generate positive momentum towards their personal goals. To ensure clients experience a counselor who is empathetic, sincere, and knowledgeable. To affect positive change by delivering information centered on the individual client. To share ideas, communicate trends, and develop current and effective career development models for clients.” When I focus and live through my personal vision statement, every day is a joy and my network reflects back to me how obvious it is that I am passionate, dedicated, and energetic. You can experience the same results through this process while you grow your network.

3. What is success for me?

Without a specific goal, you will only wander through social networking channels like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Defining a goal that is specific and time bound is necessary if you are going to achieve success.

For example, let’s say we are going to Toronto. Notice we left out important details with only that statement, such as when,why, for how long, who is driving, and more. If our goal was simply, “go to Toronto”, that is not enough to measure success. Instead, we could plan to to see the play “Les Miserables” in Toronto this Saturday. I will drive, we can share the gas costs of about 100$., and we will leave by 3:00 p.m. and arrive at 5:30 p.m. for the 7:00 p.m. event. We each will buy our own tickets when we arrive. We will arrive back home at 1:30 a.m. that night…

Focus on what you want to achieve, and then take steps to complete those goals. Make your goals, specific, measurable, action oriented, realistic, and scheduled to happen by a specific time. This is S.M.A.R.T. goal setting, and for direct examples, templates, and more free information you can use this link to get those tools. Some activities that may help you achieve your social networking goals are: posting an update or comment in a LinkedIn group and asking others to give feedback, sharing an experience where you solved a problem and asking if anyone has had the same experience, commenting on the updates of others as well.

Social networking is a currency of conversation, and the old saying that you have to spend money to make money applies. The more you communicate with others, the larger your network can grow, create future opportunities, and achieve your goals.

LinkedIn has several options, some of them are free, and some of them are paid/premium services. There is very little need to pay for any services at the beginning. If you are confused ask your network for help. The benefit of social networking is that many that use it are helpful, as others have helped them. There are several guides, tips, a blog, and more that LinkedIn provides on their page about their services – they call it “Learn LinkedIn”. Take a moment, go through some guides, and you can begin to construct your profile.

Take the time to build your network before you need it, or dig your well before you need a drink and it will be ready for you when you’re thirsty. Not only that, but using a strategic approach to LinkedIn will ensure your network knows you and your strengths, and you know them and their strengths. This makes it easier to figure out whom to turn to for expertise and help. With this in mind, consider networking with people you will eventually need, not just the ones you need right now. For example, if you are in school for a specific career, then network with people who can lead you to inside information later on. If you were making a career change, it would make sense to include networking with people that can give good information about that sector.

Social networking at any time in your career journey is not only a good idea; it is a crucial ingredient for long-term success in your life, both at work and at home. When you are able to have a career that fits your values, goals, and beliefs it simply feels good to go to work. Work is like air—we need it to survive. Using social networking lets you explore, share, teach and learn—all for free and at a time that is convenient for you. Your career is a long and dynamic process, social networking is not any different. The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step, so I would suggest taking the first step and answer these three questions that lead to LinkedIn and social networking success.

This article was written by Career Development Practitioner and social media fanatic Chirs Kulbaba of www.LinkedIn Heavyweight.com.

This is incredibly beneficial for job seekers. There are over 800 million active people on Facebook and one of your friends may be the connection to your next job lead. Are you ready? Besides posting that you are looking for work in your status updates, you can make the most of Facebook’s current functionality by making these updates to your profile.

Edit Your About Page

There are many different boxes on your About page. Focus on updating the following:

Work & Education: Add your work experience and use the Add a Project link to describe different areas of your job. This works great for people who have eclectic job descriptions with multiple roles or those who have moved up the ladder in different positions at the same company. This is also great for the self-employed person who wants to show multiple projects and their timelines. Unlike a resume that needs to be targeted to a specific job, your Facebook About page can list all of your work and volunteer experience. This creates a complete picture for those perusing your background. Although you can list everything, try to be clear about what you accomplished through each experience. You only have about 80 characters in your description before it is cut off with the Read More link so be concise and say the most important statement first, also keep it in first person. Add your education, classes, and training and who you took them with. You can also add a description of your honours and accomplishments through each training.

About You: This is a great place to add a short bio on who you are and what you are all about. If you are currently seeking employment you can mention what type of work you are looking for and how you will benefit the companies that hire you.

Contact Information: Add links to your relevant contact information such as email, website, blog, LinkedIn, Twitter, Youtube, Facebook page, and anywhere else you would like them to find out more about you. Put the most important links first.

Basic Info: No one wants to be discriminated against because of their sex, age, sexual orientation, marital status, place of origin, ancestry, place of origin, religion, political views, family status, physical or mental disability. These are basic human rights that employers may use to disqualify you for a job. You should consider censoring this information in your Basic Info and Timeline by not listing it or adjusting your privacy settings.

Edit your Timeline

Remove Content: Start by removing questionable content, including status updates, notes, photos, groups, apps, and pages that could paint a poor picture of who you are to a prospective employer.  Although you had a lot of fun at that party, content about how hungover you were the next day are not going to help you find a job.

Add Life Events: Start building your timeline by adding in your life events that you want to share. Currently Facebook includes options to add: work & education, family & relationships, home & living, health & wellness, and travel & experience. You can add photos to each life event and a short story to complement it.

Add Status Updates: You’ve always been able to delete status updates, but now you can add status updates. This is extremely useful for painting a picture of your important life moments and accomplishments before Facebook.

Edit Privacy Settings: Edit your privacy settings to limit who can view your more personal information. Remember to do this for your status updates as well as your Timeline life events.

Facebook’s new functionality has made it easier than ever for job seekers to put together their best social media profile. Visit help pages for tutorials on how to do these tasks or leave a comment below with any questions.

This article was written by Miranda Vande Kuyt a self-employed career development practitioner and communications consultant.

1. Web it up!

This is a great exercise because it allows job seekers to make themselves the centre of attention and expand outward. They simply place their name in the middle of the page and start writing the names of people they know that can help them in their job search. The key to this is for them to contact at least three people on the list, set up a time to discuss job search and career goals, as well as ask for referrals. Networking in this manner should always be followed up with a thank you note.

2. Social Media

In the era of Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn it is essential that job seekers take advantage of these valuable networking resources. The best thing about them is that all the work can be done from the comforts of home. These sites allow job seekers to follow organizations they are interested in and join discussion groups to share their expertise while creating a name for themselves.

3. Volunteer

For a beginner, volunteering is a great way to build up contacts and get some excellent work experience. It’s a natural way to network because the focus is performing the tasks that need to be done and not stressing on the meeting people. Volunteer work can lead to reference letters, and possibly a job.

4. Talk to Yourself!

Huh? How does talking to ones self help networking? Think to Allen Iverson’s post practice press conference “Practice? You talkin’ bout practice?” Yup!

The only way to get better at something is to practice. Sitting down and writing out an elevator speech should be accompanied by standing in front of a mirror and belting it out. Over, and over, and over again. Eventually speaking in public won’t be a big deal.

5. Join a Networking Group

Why would anyone want to join a networking group when they are afraid of networking? Because, it’s one of the best ways to get over the fear of networking. Doing something in a supportive atmosphere will calm the networking phobic. Yes, it’s intimidating. Yes, it’s difficult. But if they push through, it will get easier. A great organization to think about becoming active in is Toastmaster’s. They lead and guide their participants by providing opportunities to nail down those public speaking, presentation, communication, and networking skills. Check out the Toastmaster’s website at www.toastmasters.org for more details.

6. What is the purpose?

Before going to the event, the job seeker should know why they are going. Are they seeking information regarding a certain career? Are they going to apply for jobs? Are they going to face their networking fears? By knowing ahead of time what their purpose is, they’ll be able to remain focused and not dwell on any fears they are experiencing.

Networking is a challenge. There is no denying that. Even the most confident, seasoned networkers get the jitters. The key thing to remember when walking into a room full of strangers is that others are experiencing fear as well. Fear is a natural response. When used for good it can produce some amazing results, especially when it comes to networking. One last tip: have fun!

This article was written by career development practitioner Brandon Gorin.

“Are there jobs in this field?”

“Will this career continue to have jobs in the future?”

These are the typical questions I hear as a career counsellor. For all of these questions I tell my clients where they can go to look up this information. For many who visit a career counsellor their motivation is to get help finding a career that will suit them.  However, a question that is more difficult to research is whether or not they will like their chosen career.

Yet, there is also a segment of our clientele that doesn’t care about whether or not they will like their chosen career, rather their concern is whether or not the career they have chosen is stable enough. These clients are what I like to call the “Stability Seekers”. On the surface they may seem like a career counsellor’s dream client. These are the clients that come asking the easy questions. “What is the starting wage?” “What does the typical career path for this career look like?” “Are there more jobs than job seekers in this industry?” These questions can usually be answered through the client’s labour market research and through informational interviews.

The information that cannot be found so easily for the stability seeker is how much they are willing to let stability trump passion. It’s a question that all job seekers and career explorers ask themselves. The question becomes especially important when stability is the most important deciding factor for the decision maker.

It’s important for the stability seeker to realize that passion for one’s work is not just about feeling good and being happy. Those things are important but let’s put them aside for the moment. What are the chances that a person can really excel at their job and in their career if they don’t enjoy what they do? If the job bores them, or if they don’t see the point in what they do—how successful will they really be at it? For instance, life long learning is becoming an expectation of workers in today’s workforce. For those who enjoy their career, enhancing their knowledge base and skill set comes with ease. However, if someone doesn’t enjoy their career, being asked to keep up-to-date on new software or business practices feels like a chore rather than an opportunity.

It’s harder to be innovative and grab that promotion when one doesn’t really find their job that interesting or important. Money is a powerful motivator but if they don’t really care about their career or company, it’s very difficult to fake the creativity and leadership that comes from a passion for one’s work. If one never demonstrates these traits, getting to the next level in their career can be a real challenge. The issue of competition is also important to consider. Regardless, of how good an actor one is, someone with real interest in their chosen career is going to out shine them in any interview. It’s possible to say all the right things, but the job seeker who really is passionate about a career will likely make a better impression. The reason being, the competitor has the advantage over them, they don’t have to pretend.

The stability seeker’s safest option is to become a passion seeker. This is not to say that the stability seeker needs to give up on making a choice that they feel is highly stable. As a career counsellor I encourage career explorers to investigate the labour market information on the careers they are interested in to see what risks and benefits are involved in any decision that they make. Ironically, when stability seekers ignore all the aspects of a career that make it enjoyable or interesting and only focus on stability, they lose out on the safety and security that they are seeking.

This article was written by Mike Bourke, a career/employment counsellor with Pacific Community Resources Society.

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