Where do you want to be in five years?

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Where do you want to be in five years?

Where do you want to be in five years? It’s a good question to start with. We often make our New Years resolutions and set new goals thinking of our immediate future. To lose a few pounds. To eat more vegetables. To finally run that 10K. But, an even better exercise is to stop and take stock of where we are right now  - not just the address - but where are you in your career? in your personal life? in your relationships? in your finances? in your dreaming and hoping? 

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7 Essential Steps to Take Before You Begin the Job Hunt

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7 Essential Steps to Take Before You Begin the Job Hunt

7 Essential Steps to Take Before You Begin the Job Hunt. You’ve decided it’s time to find a new job. Whether you’re a new college graduate or just ready for a change, it’s tempting to slap a resume together and start hitting apply on every job position you see on Indeed. But there are a few essential steps you need to take before hitting that SUBMIT button. Completing these basic steps will make your job search go more smoothly and will greatly improve your chances of landing the job you’ve always wanted

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Had enough? Is it time to quit your job?

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Had enough? Is it time to quit your job?

Had enough? Is it time to quit your job? For some people, it’s hard to know if it’s time to begin a new job search and move on or stay and make some changes where you are. These 5 questions (well, 5 sets of questions) won’t tell you if you should quit your job and become a novelist, go to law school, or open your own coffee and book shop. Your answers to these questions will, however, suggest whether you should stay in your current job and give it all you’ve got (possibly making a few strategic changes) or get up the gumption to follow your bliss in a different direction.

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Eight Tips to De-stress Your Holiday Season

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Eight Tips to De-stress Your Holiday Season

Welcome to the season of stress! It’s time to buy the gifts and prepare the feasts. There are cookies to bake, a house to clean and decorate, and even more invitations and obligations. We have to roast the turkey and hang the lighted icicles. From late November all the way through to New Years Day, our to-do lists are completely out of control. All of us, especially women who are often called on to be the managers of this busy holiday season, feel overwhelmed, stressed and not particularly joyful. But how do you slow down and enjoy the beauty of the season when there is soooo much to do?

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Are you Team Pumpkin Spice Latte or Team Apple Cider?

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Are you Team Pumpkin Spice Latte or Team Apple Cider?

What’s better than a pumpkin spice latte in October? Well, I’m not really a pumpkin spice person - I’m on Team Apple Cider, but one thing that’s even better than hot apple cider on a chilly fall evening is a morning email from a client telling me all about the new job he just landed. 

We had been working together for a couple of months, updating and polishing his resume, developing and connecting with his network, even doing some practice interviewing and BOOM! He got the job he wanted - the dream job he had dared to write down as part of his career discovery journey. He worked the career search process… and it worked! 

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Book Review: In 'When Breath Becomes Air', Paul Kalanithi Offers Lessons in Life and Vocation

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Book Review: When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalinithi. It’s not a book most people would reach for when pondering vocational questions. I’m sure it’s not in the career section at the local bookstore. But if you are looking for a book that will help you delve into the deeper questions of work and life, you won’t find anything better.

Paul Kalanithi, on the verge of entering his professional life as a neurosurgeon and beginning a family with his wife Lucy, is diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer. After training for almost a decade, he faces his own terminal illness and a profound identity crisis. Instead of a becoming a practicing doctor, he finds himself instead in the role of a patient.

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"So...tell me about yourself." 4 simple steps to a great answer.

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"So...tell me about yourself." 4 simple steps to a great answer.

It’s often the first question you’ll face in an interview. Despite knowing this, many candidates head into a job interview without a clue as to their answer. Many struggle with a good answer and bobble around a bit as they try to think of something smart to say.

Trust me, your interviewer knows when you’re not prepared for this question and is probably rolling his or her eyes internally as you blunder and wobble through your answer.

Some version of this question is almost a certainty in any interview. You can count on it so it’s worth taking some time to polish up an answer.

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4 Ways the Myers Briggs Personality Test Can Help you Find a Career You Love...plus 3 things it can't do

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4 Ways the Myers Briggs Personality Test Can Help you Find a Career You Love...plus 3 things it can't do

Almost every college and university uses the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) in their career guidance office. A quick google search will turn up a list of career possibilities for each of the 16 personality types. Scores of books have been written about the type indicator and the Jungian theory it is based upon. It has been loved, and scorned, for 70 years since it’s creation by the American mother-daughter team, Katherine Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers.

So is it worth it? How can the MBTI help you find a career and a life you love?

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3 Quick Tips to Jumpstart your Job Search on LinkedIn

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3 Quick Tips to Jumpstart your Job Search on LinkedIn

I have to admit I was a skeptic early on. As a counselor and career coach who’s been around a while, I understood the value of building a network to help in your job search but I wasn’t sure about the real value of an online networking site. I was so wrong!

Depending on which data you look at, between 75-90% of all recruiters use LinkedIn to find and vet job candidates. I’ve worked with clients who have found jobs or made connections that helped them find jobs through LinkedIn. I myself been contacted by recruiters with job possibilities and even landed a job interview. Yeah, I have to say it’s worth it! But it does take some time and a little work on your part to make those job connections and possibilities happen. Here are 3 quick tips to get you started.

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8 Things to Do To Land a Great Job When You Graduate

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8 Things to Do To Land a Great Job When You Graduate

For all you university students, here are a few things to do to make the most of those four years. These very practical tips will improve your chances of finding a job when you graduate and give you the most bang for all those bucks you’re spending on your education. I wish I had done more of these! 

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10 Do's and Don'ts to Impress a Hiring Manager

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10 Do's and Don'ts to Impress a Hiring Manager

I recently spoke with two hiring managers who regularly interview and assess job applicants. One was the communications director and hiring manager for a large international business company. Another was a store manager for a large big box retailer. Both offered insight into what they look for in an applicant.  Every hiring manager is different but here are some of the things that would impress these two managers and help you land the job. 

How to Impress the Hiring Manager and Land a Job


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Take the MBTI Step II and Be Your Best YOU

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Are you an MBTI junkie? You know your four basic letters but have you taken the MBTI Step Two? Do you ever wonder why you don’t exactly fit your type? Want to learn more?

Or - Are you wondering what is the MBTI? How it can help you understand the DNA of your personality?

Keep reading…

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What is the MBTI? For the uninitiated, the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is one of the world’s most popular personality tools. It’s simple, yet powerful, and provides a common language for discussing and understanding personality differences that are critical for making good choices about careers and life. The MBTI assessment and its process of self discovery gives you a framework for understanding your personality and appreciating differences in others. The MBTI identifies your preferred way of doing things in 4 key areas: your energy source, how you gather information, your decision making style and your lifestyle and work orientation. 

The MBTI Step II is a relatively recent addition to this powerful tool. This expanded version of the Myers Briggs Personality Inventory offers a more richly textured picture of your type and personality. 

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The MBTI Step I is very effective at illustrating the fundamental ways in which we differ and experience the world. The MBTI Step II takes this understanding a step beyond basic. The MBTI Step II takes each of the 8 scales from Step I and breaks them down into 5 sub-scales known as facets. This gives us not 4 ways in which we differ but 40! The MBTI Step II provides compelling information related to your communication and decision making styles, as well as insight into how you deal with change and with conflict.

Are you a methodical or emergent personality? Systematic or casual? What is your general organizational style and approach to planning? How do you connect with others? What kind of knowledge do you trust?  I find Step II particularly helpful in understanding the Sensing/Intuitive differences we find in ourselves and others. 

The MBTI Step II can help you uncover the DNA of your personality. It’s a fascinating, in-depth look into your personality and gives you critical insights for career decisions and professional development as well as enhanced emotional intelligence and self awareness.  It’s a great way to discover who you really are! 

Here’s a Sneak Preview! Take the MBTI Step II online now! 

In the next month, Blue Sage Career Strategies will begin offering clients the opportunity to take both the MBTI Steps I and II, as well as the CPI 260, at our unique, confidential online website. These personality tests are used by corporate trainers and psychologists in coaching leadership skills and career success so take advantage of this option to get ahead in your career and life. You can get a sneak preview and take the personality tests early by contacting Anita here. Each personality test includes an individual feedback session by phone with Anita to explore your results, confirm your personality type, and answer any questions you might have.

You will receive:

  • Step II Interpretive Report,

  • Blue Sage Career Interest Report

  • Plus a 30 minute individual Best Fit analysis and feedback session with Anita

Total Introductory Cost $115 (All charges in US Dollars. Contact Anita for Canadian pricing.)

The MBTI Step 1 is also available at a cost of $75 (includes Step I Basic Report and a 30 minute feedback session with Anita). 

 

Anita is a fully certified MBTI practitioner and has over two decades of experience teaching the concepts of the Myers Briggs and working with people to unlock their full potential. The MBTI Step II can help you discover your strengths, make career decisions and simply understand yourself a whole lot better.

Uncover the DNA of your personality! 

Need a career coach? Blue Sage is back!

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Need a career coach? Blue Sage is back!

Many of you know that my husband and I recently opened our lives up to a big new adventure and moved to Nova Scotia. After wild ideas about moving somewhere "different" and looking at several options, we made the leap, well, the long drive, to Canada in December of 2017. It is different! Snow and cold replaced the mild winters of Charleston - even though winters in Nova Scotia are more temperate than much of the rest of Canada. We're enjoying a new culture and learning new things everyday - like curling and crokinole. If you're interested in hearing about our adventure, you can follow my blog, Ordinary Wandering.

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Want to upgrade your career in 2018?

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lifework project 2018

Are you ready to make big changes in your life in 2018?

Want to upgrade your career?

Start something new?

Create work that is authentic and meaningful? 

This is your chance. The LifeWork Project™ is back! The next class begins January 8, 2018 and for the week of CyberMonday is available at 20% off. (No other discounts will be offered.) Sign up before December 3. You can sign up for the e-course alone or along with discounted coaching from Anita. Use the code CYBER20.  Keep reading to find out more...

If you’re ready to take some real steps to figure out what’s next for you, take a look at The LifeWork Project™. This e-course will include weekday emails delivered straight to your inbox with a LifeWork discovery reading and a question of the day to ponder. Each week you will be guided through a series of exercises, journal writing prompts, and other activities to assist you in discovering your personality, identifying your strengths and transferable skills, clarifying your values and creating a career design plan with action steps for moving forward. You will complete the full length Myers Briggs Personality Inventory (MBTI®) and receive a personality profile plus career information tailored to your personality type. You will spend time looking back and learning lessons from your past plus taking time to complete a frank and honest assessment of  your current situation. Finally you will design a plan for moving forward toward the career you’ve always wanted.

From a previous participant: 

I really enjoyed the LifeWork Project! It enabled me to unlock bits of truth that I'd been holding captive, mostly out of fear, thereby confirming the significance of those hidden bits of self and forcing them into the light. This was a great way for me to remind myself how well I know myself and to stop denying the significance of simple pleasures and passion, which are so key to long-term sustainability and overall life satisfaction. I understand and appreciate myself better -strengths, weaknesses, energy drainers AND gainers- and all. I'd highly recommend this to anyone who is feeling stuck, bored, restless, or who has goals and some idea about what one wants to do but needs a confidence boost and a bit of confirmation, and/or is struggling to formulate a plan to forge one's dreams into reality. ~ Katie W., Charleston, SC

Here's what's included: 

  • Daily emails (Mon-Fri) with a LifeWork Discovery reading and a question of the day
  • Weekly exercises, writing prompts and other LifeWork Discovery activities plus a weekend LifeWork Challenge.
  • MBTI Personality Profile, Best Fit analysis, and Career Information based on your type
  • The LifeWork Values Matrix 
  • The LifeWork Career Design Plan

Options for individual coaching throughout the process with Blue Sage Career Coach, Anita Flowers  are available at a discounted rate for LifeWork Project™ participants. Coaching can be done in person or by phone so the entire LifeWork Project™ is available to anyone anywhere.

For more information, check out The LifeWork Project™ here. 

Sign up today or contact Anita at 843-224-2025 or anita@bluesagecareers for more information or for a free consultation.