Celebrating excellence feels particularly meaningful this year.

What Remains Constant

Our profession is changing. The world of work is changing. Technology is reshaping how we serve our clients, build our businesses, and even think about the future of career development. At times, that pace of change can feel exciting. At other times, it can feel uncertain.

And then, each year, the Awards of Excellence submissions arrive and remind us what remains constant.

Behind every submission is a career professional who cares deeply about their work and the people they serve. Someone who has invested their time, creativity, expertise, and heart into helping another person move forward. Someone who is learning, adapting, contributing, and continuing to raise the standard of our profession.

That is worth celebrating.

This year, our judges reviewed numerous submissions from across our community. Selecting our Award of Excellence recipients, honourable mentions, and nominees is never easy, and I want to extend my sincere appreciation to our judging team for the care and professional expertise they brought to the process.

To everyone who submitted their work this year, thank you. Putting your work forward for consideration takes courage, and every submission represents something bigger than an award. It represents a commitment to your craft and to the people whose careers and lives your work influences.

And to our 2026 Award of Excellence recipients, honourable mentions, and nominees, congratulations!

Confidence in Where We Are Going

Your accomplishments give us something wonderful to celebrate, but they also give us something equally important: confidence in where this profession is going.

A great deal may be changing around us. Still, when I look at the talent, generosity, innovation, and genuine care within the CPC community, I am reminded that the future of career development is in very capable hands.

Technology will continue to evolve. Our profession will continue to adapt. The way we work may look different tomorrow than it does today. But excellence will always be human.

Please join me in celebrating CPC’s 2026 Awards of Excellence recipients, honourable mentions, and nominees and congratulating them on this well-deserved recognition.

2026 Awards of Excellence Recipients

Outstanding Career Leader

• Winner: Stephen Andrada
• Nominee: Eman Ismail-Elmasri

Outstanding Career Professional

• Winners: Afreen Sayyed | Carolyn Leeson
• Honourable Mentions: Ayesha Saeed | Michelle Schafer | Shauna Specht
• Nominees: Jennifer Bouley | Nadia Qasmieh | Rachel Kubacki

Outstanding Community Outreach Strategist

• Winners: Michelle Schafer | Shaye Belanger

Outstanding Employment Interview Strategist

• Nominee: Barb Penney

Outstanding Social Media Strategist

• Nominee: Karuna Dhawan

Outstanding Résumé – Career Change

• Honourable Mention: Nadia Qasmieh
• Nominees: Karuna Dhawan | Natalie MacLellan

Outstanding Résumé – Creative

• Winner: Amy Britta Watt

Outstanding Résumé – Executive

• Winner: Barb Penney
• Honourable Mention: Gabrielle Suttis
• Nominees: Dorothy Keenan | Karen Shane | Marian Bernard

Outstanding Résumé – New Graduate / Entry-Level

• Winners: Amy Britta Watt | Shauna Specht
• Honourable Mention: Marian Bernard
• Nominees: Dorothy Keenan | Natalie MacLellan | Shobana Thangavadivel

Outstanding Résumé – Technical

• Winner: Gabrielle Suttis
• Nominees: Karen Shane

Outstanding Volunteer Contributors (Executive Director’s Awards)

A tremendous amount of work happens behind the scenes at Career Professionals of Canada.

Throughout the year, volunteers give their time, knowledge, ideas, and professional expertise to support our events, certifications, communications, programs, governance, and so much more. Some contributions are highly visible to our members. Many others happen quietly, through an extra set of eyes on a project, a thoughtful conversation, an offer to help, or simply being the person who steps forward when something needs to be done.

CPC could not accomplish what it does without them.

The Executive Director’s Awards for Outstanding Volunteer Contribution are my way of recognizing individuals whose contributions have made an exceptional difference to CPC over the past year. This year’s recipients have contributed in very different ways. Still, they share something important: a willingness to give generously of themselves for the benefit of our organization, our members, and our profession.

A Special Full-Circle Recognition

I also must acknowledge that presenting one of these awards this year brought things wonderfully full circle.

For many years, CPC founder Sharon Graham recognized others through these awards. This year, I have the privilege of recognizing her.

While Sharon has stepped back from CPC’s day-to-day operations, she certainly has not stepped away from contributing. During a significant year of transition, she has given generously of her time, mentorship, institutional knowledge, and expertise. Among her many contributions, she championed certification modernization and devoted extraordinary volunteer time to developing the Certified Future Strategist (CFS) Certification from the ground up.

There is something very special about having the opportunity to recognize the person who spent so many years recognizing the contributions of others. And at the same time, Sharon stands alongside each of this year’s recipients for exactly the reason these awards exist: she saw opportunities to contribute and chose to step forward.

That spirit is reflected in every person being recognized this year.

To our 2026 Executive Director’s Award recipients, thank you. Whether you contributed through leadership, mentorship, communications, events, certification, strategic guidance, or simply by consistently asking, “How can I help?”, your contributions have strengthened CPC.

Skye Berry
Executive Director
Career Professionals of Canada

Image enhanced using ChatGPT.

The post Celebrating Excellence: CPC’s 2026 Awards of Excellence Recipients! appeared first on Career Professionals of Canada.

Many career professionals entered this field because they genuinely want to help people navigate uncertainty, change, and meaningful life transitions. Yet the profession itself is also changing rapidly.

Technology continues evolving. Labour markets are becoming more complex. Client expectations are shifting. Information environments can feel overwhelming. Many professionals are trying to remain informed and effective while also managing growing workloads and continual pressure to keep up. They are also trying to remain adaptable, ethical, and emotionally present within rapidly changing environments.

At the same time, expectations placed on career professionals continue to expand. Clients expect support navigating technology, labour market uncertainty, online information, changing hiring systems, career reinvention, emotional stress, and complex career decisions. Professionals are often expected to interpret rapidly changing environments while still providing thoughtful, human-centred guidance. In many cases, this work happens under tight deadlines and increasingly demanding conditions.

For some, this creates an important question: How do you sustain yourself professionally in a field that continues changing so quickly?

Professional sustainability is not only about avoiding burnout. Many professionals are now trying to understand how to remain relevant, informed, confident, and meaningfully engaged over time. They are also trying to sustain themselves within a profession that continues evolving technologically, socially, and economically.

Sustainable Practice Is Not Accidental

Many professionals assume sustainability simply develops naturally through experience. Yet long-term professional sustainability often requires ongoing attention and intentional practice.

Career development work can be emotionally demanding. Professionals may spend years supporting clients through layoffs, financial stress, burnout, mental health challenges, career transitions, workplace instability, and changing labour markets. At the same time, professionals themselves are adapting to technological disruption and evolving service models. They are also navigating increasing complexity and growing expectations surrounding responsiveness and continual learning.

Many career professionals were originally trained within environments that emphasized information delivery, assessment processes, résumé development, and structured career planning. While these areas still matter, many professionals now recognize that the role involves interpretation, emotional support, ethical reasoning, and contextual understanding. Professionals are also helping clients navigate uncertainty that often has no immediate or simple answer.

Members of Career Professionals of Canada recognize that remaining effective today requires different kinds of professional development than in the past. Technical knowledge alone may no longer feel sufficient within environments shaped by rapid technological change, AI-supported systems, shifting workforce expectations, and complex client realities. Many practitioners are becoming more interested in strengthening professional reasoning and future-oriented thinking. These capacities may support more sustainable long-term practice.

Without strong foundations, it can become difficult to maintain energy, confidence, clarity, and professional engagement over time. This may be one reason many future strategists are beginning to think more intentionally about sustainable career practice.

Foundations of Sustainable Career Practice

Within increasingly complex environments, sustainable practice may involve more than technical knowledge or years of experience alone. Many professionals are recognizing the importance of strengthening foundations that support long-term effectiveness and ongoing engagement within evolving environments.

These foundations include ongoing learning, adaptive practice, ethical anchoring, reflective judgment, and professional connection. These dimensions often influence one another. When one area weakens, strain may appear elsewhere over time, including in confidence, decision-making, energy, and adaptability.

Many professionals are also recognizing that sustainable practice depends on staying connected to thoughtful professional communities, ongoing discussion, reflective learning, and evolving professional standards, rather than trying to navigate rapid change entirely alone. Professional isolation can make it harder to remain informed, calibrated, and confidently engaged over time. This may become even more important within a profession shaped by continual change.

Sustaining Human-Centred Practice

As AI-supported technologies become more integrated into career development, some professionals are also recognizing that sustainability involves more than simply learning new technical tools.

Sustainable practice involves protecting the human side of career development itself. Technology is becoming more capable of generating information quickly and persuasively. As a result, many professionals are recognizing that the human role centres on interpretation, ethical reasoning, reflective communication, emotional trust, and helping clients navigate uncertainty thoughtfully.

CPC members are already asking deeper questions about what meaningful career development work may look like in increasingly automated environments. In many ways, sustainable practice involves learning how to adapt without losing the reflective, ethical, and human-centred foundations that support meaningful career development work.

Strengthening Future-Oriented Career Practice

In many ways, sustainable practice is becoming less about having every answer and more about maintaining the professional capacity to continue learning, interpret change thoughtfully, and support clients responsibly as environments continue evolving.

Many career professionals are already actively exploring how to remain adaptable, informed, ethical, and professionally grounded within rapidly changing environments.

CPC’s Certified Future Strategist (CFS) program was developed with these realities in mind. The program explores sustainable career practice, adaptive career development, reflective judgment, ethical interpretation, future literacy, and future-oriented strategies that support responsible and resilient professional practice over time.

The goal is not simply to keep up with change. It is to help career professionals remain thoughtful, effective, human-centred, and sustainably engaged while navigating increasingly complex environments.

– By Sharon Graham, Founder and Chair of Career Professionals of Canada –

The ideas and insights shared are entirely the author’s own. This article was edited with the support of ChatGPT, developed by OpenAI. Image generated using ChatGPT.

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As a Career Counsellor, I recognize that every client I work with is multi-contextual, or, to borrow a phrase from narrative therapy, “multi-storied”. Each client is always more than a typology, category, assessment, theory, skill set, or strategy. They are a distinct embodiment of their experiences, abilities, beliefs, and values; of their lives and relationships; of the world; of the communities and systems they belong to; and of their evolving relationship with work and career.

That distinct person and the world enter every career session and conversation. Multiple voices, opinions, expectations, assumptions, and aspirations are present, circulate through, and influence each conversation I have with a client. But I am noticing a particularly prominent third voice that has joined and is influencing the conversation: the voice of AI, ChatGPT, and social media.

This third voice increasingly accompanies a client into sessions. It may already have fielded their questions, offered a framework of “solutions,” shaped their expectations about the job market, and reframed how they view their skills, abilities, and careers in general. I am increasingly asked to respond to, confirm, contextualize, work with, or challenge this voice. I am also increasingly asked to defend the perspectives and approaches I bring to career counselling in relation to this voice.

Why has this voice become so prominent?

The Search for Certainty

Here are a few examples of what we are all witnessing in the career development field:

• The rapidly changing job market is making career predictions and any degree of certainty more difficult.
• Rising unemployment rates and difficulty for younger generations to secure a foothold in the job market.
• A growing inability to retire due to financial constraints.
• Shifts in the meaning of work, how we work, and job stability.
• The growing reality of a multi-job “career life” versus a traditional career path, with all the attendant changes in how we prepare for, engage in, and sustain that life.
• Dramatic changes in some professions, including the elimination of jobs.
• Changes in accessibility, choice, and opportunities in the job market and in educational and training pathways.

AI Cannot Experience and Author A Career Life

Advocating for the Experiential

For Reflection

Reflect on your work, your practice, and your engagement with clients. Consider a few sample questions:

• How often does AI’s voice enter your sessions and conversations with clients?
• In what ways does AI show up, and how do you notice it?
• How do you respond to this voice?
• How influential is AI in shaping the direction of a session or the subject of conversation?
• Do you notice changes in clients’ questions, expectations, or ways of framing a “career life”? How strongly are AI narratives about careers shaping your clients’ assumptions and expectations about what their careers should look like?  How should they be executed? Are they influencing decisions? Think of two examples. Write them out and reflect on how you responded—or how you would respond.
• Are you finding ways to integrate AI into your practice, or is AI competing with your practice? In what ways?

Some sample questions for conversation with clients:

• What question did you ask AI, and how did you phrase it?
• Was your question based on a challenge you are currently facing? Was your question in search of a strategy, general advice or direction?
• Why is this question important at this stage in your career or current situation?
• Was the answer relevant to your life and your experiences in work and career? Did it provide clarity?
• Did the answer influence how you are experiencing your career right now?
• How do you feel about the answer or suggestions you received?
• Did the AI-generated feedback prompt further questions, reflections, ideas, or even decisions? If so, what were they?
• Did the AI-generated feedback relieve you of a decision you were struggling with?

The post The Third Voice in Career Counselling appeared first on Career Professionals of Canada.

Career practitioners, educators, managers, and workplace leaders influence how people experience belonging, opportunity, and success. Developing a deeper understanding of Indigenous histories and contemporary realities can help professionals build stronger relationships, challenge assumptions, and create more equitable environments.

Learning That Leads to Meaningful Change

The 4 Seasons of Indigenous Learning is a foundational piece in this work. This course provides over 12 hours of learning from late Fall to late Spring: 5 hours of self-paced learning (interactive, videos, slide decks and short quizzes), 7 1-hour presentations by an incredible group of Indigenous presenters, where you learn about colonialism, racism, history, treaties, residential schools, UNDRIP, terminology, reconciliation, and restitution.

Importantly, Indigenous Peoples have deep relationships with the local Lands where innovations, technologies, governance systems, languages, medicines, oral histories, and cultural practices developed over thousands of years and continue today. The resilience of Indigenous people and the rediscovery and amplification of Indigenous excellence through the 4 Seasons of Indigenous Learning are something each Canadian should take to heart. It can be life-changing and offers a compassionate lens on the daily realities of Indigenous people.

Since we started offering this course 5 years ago, over 20,000 people have taken Season 1. Additionally, hundreds of reviews of this program have been posted on our website.

Through participant feedback, we consistently hear about shifts in understanding, educators changing their practice, organizations informing policy and decision-making, and workplaces finding new ways to support Indigenous employees and communities.

Therefore, regardless of your role in career development, education, human resources, or leadership, dedicating time to understanding Indigenous histories and contemporary realities is an investment in stronger relationships, better workplaces, and a more equitable future.

Learn more and enroll for this learning journey on our website.

Real Impact: What Participants Are Saying

A few examples of some of the hundreds of reviews we’ve received:

“There is no better way to learn about Indigenous peoples, cultures, and history than directly from Indigenous voices. This was the most authentic, honest, and helpful learning I have had the opportunity to participate in. I can’t wait to do the next season of learning!”

“I would strongly recommend this course to every person living on Turtle Island, and I have already suggested it to all my colleagues. Information covered in 4 Seasons could benefit both Indigenous and non-Indigenous participants working to decolonize their schools, universities, businesses, churches, and communities.”

“This program was extremely beneficial and enhanced my learning. The resources were excellent and provided additional learning. My knowledge has increased, and I have encouraged others to take this program. In fact, everybody should take this program. Thank you so much for an excellent learning experience!”

“This lesson provides a solid foundation and a great starting point for learning about Indigenous history and traditions. I feel like I have better tools to start making my workplace and communities more inclusive and educated about the people who have stewarded these lands for generations.”

“I am so grateful that I participated in this program, and I have signed up for the next session. The speakers were some of the most fascinating teachers and storytellers. They talked us through some very heavy topics with such beauty and grace. I looked forward to each session and the sense of community that we experienced despite the online format. This program has helped me heal some of my non-Indigenous sadness around the impacts made by my ancestors, especially the stolen land and genocide.”

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For our latest CPC Community Insights, we asked members to share how they protect their energy, maintain boundaries, and care for themselves while supporting others. Their responses offer practical reminders about what it takes to build a sustainable career in a helping profession.

What is one habit or practice that helps you protect your energy and stay well while supporting others?

Eman Ismail-Elmasri shared:

“Stepping away from my desk for a walk or listening to music helps me reset. It gives me space to clear my mind and come back to my clients with more energy and focus.”

Michelle Schafer makes movement an intentional part of her day:

“I start the day with movement (either a run or strength class), then take smaller movement breaks throughout the day. I’ll end the day with a calming walk in my local forest or a bike ride.”

Britt-Mari Sykes focuses on maintaining a strong sense of self beyond her professional work:

“I remind myself that I am always ‘more than’ the work I am dedicated to. I regularly engage in my many other interests, exercise, get enough sleep, eat well and spend quality time with my spouse and friends.”

What boundary has made the biggest difference in your ability to do this work sustainably?

For Eman, an important boundary is recognizing where her responsibility ends:

“Reminding myself that I can guide and support my clients, but I can’t carry every challenge for them. That boundary helps me stay present without taking on more than I should.”

Michelle builds space directly into her schedule:

“I leave 30 minutes between meetings. This gives me time to do any follow-up activities, then get outside and move before my next meeting. I find that I’m much more refreshed and able to focus on the next person.”

For Britt-Mari, protecting her working hours has become increasingly important:

“Setting very strict working hours and not making exceptions. When I set a limit on my working hours, I am more focused, present and energized when working with each client.”

Which aspect of career practitioner well-being deserves more attention in our profession?

The emotional demands of career development work stood out strongly in the responses.

Eman said:

“The emotional side of this work deserves more attention. We often support people through stress, uncertainty, and major life changes, and that can affect us too. Making space to talk about that and support each other is important.”

Britt-Mari highlighted another concern:

“Burnout, especially for sole practitioners who may experience professional isolation and may not recognize the signs of burnout or feel comfortable reaching out for support.”

Together, these perspectives remind us that career practitioner well-being is not separate from professional practice. Protecting our energy, maintaining boundaries, and recognizing the emotional demands of our work can help us remain present and effective for the people we serve.

What Do You Think?

How do you protect your own well-being while supporting others? What practices or boundaries have made your work more sustainable? Add your thoughts in the comments. Your perspective may help another career professional find a strategy that works for them.

Thank you to Michelle Schafer, Eman Ismail-Elmasri, and Britt-Mari Sykes for sharing their experiences and insights with our community.

Want to Be Featured and Share Your Insights?

Our next Community Insights questions are now open, and we would love to hear from you. This month, we’re exploring the topic of Building Client Trust. Share your perspective, and you may be featured in an upcoming CPC Community Insights article.

The post Community Insights: Career Practitioner Well-Being appeared first on Career Professionals of Canada.

Alongside these opportunities come important questions about professional responsibility, privacy, transparency, fairness, accuracy, and the role of human judgment.

In response to this rapidly evolving landscape, Career Professionals of Canada has released its Position Statement on Artificial Intelligence, including 10 Guiding Principles for Ethical AI Use in Career Development Practice.

The statement affirms CPC’s support for the thoughtful, informed, and responsible use of AI in learning, work, professional practice, and organizational activities. It also reinforces an essential principle: technology can support career professionals’ work, but it does not replace the human relationships, professional expertise, ethical judgment, and accountability at the heart of our profession.

10 Guiding Principles for Ethical AI Use

The position statement provides broad guidance across the many ways career professionals may encounter or use AI. Its 10 guiding principles address:

1. Human-Centred Service
2. Professional Accountability
3. Professional Judgment
4. Ethical and Responsible Use
5. Transparency and Trust
6. Privacy and Confidentiality
7. Fairness and Inclusion
8. Safety and Security
9. Academic Integrity
10. Continuous Learning

The Position Statement is grounded in CPC’s existing professional and organizational standards. CPC’s Code of Professional Conduct establishes the ethical principles, values, and expectations that guide professional practice and organizational activities. CPC’s Academic Integrity Policy reinforces honesty, authenticity, fairness, respect, responsibility, and trust throughout CPC’s learning programs and certifications.

Together, these standards provide a foundation for approaching AI with curiosity, care, and professional responsibility.

A Shared Responsibility

Career professionals have an important role in helping individuals understand the opportunities, limitations, and potential effects of AI on careers, workplaces, industries, and communities.

Read the Full CPC Position Statement on Artificial Intelligence

We invite CPC members, career professionals, educators, organizational leaders, and other interested partners to review the full statement and consider how its guiding principles apply to their work and professional practice.

Read CPC’s Position Statement on Artificial Intelligence and the 10 Guiding Principles for Ethical AI Use in Career Development Practice.

The future of our profession is changing, and CPC is excited to help shape what comes next.

With appreciation,

Skye Berry
Executive Director
Career Professionals of Canada

This article was edited with the support of ChatGPT (developed by OpenAI). The ideas and insights shared are entirely the author’s own. 

Image generated with ChatGPT.

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A client can ask an AI tool to identify career options, rewrite a résumé, suggest interview questions, summarize a job posting, or explain what skills are in demand. In seconds, they can receive a polished response. Then what? What does that information mean for this person – at this point in their life, with their unique strengths, concerns, responsibilities, experiences, hopes, and constraints?

Enter career development professionals. This is exactly when our work with clients is most valuable. It’s also a foundational idea behind the new Certified Future Strategist (CFS) program. As technology gives clients unprecedented access to information, the program invites us to strengthen the skills that help people interpret information, weigh possibilities, and make thoughtful decisions in an uncertain world.

Sharon Graham, founder of Career Professionals of Canada and developer of the Certified Future Strategist (CFS) program, saw this need becoming clearer as AI entered the mainstream. “Technology is changing how people access information,” she said, “but access to information has never been the full value of our profession.” The profession’s future isn’t about trying to outpace technology in producing answers. It’s about helping people understand which answers matter. And it’s about helping us better understand how we can use technology to support our clients responsibly.

Information Is Not the Same as Clarity

We are surrounded by career information. Job boards, labour market reports, LinkedIn posts, online courses, skills assessments, webinars, podcasts, career influencers, recruiters, newsletters, salary sites, AI chatbots, and advice from well-meaning friends and family. Clients can access more career content in one afternoon than it would have taken years ago. Yet access does not automatically create clarity. Sometimes it creates paralysis.

A client may receive ten possible career paths from an AI tool. They may read a report predicting that their occupation will grow, then another article suggesting it will be disrupted. The client may hear advice to follow their passion, pursue a high-demand field, build a personal brand, reskill quickly, network constantly, or apply for hundreds of jobs. Each suggestion may contain some truth. But none of it can tell them what is right for their situation.

This is where the CFS perspective is especially valuable. The program emphasizes that we are not simply information providers. We help clients interpret trends, signals, risks, and opportunities in ways that are relevant to their lives.

We ask: What are you hoping will be different in your next role? Which of these options fits your strengths and career priorities? What are you willing and able to invest in finding new work right now? Which assumptions are driving this decision? What would make this path sustainable – not just possible?

Those questions can’t be answered by a labour market trend alone.

Our Value: Making Meaning

Career decisions are rarely only about employment. They are often about identity, belonging, confidence, purpose, financial security, health, family, grief, ambition, and the desire to feel energized by work again. People are looking to do work that energizes them, for companies that believe what they believe.

A client who says, “I need a new career,” may be responding to burnout. Or a difficult manager, a restructuring, or the realization that a role they once loved no longer fits the life they want to build.

An AI tool may offer a list of jobs based on skills and keywords. It can’t sit with the person who has just lost the career identity they held for 20 years. It won’t notice when someone is choosing a path primarily because they are afraid. Nor can it help a client unpack the difference between a genuine desire for change and the urge to escape a painful situation. It certainly cannot frame the “leave story” in a way that showcases that person’s value and impact.

That is meaning-making work.

Sharon describes the profession’s evolving contribution as a shift “from information to interpretation.” People increasingly need help understanding “what information means, which signals matter, how different factors connect, and what actions make sense in their unique circumstances,” she said.

The CFS program helps practitioners strengthen that interpretive role. It reinforces the value of helping clients connect the external world of work with their internal world: their values, skills, experiences, responsibilities, fears, interests, and hopes.

We help them see not only what they could do, but what they may want to do – and why.

Judgment, Ethics, and Context Require Human Expertise

AI can be useful. It can help people generate ideas, organize thoughts, identify language for a résumé, prepare for an interview, and explore options they may not have considered. It can also be wrong, incomplete, biased, overly confident, or disconnected from a client’s lived reality. That is why human judgment remains essential.

“Technology can provide information,” Sharon said. “People provide interpretation, empathy, judgment, ethics, and perspective.”

The CFS program encourages practitioners to strengthen their ability to assess information critically and help clients do the same. Career professionals can help clients question information rather than accept it. We can help them distinguish a trend from a guarantee, a possibility from a promise, and a compelling headline from a decision that is actually right for them.

We can also bring ethical awareness to the use of AI itself. When should a client use AI for support? When should they be cautious? How do they protect their privacy? What helps ensure a résumé still sounds like them? How do they avoid presenting AI-generated content as experience or expertise they do not have?

These are not merely technical questions. They are questions of integrity, credibility, and trust. Clients need someone who can help them use new tools wisely, not simply use them more often.

Career Professionals Hear What Is Not Being Said

One of the most important parts of career work happens beneath the surface. A client may say they want help with their résumé, but what they are really struggling with is confidence. They may ask for interview preparation, but the deeper issue is fear of being judged after a long period out of the workforce. They may request career options, but what they need is permission to acknowledge that their current path no longer fits.

This human, relational work is central to the kind of future-informed practice the CFS program seeks to strengthen.

The Future of Career Development Is Deeply Human

The rise of AI does not make human career support obsolete. The more information clients can access, the more they need help sorting, interpreting, contextualizing, and applying it. An abundance of options also makes decision-making more difficult. As work continues to evolve, trusted professionals play an increasingly important role in helping clients stay grounded in who they are while considering what comes next.

That is the future the CFS program is helping practitioners prepare for. Career professionals do not need to compete with AI for speed, volume, or instant answers. Our value is in the questions we ask, the context we provide, the judgment we apply, the ethics we uphold, and the human connection we offer.

Sharon wants to leave us thinking about this: “Ultimately, the CFS program is about helping practitioners feel confident in their future. It is about recognizing that while technology will continue to change how we work, the human qualities of judgment, empathy, ethics, critical thinking, and meaningful guidance remain essential. Those are not diminishing skills. They are becoming some of the most valuable skills we have.” Sharon also noted that she heard directly from some career professionals who felt the CFS program helped quiet some of the noise they were hearing about what the future holds for the value of CDPs.   As someone who holds the CFS credential, I would agree and highly recommend this course for all career professionals, regardless of sector. It’s key for our development, and our clients will benefit.

For another perspective on the CFS program, visit Eman Ismail-Elmasri’s article and the first part of my interview with Sharon.

– By Michelle Schafer –

Written in collaboration with ChatGPT, developed by OpenAI, based on the author’s original ideas. Image generated using ChatGPT.

The post Beyond AI: The Human Value of Career Professionals appeared first on Career Professionals of Canada.

Rather than encouraging clients to rush toward premature certainty, many future strategists are helping clients move forward through thoughtful exploration. This may involve testing possibilities before making major commitments through short-term contracts, volunteer roles, project work, micro-credentials, or other low-risk opportunities that provide insight through experience. In many cases, clients develop greater clarity over time by reflecting on what aligns with their strengths, interests, values, and long-term goals rather than trying to predict every step in advance.

Helping Clients Navigate Change With Greater Agency

As work continues changing, many clients are trying to understand how technology, automation, and changing labour markets may affect their future opportunities. In these conversations, career professionals are increasingly helping clients move away from fear-based thinking and toward more thoughtful interpretation. Effective adaptation is not about chasing every new technology or reacting to every labour market headline. Instead, it involves helping clients learn how to evaluate change thoughtfully, experiment responsibly, and continue developing skills and experiences that align with their goals and values.

Informed exploration and experimentation also reinforce client agency during periods of uncertainty and change. Rather than feeling pressured to predict the future perfectly or follow externally defined pathways, clients learn how to engage with change more actively and thoughtfully. Through reflection, testing possibilities, and evaluating experiences over time, they remain participants in shaping their direction rather than feeling powerless in response to changing labour markets, technology, or economic uncertainty.

One practical approach involves helping clients examine how work itself is changing rather than focusing only on whether a job may disappear entirely. Some tasks may become increasingly automated, while others will continue to require judgment, interpretation, accountability, communication, trust, and human connection.

By approaching change as context rather than destiny, clients remain active participants in shaping their careers rather than feeling powerless in response to change.

Understanding Informed Exploration

Experimentation is sometimes misunderstood as uncertainty, indecision, or lack of direction. In reality, thoughtful exploration can be one of the most effective ways people build sustainable and adaptable career pathways.

Rather than pressuring clients to commit immediately to a single fixed outcome, career professionals are increasingly helping them move forward through informed exploration. This may include low-risk experimentation, pilot experiences, skill sampling, phased decision-making, exploratory projects, or opportunities that allow clients to gather insight before making major commitments.

In many cases, informed exploration allows clients to continue moving forward without feeling locked into premature decisions that may no longer reflect changing realities, interests, or opportunities. This creates a healthier relationship with career decision-making. Instead of feeling trapped by the pressure to make a single perfect choice, clients begin to recognize that career development often involves learning gradually through action, reflection, and adjustment.

Each experience provides feedback and new information. Some experiences confirm alignment and strengthen confidence. Others reveal misalignment, unexpected challenges, or evolving interests that may lead clients in a different direction.

From Task Completion to Client Development

This changing environment is also influencing how many career professionals think about client support itself.

Immediate career tasks still matter. Clients may need help with résumés, interviews, job search strategy, networking, or educational decisions. At the same time, many career professionals are increasingly recognizing that long-term adaptability may matter just as much as short-term outcomes.

Career conversations are increasingly moving beyond simply helping clients complete immediate tasks. The work also involves helping people build the confidence and flexibility to continue navigating future transitions as labour markets evolve.

Career professionals are increasingly helping clients approach career development through informed exploration, experimentation, and reflective learning over time. The exploration process is not passive. It is a disciplined and reflective approach to navigating uncertainty. This involves helping clients strengthen capacities that support ongoing career development over time, including:

• Curiosity: Encouraging clients to remain open to new experiences, emerging opportunities, and evolving possibilities rather than feeling limited by one fixed direction.
• Confidence: Helping clients build trust in their ability to navigate change, make informed decisions, and continue moving forward even when outcomes are not fully predictable.
• Reflective decision-making: Supporting clients in thinking carefully about their experiences, values, strengths, and evolving goals before making significant career decisions.
• Adaptability: Strengthening a client’s ability to respond thoughtfully to changing labour markets, technologies, industries, and personal circumstances over time.
• Learning capacity: Helping clients recognize that ongoing learning, skill development, and continual growth are becoming essential parts of sustainable career development.

These competencies give clients greater ownership over career choices. They encourage clients to become active participants in shaping their pathways rather than feeling pressured to follow externally defined expectations or predetermined routes.

Strengthening Future-Oriented Career Development

As career conversations continue to evolve, many professionals are recognizing the importance of strengthening future-oriented thinking, adaptability, and reflective judgment in their own work.

Career development is no longer only about helping someone select one occupation and remain within it indefinitely. Increasingly, it involves helping people interpret change, thoughtfully test possibilities, reflect on emerging experiences, and build adaptable pathways that can continue to evolve over time.

CPC’s Certified Future Strategist (CFS) program was developed with this changing landscape in mind. The program explores informed exploration, adaptive career development, opportunity signal mapping, and future-oriented strategies that support more sustainable and resilient career development in complex environments.

Many modern careers are not discovered all at once. They are built gradually through exploration, reflection, experimentation, and continual learning.

The goal is not simply to help clients make one immediate career decision. It is to strengthen how career professionals help people navigate uncertainty thoughtfully while continuing to build confidence, adaptability, and long-term career sustainability.

– By Sharon Graham, Founder and Chair of Career Professionals of Canada –

The ideas and insights shared are entirely the author’s own. This article was edited with the support of ChatGPT, developed by OpenAI. Image generated using ChatGPT.

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Career professionals are increasingly being asked to evaluate information from many sources, including labour market data, employers, clients, online resources, and artificial intelligence. Critical thinking helps us ask good questions: Is this information accurate? What evidence supports it? What might be missing? Are there other perspectives we should consider? These are essential professional habits, but they only examine one side of the decision.

Metacognition turns the lens inward. Instead of asking only whether the information can be trusted, we also ask what we are bringing to its interpretation. Perhaps we have seen a similar situation before and assume this one will turn out the same way. Perhaps we favour an option because it fits our own experience. We may even be so confident in our expertise that we stop noticing when an assumption has quietly become a conclusion.

This matters because career professionals rarely make decisions in perfect conditions. We interpret incomplete information, weigh competing possibilities, use professional judgement, and help clients make choices that may affect their lives. Before offering guidance, we can develop a simple habit: question the information, then question our thinking about the information. What do I know? What am I assuming? What might I be overlooking? What could change my mind?

Critical thinking helps us become better evaluators of the world around us. Metacognition helps us become better evaluators of ourselves. Professional judgement becomes stronger when we practise both.

CPC Thought Leadership. Advancing ideas that shape our profession.

– By Sharon Graham, Founder and Chair of Career Professionals of Canada –
The insights shared are the author’s own, supported by OpenAI and Pictory.

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One participant arrived at every workshop with a doodle pad and a full package of coloured markers. She came prepared. Not because she planned to disengage from the workshop, but because she understood something important about herself: doodling helped her focus.

Some facilitators might have interpreted that behaviour as a distraction or lack of attention. Instead, I had a feeling it was helping her regulate her attention and remain engaged, so I left it alone.

Later, during a discussion about the strengths we each bring to the workplace, she struggled to identify her own. I used her name while giving an example and mentioned creativity as a valuable workplace strength. She smiled softly and admitted that it might be accurate. In that moment, her doodling looked less like a distraction and more like part of how her mind worked.

After a break later in the workshop, she brought me a small blossom she had picked from a tree outside.

That small interaction stayed with me because it reflected something I continue to think about in career development work: the difference between helping people grow and teaching them to suppress who they are.

Growth or Conformity?

In career development work, we often help clients prepare for interviews, workplace expectations, and employability challenges. Traditional employment advice often focuses heavily on correcting behaviours and presenting oneself in a very specific way. Sit this way. Speak this way. Avoid this. Hide that. Reduce behaviours that might appear unusual or distracting.

Certainly, workplace expectations matter. Interview preparation matters. Professional communication matters. But I sometimes wonder whether our field can sometimes drift too close to teaching people to perform acceptably rather than helping them understand and communicate their actual strengths.

Looking Beyond the Behaviour

Over time, I have worked with participants who reminded me that employability is often far more complex and human than a checklist of ideal interview behaviours.

One participant with autism displayed very noticeable physical stimming behaviours throughout workshops. Some people might immediately focus on the movements themselves. What I noticed was an intelligent, insightful person. He had no formal work experience yet, but that did not mean he lacked potential. He needed opportunities, encouragement, and environments willing to recognize what he brought to the table.

Another participant had a pronounced stutter. He walked more than four hours each way just to attend programming and did so reliably, consistently, and without complaint. Many people would have given up under those circumstances. What stood out to me was not his speech difficulty but his perseverance, commitment, and determination.

Each of these participants had their own charm, strengths, and way of being in the world. And each of them made me think more carefully about the assumptions we sometimes make when preparing clients for employment.

A Strengths-Based Approach

There are some differences we readily accept and accommodate. We would not tell someone with Tourette syndrome to simply stop having tics. We would not expect someone who stutters to eliminate their stutter before deserving an opportunity. Yet other differences, particularly those connected to neurodiversity, are still often treated primarily as behaviours to be corrected or hidden.

That does not mean avoiding conversations about workplace expectations or adaptation. Most people, regardless of background, need to adapt to workplaces to some extent, but there is an important distinction between supporting growth and demanding conformity.

Sometimes the goal is not to help someone become a more conventional version of themselves.

Sometimes the goal is to take a strengths-based approach: helping clients recognize their strengths, understand workplace realities, and find environments where they can succeed without feeling they must erase who they are in order to belong.

Seeing Potential Before Others Do

The right employer is not necessarily the one that demands sameness, but one that is willing to build a more inclusive workplace where different strengths can succeed. Conversations around workplace inclusion and accommodation have become increasingly important, particularly for neurodivergent job seekers and employees. Resources such as the CCRW Disability Confidence Toolkit encourage employers to think more intentionally about accessibility, inclusion, and the recognition of potential in different forms.

As career development professionals, part of our role should be recognizing potential before it is obvious on a résumé, visible in polished interview answers, or reflected in a conventional presentation.

Sometimes what a person brings to the workplace isn’t immediately packaged the way employers expect.

That does not mean it is not valuable.

And sometimes, the most meaningful thing we can offer a client is not pressure to become someone else, but the experience of being seen clearly for who they are.

– By Shauna Specht –

This article was edited with the support of ChatGPT (developed by OpenAI). The ideas and insights shared are entirely the author’s own. 

Image generated with ChatGPT.

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