A client recently called me, ‘Are you home? I’m coming over!”

I detect .. let's see ... anger, panic, sadness in his voice.

I tidy up my living space, the doorbell rings and I see him at my front porch – standing there with his veins visible on his neck and throat.

He starts yelling gibberish, and I see a nosy neighbour glance at my front door. “It’s fine”, I mouth the words while I give her a reassuring look.

Ok, back to the client. This is what he says to me, now audibly shouting:

“He betrayed me, I was shocked! Pretty much stabbed me in the back, how could he do that?”

I want him to calm down, but obviously, I don’t tell him to calm down! Rookie coaching mistake.

I hold his hand, sit him down, and squeeze his shoulders. I let him fester for a minute, while I bring him his favourite drink: hot chocolate. He takes a sip, and looks at me through tears in his eyes.

“What happened?” I ask, in my most soothing, calm voice.

He takes another sip, and looks at me with puppy eyes, wh...

Let’s face it: when you’re in the throes of long-term unemployment, frustration can start to feel like your middle name.

"I’m capable, willing, and my bills definitely aren’t paying themselves!" you think. But when paid work is nowhere to be found, the struggle isn't just about missing that pay check—it’s also about the hit to your social life, mental health, and, let’s be honest, your sanity. I vented about this a few years ago here.

But don’t throw in the towel just yet—this is where a bridge job can swoop in and save the day!

Think of a bridge job as your temporary superhero, one that pays the bills, keeps the benefits coming (hello, healthcare!), and makes sure you’re still out there doing something productive.

Of course, you’ll want to be smart about which bridge job you choose. No one’s saying you have to be a mime in Times Square unless, of course, that’s your thing. Aim for a role that has some alignment with your career goals. You know, something that lets you flex a bit o...

[First published in May 2020, but the lesssons are just as relevant today.]

We are living in the midst of the deepest recession in human history. The International Monetary Fund expects a 3% decline in global GDP this year, the European Union’s economy will contract by 7.4% and perhaps most pessimistically the International Labor Organization expects an equivalent of 305 million full times jobs to be have been lost by the end of June. In every direction, there is a new story of doom and gloom.

I have seen this before, although on a smaller scale.

I graduated with an MBA diploma from INSEAD in France, at possibly the worst time – in July 2009, during the last great recession. Since the crash of Lehman Brothers in 2008, the last 18 months had led to a worsening economy with millions of jobs being shed.

Personally, I had a tremendous challenge on my hands. I needed to land a job after a significant financial investment in the MBA. I had no prior professional networks in Europe, hav...