This author has not written his bio yet.
But we are proud to say that Karen Litzinger contributed 91 entries already.
As I am in the midst of a very long-overdue bathroom renovation with dozens of decisions, I have renewed empathy for my career counseling clients. It doesn’t help that I’m a Libra; we are known for indecision. This has been an agonizing process for me. After narrowing down paint choices and going in for three […]
I had the joy this month of attending a concert by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass. It’s a national tour that celebrates his 90th birthday and the 60th anniversary of the 1965 #1 hit album Whipped Cream. What I thought I wanted to write about was his sharing that when his 98-year-old sister asked […]
Sue seems ageless to me. She’s been my administrative assistant two days a month for 15 years now. At first, I thought Sue mostly wanted my very part-time work as a retirement income supplement. Then a couple years in, I learned that she found the work meaningful, helping me help people, a part of my […]
Whether chaos of career or country, it can signify a state before creation where something entirely new and yet unknown has the potential to emerge. I’ve seen the chaos of COVID-19 cause people to re-examine values and make big time career changes. My hope is that the chaos of the country will cause kindness, compassion […]
“Uncertainty is the only certainty there is, and knowing how to live with insecurity is the only security.” John Allen Paulos So many unknowns can create negative emotions during your job search, such as waiting to hear back on an email or after an interview. There will be unexpected questions during an interview for which […]
My heart has been broken by the dismantling of the progress our country has made following our country’s second original sin of capturing and enslaving Africans (the first being genocide of the indigenous original inhabitants of this land). President Trump “officially recognized” Black History Month just a couple weeks after signing executive orders in his […]
The last few years, I’ve started a tradition of watching a film during Black History month that educates, inspires and often challenges me about our country’s racial history. I have been moved beyond words by the fabulous films, Eyes on the Prize (about Martin Luther King) and Good Trouble (about Congressman John Lewis). Last weekend […]
You’ve probably been asked the question at some point: What public figure do you most admire? Though there are so many admirable choices over centuries, I always came back to contemporaries, Fred Rogers and Jimmy Carter. On the one month marking of President Carter’s death, I want to share some tidbits that struck me as […]
Like in the movie, It’s a Wonderful Life,” we often don’t know the impact of our presence. This could be with work, family or friends. Sometimes it’s just small and special. I missed seeing Christine’s smiling face at the Residence Inn this Thanksgiving morning. She greeted us multiple times during our annual visit to State […]
I chose to celebrate my 65th birthday last month on a private retreat with my 23 year church group at the Benedictine Sisters of Erie Monastery. You may have heard of them in the news lately with the fraudulent claim that no one lives there. Besides such a meaningful retreat reflecting on my “next chapter,” […]
(Click HERE for my post about World Gratitude Day.) “Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn’t learn a lot today, at least learned a little, and if we didn’t learn a little, at least we didn’t get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn’t die; so, let us […]
Who might you want to thank in your life? On the 10th Anniversary of my business in 2012 I hosted a Pittsburgh World Gratitude Day event. I found out about the September 21 world holiday when looking up the term “Thank-You-Note-a-thon” which was my original idea for the celebration. As a career counselor and business […]
I was honored to be invited to write the Focus article on emotional intelligence for the National Career Development Association Quarterly, Summer 2024 issue. Although the audience is career professionals, the material and exercises are relevant to anyone. With addressing career-decision-making, job search, and career management, the information is applicable for a lifetime. The article […]
I usually don’t read my alumni magazine. As I stood by my recycling bin I opened a page randomly to a huge photo of my best guy friend from Duquesne University, Ed Petner. He and I were leaders in Residence Council which launched my career. Ed was very service oriented, and I remember him explaining […]
“You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it.” Margaret Thatcher You might sometimes wonder if you’re going to “bounce back” from your job loss, or perhaps you are struggling to regain your confidence from a dysfunctional work environment. Resilience is a process of being able to adapt and move forward […]