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Revolutionizing Careers: Insights from a Trailblazing Career Coach

Daisy Wright is the Chief Encouragement Officer at The Wright Career Solution, where she helps professionals and emerging leaders find fulfilling career paths. She is dedicated to guiding individuals toward career transformation and is a visionary leader behind the Let’s GROW Project and the Aspire to GROW Leadership Academy. These initiatives empower women to own their ambitions and strive for leadership roles and equity in the workplace.

A personal transformation sparked Wright’s journey into career coaching. “I decided to pursue career coaching because of the transformation I witnessed in my own life/career. When I became frustrated in my job, I hired a career coach to help me identify my skills and explore career options.”

This particular experience sparked a passion in her to take on dual roles as a part-time resume writer and a part-time professor in the Faculty of Business at Sheridan College. Over time, this evolved into a full-fledged career coaching endeavour aimed at helping individuals achieve career clarity.

Empowering Others: Effective Strategies for Career Transformation

Transformative stories mark her career to date, “One of the greatest achievements in my work, generally, was to hear a client, who is now a DEI Director, exclaim, ‘I came in with a 180° perspective, and am leaving with a 360°.’ A tangible case study further illustrates the success of a recent graduate, shedding light on the impactful transformations possible.”

Wright believes in empowering students to successfully transition from school to work by utilizing university career centers. She also encourages career educators and employers to not only stay up-to-date with the latest trends but also to immerse themselves in them. “I am an early adapter to any technology that will enhance the work that I do.” says Daisy, “Long before the Pandemic, I was a frequent Zoom platform user, allowing me to work beyond borders. Currently, I am immersing myself into artificial intelligence and have been educating clients about its benefits and limitations.”

Strategies for Enhancing Mental Health and DEI Initiatives

Daisy believes it’s important to address mental health issues in the workplace. She highlights the significant costs that mental health challenges can have for employers and advocates for a workplace culture that prioritizes mental well-being. She suggests employers should provide resources to create supportive environments that enhance productivity and satisfaction. “As a career coach, my role is not limited to the career development of my clients but to their overall well-being. If any mental health issue arises during our work together, it becomes the priority. If the situation is outside the scope of my training, a referral is made.”

Daisy’s work is driven by the core pillars of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). She believes that diversity is crucial for driving innovation and performance. Drawing from her lived experiences and collaborations, she emphasizes the importance of diversity in the workplace. According to Wright, employers need to understand that diversity sparks innovation, which ultimately positively impacts the bottom line.

A Note to Career Educators and Employers

Employers can use digital recruitment tools such as job fairs and university partnerships to support and engage emerging talent. They can also establish virtual mentorship programs and foster clear communication channels. Daisy emphasizes, “Employers should expand their hiring pool to include platforms and resources that cater to historically underserved and underrepresented populations.”

In today’s competitive job market, it is recommended that employers use a variety of recruitment methods to attract top talent. It is essential to showcase the company culture and also offer growth opportunities to potential candidates.

For other career educators, Daisy suggests embracing continuous learning, adapting to emerging trends, and fostering mentorship. These practices are crucial in a rapidly evolving field.

Daisy Wright is the Chief Encouragement Officer at The Wright Career Solution. She partners with mid-career professionals, emerging leaders, and executives to help them discover fulfilling career opportunities. Daisy is also the Chief Architect of the Let’s GROW Project, an initiative to empower women and promote leadership.

Navigating the New Age of Career Education and Employment

November 8, 2023 / James Highet / 0 Comments

TalentEgg’s exclusive interview with Gabriela Casineanu, MBTI® Certified Career & Systems Coach, Founder/Principal of Introverts Academy

In today’s fast-paced world marked by rapidly evolving workplace dynamics, technological advancements, and the aftermath of a global pandemic, career coaching has become crucial in guiding students and new graduates toward success. We recently had the opportunity to speak with Gabriela Casineanu, the founder of Introverts Academy and an experienced career coach with 17 years of practice. In this enlightening interview, Gabriela discusses her insights on career education, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), mental health, and strategies for transitioning from school to the workforce in the digital age.

Gabriela’s Career Coaching Journey

Gabriela began her journey into the world of career coaching in 2006. “Three years after immigrating to Canada, I changed my career [from engineering to professional coaching]. Although I had 18 years in the technical field, I always felt something was missing,” she said. Her passion for coaching, her personality, and the rewarding career aspects motivated her to pursue career coaching. Gabriela recognized a gap in employment and career services and sought to introduce a coaching approach that considers everyone’s individual personality types and strengths.

Gabriela’s most outstanding achievement is the development and successful testing of strategies tailored to introverted students, which culminated in her award-winning book, “Introverts: Leverage Your Strengths for an Effective Job Search.” This work led her to teach at the university level and speak at national career development conferences, emphasizing the importance of personality types and traits in career counselling.

Gabriela’s inspiring vision for the future of career coaching aims to encourage over a million individuals to prioritize self-discovery, align their professional paths with their true selves, and embrace flexibility and adaptability in their careers.

Seamless Integration of DEI in the Workplace

Gabriela is a strong advocate for a transformative approach in the DEI space. She believes organizations should go beyond viewing DEI as a mere compliance requirement and instead integrate it into their culture and work environment at all levels. With her interactive and experiential job-related workshops, along with individual and group coaching sessions, Gabriela has helped students and teams learn new concepts and strategies, empowering them to improve interpersonal communication and foster an inclusive atmosphere.

A Holistic Approach to Well-being in the Workplace

Gabriela believes in a holistic approach to well-being that goes beyond mental health. “In my work with students, I help them understand that they have a two-fold responsibility: to themselves and the organization they’re part of (equally important for mental health). And I encourage them to speak up when they notice something about the work environment, how it affects them, or when they don’t feel well,” Gabriela tells us. Gabriela recognizes the profound connection between the mind, body, and spirit, and she emphasizes the importance of a healthy work environment that considers employees’ needs, strengths, and ideas. A healthy work environment promotes mental well-being and increases productivity and team performance.

Supporting and Attracting Students and New Grads

Employers can proactively support students and recent graduates in the digital age. Gabriela suggests that companies should communicate their willingness to hire candidates with less experience, emphasize the importance of soft and transferable skills, and consider personality and potential during the hiring process. Building connections with educational institutions and fostering alumni relationships can attract top talent.

According to Gabriela’s experience, employers can attract top students by aligning their organizational culture with the values of the current generation. Highlighting successful hires and their stories and promoting them can also help attract talent. Offering incentives for employee referrals and actively participating in career fairs can further enhance an organization’s appeal.

Advice for Career Educators

Gabriela’s advice for new career educators is to be patient and understand that expertise grows with experience. In the post-pandemic era, she urges tenured career educators to embrace technology fully, stay up-to-date on digital trends, and adapt their teaching approaches based on the personality types of their students.

Gabriela reminds us that amidst the endless stream of information, individuals and organizations have inner compasses – intuition and mission, respectively. These guiding lights can help navigate the ever-evolving landscape of education and employment. Success in the modern career coaching age becomes achievable and deeply fulfilling when individuals and organizations cultivate an organizational culture and a workplace environment that empowers employees to contribute their best towards the company’s mission, all while pursuing their own career goals.

Visit talenteggtrends.ca for more up-to-date employer, school and career centre news, tips and information!

Evolving, Growing & Becoming as a Career Coach

February 22, 2023 / James Highet / 0 Comments

TalentEgg was fortunate enough to interview Shaunna-Marie Kerr, Career Education & Exploration at the School of Continuing Studies at York University, with 10+ years of career coaching experience. She is the leader of the virtual career services portal for students and recent alums at the School of Continuing Studies at York University. She provides support and services to students, conducts research and analysis of the labour market and works with technology companies to leverage digital and AI tools in their programs. In addition to her work at the University, she has her coaching practice, is a board member of an anti-violence centre, and is a mother to a four-year-old.

Career Inspiration

Inspiration for Shaunna-Marie’s journey into career education and coaching started after graduation when she faced challenges finding a job that aligned with her skills and values. She began working in a non-profit pre-employment and education program for women who were homeless or precariously housed and discovered her passion for helping people find meaningful work. She saw the positive impact of employment on people’s dignity and self-worth and realized that career and workforce development solutions were where she wanted to focus her career.

Greatest Achievements

We were curious and wanted to know what Shaunna-Marie’s most significant achievements were, and she was glad to fill us in. “In a general sense, my greatest achievement working with students or clients in my coaching practice is all the moments when I have witnessed that mid-conversation shift from frustration and hopelessness to a feeling of possibility and hope.”

Going from there, we asked what she would like to achieve in the future as a career coach. “I have no five-year plan, that’s for sure! My approach is more about seeing a range of possibilities and working to create doors I can walk through later. I feel like we are all ever-evolving, growing, and, as Michelle Obama says, ‘becoming.’ I don’t like to limit my future to only the things I can imagine right now. “

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Shaunna-Marie believes that career development and workforce development can only be effective with inclusion, equity, and diversity. She works from an actively anti-racist framework and constantly thinks about her role in systemic and structural oppression. “I recognize the power that place, identity, and perceptions of ‘other’ have as determinants in education, employment, health… everything.”

Kerr went on to say, “Something I think a lot about, in relation to myself but also that applies to employers, is how to engage in non-performative DEI work. It often feels like DEI work is being done as a favour or as good PR when we know that inclusive and equitable hiring is imperative if employers want to have the highest quality candidates, talent, and sustainable growth. In a practical sense, this looks like recognition of foreign and international credentials, skills and competency-based assessments and hiring, and culturally competent interviewing, onboarding, and retention strategies. “

Successfully Transitioning Students from School-to-Work

The Career Services department at the School of Continuing Studies is working on developing a map of the lifecycle of students to provide better support and services at the right time.

“We want to make sure that students are receiving the right information, at the right time, in the right way – interview prep, for example, might not be the most helpful thing on day one of a full-time program, but some exercises around career pathway mapping in those early months of studies could be impactful! We are also expanding services for Alumni to ensure that we have a supportive off-ramp from career services when program alumni might be experiencing a lot of challenges and change and opportunities.” Kerr told us.

Information Overload

We asked Shaunna-Marie to share her thoughts on what she thinks are some of the most common pain points her students face; she told us, “The biggest pain point students seem to have is the amount of information, often conflicting, about career development. We are in a time where so much information is available, but it is increasingly misleading, unrealistic, or just out of date, and many students feel overwhelmed by it. The pandemic and likely recession has led to an almost global sense of general uncertainty regarding the labour market, and we’re seeing more conflicting information about hiring trends across sectors.”

How Can Employers Help A Student’s Career?

With so many conflicting routes and varying information available, we wanted to know how future employers can help their new hires and students. “I believe it’s important for employers to understand the ‘new world’ that these graduates are emerging into and have empathy for the ways in which their last few pre-workforce years have been impacted.”

Kerr went on, ” At the same time, I believe it’s important not to underestimate their abilities and the value they bring to the workplace. For example, the facility many new grads have with virtual and digital environments can go a long way towards bridging organizational gaps that may emerge in virtual/hybrid working arrangements. Many new grads have always lived some parts of their lives in virtual or digital settings, even pre-pandemic.”

She went on to say, “I can think of several ways that their ability to seamlessly integrate their virtual and digital interactions with their in-person interactions can be leveraged in support of team and culture building, inclusion, and even strategic and operational planning related to things like client relations in hybrid settings. I think other aspects of being an inclusive workspace for everyone in a virtual/hybrid environment, like ensuring meaningful check-ins and recognition, dedicated ‘quiet’ hours for deep work, recognizing things like Zoom fatigue, and open office hours for senior leaders can also be helpful.”

Advice for Fellow Career Educators

Advice for Employers Kerr believes that employers should understand the changing world of work and adapt to the new digital recruitment and hybrid work environments. They should provide clear information about the hiring process, be transparent about the skills they are looking for and be open to diverse candidates and new ways of working.

Shaunna-Marie had this final thought for her peers. “Don’t stop your own career development! Keep learning, exploring, and identifying new and promising practices, pursuing professional development, and building your own networks. I learn so much from talking to other people in the career development and workforce development spaces – including former TalentEgg Career Coach of the Year (2020) Ibiyemi Balogun, who always inspires me with her passion for career coaching, planning, and development.”

How Schools and Employers Can Help Support Students

January 19, 2023 / James Highet / 0 Comments

McMaster University is one of the top post-secondary schools in the country. We had a chance to speak with Tanya Kett, M.Ed., CDP, CPC, a career counsellor at the university. Tanya supports undergraduate students from all Faculties and levels. Part of this support includes addressing students’ concerns, helping them explore their options, discussing their career goals and developing personalized career and further education plans. Her primary focus is equity-deserving students who experience barriers to their career development. Tanya engages students in a collaborative process to navigate their career journey and works with colleagues to develop new programs and services. The department offers individual appointments, drop-ins and group webinars/workshops, both hybrid and in-person. Here at TalentEgg, we wanted to know more about her 19 years in career development and her advice to schools and employers to help students flourish.

Why Career Education/Coaching?

My high school guidance counsellor encouraged me to work as my co-op in our school’s career centre. I learned about all the resources and assessments we had and eventually had class visits from my peers. At that time, I wanted my career to involve helping people navigate their career and education options — but I had no idea what job that was. It wasn’t one of those job titles we know about (i.e., teacher, social worker, lawyer). Years later, during university at McMaster, I discovered the career centre (where I now work!), got involved as a peer mentor and learned about the different roles, such as counsellor, advisor, coach and practitioner. There were so many options! Building connections from that experience and a few other vital contacts along the way were pivotal to my career.

Rewarding Achievements

My achievements are connected to my students and colleagues. When the students I have the privilege of supporting succeed, that is my most outstanding achievement. When they let me know they landed a job, got accepted to their program or had an “aha moment” about their career path, it lets me know I’ve made a positive impact. It reminds me how valuable our work in the career field is for students. Colleagues who support one another and share expertise and resources contribute to students’ success.

If I had to pick my most outstanding achievement, it would be that I found a career that I love and am passionate about.

Future Goals

I want to carve out more time for professional development. I always have a long list of ideas, such as courses, certificates and conferences to attend, but I tend to focus more on students during the academic year. This doesn’t leave a lot of time for PD. I feel like there is so much to learn about changes in technology and how we deliver service, theoretical approaches to consider, and so many resources to explore.

Commitment to DEI

My commitment is to support students who identify with equity-deserving and diverse groups who may experience barriers to career development. I collaborate with them to identify actionable items, strategize, gather resources and develop a plan to instill a sense of hope, confidence, optimism and self-efficacy so they can realize their career potential. My focus throughout my master’s degree was exploring diverse career development (disability, Indigenous, first-generation and international students) through the lens of student affairs.

Supportive and inclusive employers have the opportunity to create positive and meaningful experiences for students who may need someone to take a chance on them. It is a chance to diversify their team; we all know that diversity adds value.

Pain Points & the Effects of the Pandemic on Students

Students are generally overwhelmed with school and keeping up with other priorities like working, volunteering and extra-curricular opportunities. They often wonder how to be competitive for programs/jobs when they feel they are behind their peers in terms of experiences. The pandemic made it challenging to engage in networking opportunities, such as connecting with professors and employers to foster meaningful conversations. It also took time to adjust to the reliance on technology for academic and work tasks traditionally done in person. Now, everyone is adapting yet again to in-person learning and work environments. They may need to consider more travel time to various in-person appointments and engagements, which didn’t happen as much in the last couple of years.

Transitioning from School-to-Work

In the last two years, our team researched, developed and launched resources to guide students in the transition to work. We now have website content, a downloadable tip sheet, a customizable workshop, and one-on-one support to help students with this transition. During the pandemic, we offered captioned and recorded versions of our live webinars on topics such as virtual interviews, networking and career fairs to equip students with tools to navigate virtual recruitment practices.

Acknowledging, validating and normalizing student concerns is often a starting point for many conversations about transitioning to work. Several students identify with “imposter syndrome,” where they may not feel capable or confident in the role they landed, creating dissonance between their perceived potential and their actual potential. This can happen for various reasons, including diversity identification; therefore, it is valuable for employers to have inclusive training plans, mentoring (matched to employee) and opportunities to check in throughout the first few weeks to foster belonging in the workplace.

How Employers Can Help Support Students

Students with the opportunity to have a mentor at work often tell me how valuable it is to know they have a point person for questions as they transition to their roles. Transitioning from school to work is a great life experience — be kind, be patient and offer support so that students don’t feel like they always have to ask (sometimes they don’t know it’s okay to ask!). For example, ask every employee during the onboarding process if they have accommodation requests; that way, those with accommodation needs will feel included and supported in the hiring process. It will go a long way in building morale and confidence for new employees, which in turn produces a positive company culture. Leverage the digital expertise of Gen Z as our virtual/hybrid work environments evolve.

Connecting With Top Student Talent

The best way is to diversify what employers may consider a “top” student. It’s not always academic achievements or workplace achievements that make a student a great addition; life experiences also count. Consider the students’ potential — maybe they haven’t had the same opportunities as others yet.

Take a holistic approach to the application process and ensure it is inclusive and accessible. Some students may be in a program different from their career interests but engaging in self-learning opportunities because they’ve found what they are passionate about well into their undergrad. This demonstrates a commitment to finishing what they started and the initiative to find other learning or experiential opportunities, skills and qualities relevant in the workplace.

Invest time to train, mentor and foster a culture of inclusion in the workplace not only to attract but also to retain students who may end up as top employees. Some wonderful colleagues across our campus can work with employers to set up company recruitment events, information sessions, coffee chats, etc., and participate in career fairs to get to know our students beyond their application.

Advice For Peer Career Educators

One of my mentors told me many years ago that “career counsellors never stop their career development.” I’ve found that to be true, and it’s advice I pass on to others. New trends, technology and approaches continually shape how we work with our clients. Carve out time for your professional development; watch webinars, read articles, attend conferences, take a course, join professional networks, find a mentor — whatever you find helpful for your practice. Build your network to include a diverse range of contacts.

Final Thoughts

Careers are a journey; they take time to build, grow and develop. It’s essential to choose a direction, not a destination — this leaves more options open for you and optimizes your chances for success. It takes patience, persistence and perseverance. Set goals, build your network and have a parallel plan. These things are all part of building your career resilience.

You are not alone; You will get there.

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