Career

A number of times in my life I’ve found myself between jobs. Usually this is a euphemism for unemployment, which at times it was for me, but typically it was a natural mini-retirement break between activities. An example of this was when I lost my job at a tech company at the end of the…

Early on in my career, I had aspirations of running my own hotel, or group of hotels, somewhere in Canada or abroad. A decade working in the hospitality industry taught me a lot about running a business, leading people, and doing what it takes to succeed. I read every business and leadership book that I…

I’d like to think I’m a fairly successful person.  I have a beautiful family and a fulfilling career.  I live in a nice house, spend less than I earn, and have put some money away for a rainy day.  Things have turned out pretty good for me so far. Yet when I’m asked how I…

Most defined benefit pensions – also known as gold plated pensions – were designed in an environment that supported and encouraged early retirement. But things are different today. We’re living longer. Life expectancy increased from age 75 to age 82 in the last 35 years. Gold plated pensions in the private sector have disappeared, while public…

You may have already heard or read about the controversy surrounding RBC’s decision to outsource technology jobs to an Indian firm. I must admit that when I read the article I thought to myself, why are they only speaking of these 45 jobs?  As a technologist I have seen may “organizational redevelopments” as they are…

The funny thing about job security is that everyone thinks they have it until they don’t.  Most of us can’t imagine a scenario where we’ll get laid off until something unexpected sneaks up on us. In 1993-94, Alberta Premier Ralph Klein set out to eliminate a provincial debt of $23 billion.  I was only 14…

“Why don’t you go back to school so you can get a good job.”  This from my doting 90-year-old father who is delusionally thinking his “little girl” is still in her twenties instead of a fifty-something grandmother – plus he still likes to tell me how to run my life. Although I’m a proponent of…

Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been writing about traveling over the long term and experiencing the world at She Thinks I’m Cheap but I also wanted to bring a subset of this discussion to the readers at Boomer & Echo. Taking time off from your day-to-day routine for several weeks, months or even years isn’t just an…

Whether we leave our job for more money, new opportunities, or to achieve better work-life balance, a career change can have a drastic effect on our lives. I thought I’d spend my entire career in the hospitality industry, but after series of events I ended up on a completely different path.  Here’s why I made…

Everyone is shocked when corporate executives are led off to jail in handcuffs for employee theft and we shake our heads at the magnitude and greed when hearing of these scandals in the news. A decade ago Enron collapsed under the weight of a massive fraud that included faulty accounting and business practices. Small companies…