Elaine Sigurdson, M.A., CMC, CPC, CMF
“Your work is to discover your work and then with all your heart give yourself to it.”
- Buddha
I believe that each individual has unique gifts and skills and will be happiest when they can express these in their work. In some ways I see my role as a bit like match making. I help people find the most suitable “match” between their strengths and motivations and the complex array of choices in today’s fast changing environment. I get great satisfaction in helping people find their ideal work, and once they’ve found it –coaching them to maximize their potential and take their careers to the next level.
My background includes a Masters degree in Psychology and over 25 years of experience as a consultant, recruiter, coach and instructor in both corporate and post secondary academic contexts. I have worked with clients at all stages of the career life cycle and in diverse contexts from the classroom to the boardroom. This experience has given me an in-depth understanding of the psychological resources used to help people obtain self awareness and just as importantly today, knowledge of the current work context across a range of job functions and industry sectors.
While experience has been the best teacher, I am also committed to ongoing professional development to stay current in my field. I am a Certified Management Consultant (CMC), and member of the Canadian Association of Management Consultants. I am also certified as a Career Management Fellow (CMF) through the Institute of Career Certification International, and am a Certified Professional Coach through Erickson College International. I have been active in professional affairs, and am a current member and past President of the Association of Career Professionals International, Toronto Chapter.
In my personal life, I am the proud parent of two wonderful young women and it gives me great joy to support them along their way to create their own best work lives. My eldest daughter is a teacher – a passion that was apparent from early childhood in her great love of “playing school”. My younger daughter is pursuing her dream to become an opera singer, a challenging path to be sure, but one for which she is well suited and brings great determination and commitment.
The great changes in the world of work today have been reflected in my own life. I am part of the first generation in my family to move away from our traditional roots in fishing. Unlike my parents and their parents and grandparents before them, I and my siblings chose to leave our small fishing community near Lake Winnipeg and find our way in an expanded world of opportunity. I know from personal experience that the path to a fulfilling career is not always straight forward and it gives me great satisfaction to support others on their individual journeys.