Meet Denis and Clinton from RoadToEmployment.ca

Denis Luchyshyn and Clinton Nellist shared nuggets of career management wisdom on Career Buzz gleaned from over 150 interviews as they traveled from Victoria to Halifax. They interviewed CEOs, Career Professionals, Students and Recent Grads to generate “actionable advice.”

Hear the RoadToEmployment podcast of Career Buzz from Nov. 12, also featuring the launch of Innovation Nation on Career Buzz, with guest host Stephen Armstrong.

When Mike Klassen graduated from engineering school, he wanted to make a difference so he volunteered with Engineers Without Borders, whose mission is to be an ‘incubator of systemic innovation.’ Mike told Career Buzz listeners (Oct. 8, 2014) how his volunteer gig led to paid jobs with EWB where he spent three years in Ghana, Uganda and the UK, as a consultant, team leader and portfolio manager.

When I asked Mike about transferable skills he used at EWB from engineering he said, “problem solving, but more specifically, it’s how to frame and understand the problem you’re trying to solve. What is the core issue here? What are our assumptions?” Mike was able to take skills developed in solving complex calculus and physics problems and apply them to solve the “O.D.” problem (you’ll have to listen to the interview for what that means!) leading to the “community led total sanitation” solution.

What are the clues that apply to you? Being able to name a few key transferable skills, like Mike Klassen did, is invaluable to your own career management. Try this: Think of a recent time you truly enjoyed your work. What were you doing? What was the skill you were using? For example, I truly enjoyed interviewing Mike on Career Buzz. I was using my active listening and interviewing skills. Now, ask yourself, in what ways can you redeploy these skills into a new area in your work or volunteer or personal life? For example, I’d like to host a national radio show on career and workplace issues!

“Why am I here? Why is life like this? Why can’t I be happy?” These are the questions people ask, said Professor Michael Steger as he shared his research on meaning in life with Career Buzz listeners (July 23, 2014). “Having meaning in life,” he said in my interview with him at the recent Canadian Positive Psychology Association conference, “means that we’ve made sense of the world, found our place, and are pursuing something big enough to be worthy of this life we’ve been given.”

What are the clues that apply to you? Michael Steger helps us understand that meaning in life comprises two elements: Significance, that is, making sense, and Purpose. He explained purpose: “People crave the idea that what they do with their time here on Earth matters and adds up to something important.” Try this:  Name two ways in which you’re already spending time in a way that matters and adds up to something. Now, name one more way that would add more meaning to your life. Reflect on that one more for the rest of this week.

Listen to the whole interview also featuring Canadian Positive Psychology Association conference speakers Tim Kasser, Lea Waters, Matt Scholes, and Mandy Wintink.