Maureen McCann is a fierce advocate of career development, having spent close to two decades helping Canadians prepare for the Future of Work. She got her first taste of the industry as an employment coordinator in 2004. Just two years later, she launched her own executive career strategy practice. We talked about her experience, her commitment to lifelong learning, and the power of silo-busting.

What motivated your interest in the profession?

I wanted to learn how people were doing it well. I could see my cohort of graduates struggling to find employment in their fields. I worked at a nonprofit that had a career centre. I would spend my lunch hours poring over books. I liked the idea of removing barriers for people, and I thought career development was where I could provide the most insight.

We all want to feel like we’re doing great work. That was a big idea for me at the very beginning of my career. Simon Sinek’s TED Talk had just come out, in which he argues that “people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.” So, I wrote my little belief statement, and that’s where it began.

When I started, no one even understood what a resume writer or career professional did. I was one of a very few doing it privately, as opposed to government funded. We were really breaking new ground.

Were there surprises along the way?

A couple of them, yes.

I learned that there was a divide between what the academics were doing, what government-funded organizations were doing, and what employment services were doing. I continue to see that.

COVID-19 changed a lot of things too, in both positive and challenging ways. How people look at work and their quality of life—I think that has shifted. I’m also paying particular attention to the use of artificial intelligence. I find that quite interesting.

How do you describe your value proposition?

I give people permission to think about their careers in a way they haven’t before. I help them understand that they have greater flexibility than they realize. There are more ways to be successful professionally than there were 10 years ago.

If I had asked you, maybe 10 or 15 years ago: What really drives your career? You might have thought about money, prestige, power, and status. Now there’s more opportunity to feel valued in the work you do, or in being able to help someone. What motivates us has become a much richer and deeper conversation. I think people are more aware and more open to that because of some of the conversations that career development professionals are having with them.

You sound optimistic about the Future of Work.

Yes. But I often think that we could be better. The work that Challenge Factory is doing is setting the foundation for us to have more solid conversations, and ground people in what motivates them to do the work they do.

What could the industry do better?

There’s still much work to be done to ensure that the advice we’re giving is quality advice. As career development professionals, we’re quite diverse. We come from different perspectives. Our code of ethics suggests that we are continuously learning, and I believe strongly in that. I would like to see more of that in the future.

It would also be nice to have one trusted source of industry data, to reduce the noise. Good, meaningful information about the career development sector would legitimize and increase the visibility of the profession so Canadians have a better understanding of the value career development professionals offer and the impact they can have on their quality of life.

It would help jobseekers make informed decisions about employment services based on their individual needs. And it would educate employers about talent’s perspective—what individuals face in a job search—and maybe provide evidence that supports the value of career development inside organizations.

Ultimately, we need to reduce the disconnect between employers and jobseekers, and between education and our economy.

You’re someone who takes continuing education seriously. What has it done for you?

My colleagues have often mocked me because I’ll walk out of the library with an armful of books tipping over. I want to understand other people’s perspectives and lenses. Oftentimes I can take a business principle, yoga principle, fitness principle, or financial principle and apply it to career development.

For me, continuous learning is enjoyable. And everything I learn enriches the experience that I have with my next client. I’m constantly looking for lessons to apply with whomever I meet next. Sometimes I don’t even realize it’s happening.

How important is formal study for career development professionals?

I’m a facilitator at Career Professionals of Canada (CPC). So, I have a bit of bias because I teach those courses. But before I ever taught, I was always trying to figure out a way to gain my clients’ trust so that they felt safe and secure. I wanted them to feel like I had done my work, and that they could trust me to do my very best for them.

I’ve heard stories of people having less than mediocre experiences with career development professionals, and it saddens me. We must have trust. If they don’t trust us, then this is going to be very challenging for our clients.

I was part of the national stakeholder committee that worked towards professional designation. I feel very strongly about career development and the role that it plays—not just in our individual lives but in society.

One of the things I love about teaching with CPC is that there’s great learning across the different types of career development professionals. You have somebody from a nonprofit talking to somebody from the private sector, sharing resources with a recruiter or someone from human resources. There’s this beautiful exchange. I’m very grateful to have that opportunity.

I’ve seen too many professionals working in silos. “I’m in academia, so I know more.” “I’m at a nonprofit, so I know better.” “I’m on the frontlines.” “I’m in private practice.” There’s space for all of us, and I would love to see us build one another up. We all benefit from greater collaboration across disciplines.

Are we headed in the right direction?

I want to say yes. Over the years, I’ve been optimistic and disappointed. It’s a little bit like Lucy setting up the football for Charlie Brown. I so desperately want to kick that ball.

I’ll always hold out hope that the career development profession is recognized for the value my peers and I see in it. These things just take time.

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Interview edited for length and clarity.

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