2021 OCDA Conference: Call for Proposals

The OCDA Conference will take place on Friday, June 4th, 2021!

The theme for this year's conference is Confidently Committed to Change. While so many of our services had to change to better support our client and/or student populations in today's world, we have found better ways of doing certain things. What have you learned throughout this year? What kinds of things worked so well, that you will continue those practices? Please note that your conference presentation proposal does not have to fit the theme to be submitted! We welcome any and all proposals. 

If you have a conference presentation proposal, please take a few moments to complete this registration form. The deadline for proposal submissions is Monday, February 1st. Presenters will be selected by our Conference Planning Committee and notified by February 22nd.

If you have any questions, please email ohiocda@gmail.com.

Get Involved: OCDA Committees

The Ohio Career Development Association is looking for OCDA members to join their various committees. This is a great opportunity to grow your network, add to your resume, brush up on some skills, and stay up-to-date on current trends in the industry. OCDA has several committees to join, and they are all a very manageable time commitment. All of our committees meet via Zoom or phone. Take a look at some of the committee options below, and see what you may be interested in joining:

Conference Planning Committee: Assist with planning and implementing the annual conference.

Professional Development Committee: Organize activities that focus on career development and professional advancement, and also help with the CEU-approval process for events.

Membership Committee: Promote membership to colleagues and plan informal member-engaging events.

Awards Committee: Review nominations and select recipients for the 3 OCDA annual awards given at the conference.

National Career Development Month Committee: Assist with planning events during the month of November, and help with marketing the NCDA poster and poetry contest.

Interested? Click here to complete the Committee Form.

     

Career Wisdom in the COVID Age

By: Martin Jaffe

"Each one of us is doomed and privileged to be an inner artist who carries and shapes a unique world.” Father John O’ Donohue, ANAM CARA

“A Dream Not Understood is like a letter unopened “  The TALMUD

In this challenging time of anxiety and discontent I have been reflecting on what I’d suggest to career counseling clients from my almost forty year counseling experience that goes beyond the same repetition of resume writing, telling stories of your accomplishments, using LinkedIn--- all the superficial techniques that ignore the reality of living a soulful life of purpose. So, in this time of lockdown let me propose some looking inward, as Socrates stated, “KNOW THYSELF.”

Several years ago a client of mine Aaron D. expressed his desire to “study bio-chemistry, find the  biological origins of disease, make a difference”—when I last saw a brief note about Aaron in an alumni bulletin he was a second year medical student on the way to turning his vision into reality.

Beyond paying the rent and being a member of the working population what motivates YOU. Is it an altruistic vision of social justice or sharing your love of pastry in your chic bakery? Perhaps you have visions of yourself on stage sharing a musical or artistic vision? Look inward, read about people in fields of interest --- the world is diverse and at some point hopefully not too far down we need YOU.

What about your skills? The United States department of Labor uses an excellent shorthand of all jobs as primarily skills based on DATA, PEOPLE, THINGS or IDEAS. Do you prefer to organize an intimate gathering for 400 of your closest friends or would you be more comfortable sitting in attic writing the great American novel. What do you do when you have choice, write song lyrics and chords, bake chicken oregano with lemon, rebuild a 1966 Corvair?

At some time soon you will need to look outward and develop an ACTION plan for your career vision involving education and training . You will decide how much or whether you are more drawn to hands on vocational training or long term college/graduate school. At that point looking into occupational literature and educational guides will turn your vision into reality.

As Shakespeare noted several years back, “ALL THE WORLD”S A STAGE”

We await the curtain rising as you enter the stage.