Buy or Lease?

If given the option, do you buy or lease?

I'm going to take a wild guess and say that you have had some conversation with someone at some point about the pros and cons of leasing. What I don't know is if the concept of leasing a car or house or office is one that brings you comfort or concern.

I like ownership. I generally feel comfortable with the risks involved and like the sense of attachment that comes from making the decision to buy something. But, my opinion has been altered a little with the current economic landscape. Leasing can remove the obstacle of needing that initial investment and it can also allow a person the ability to more easily change her mind if a mistake has been made or use of the item is only temporary. So, what's that got to do with online career counselling?

Leasing came to mind recently when I read a facebook post from a cousin of mine. It was the end of his first semester of college. In it, he was complaining about the fact that he'd spent $500+ on books at the start of the semester and was offered just $4 at book buyback (been there/done that). The debate among his "friends" was centered around whether or not the $4 was actually a good deal. Was he going to use those books enough in the future to out weigh the costs of shelving, storing, and moving those books over the coming years. I wonder if he would have been better off renting them through http://www.chegg.com/ or another book rental company?


How we store and display our photos, buy our music, and receive our news is leaning more, if not completely, toward a subscription type model. As a result, how people are creating and accessing educational content online is changing as we speak. Not only is access to technology driving this change, the users may have little initial investment and be hestitant to make the commitment that comes with ownership. It begs the question -are clients going to be willing to own the content they seek, the resources they access, or the expertise they tap into or will a subscription model better meet their needs?

Are you asking clients to lease or buy when they work with you?

Rekindling Connection

After a 18 month hiatus, I am glad to be putting fingers to keys again in our e-Career Landing Blog. Our blog took a back seat to the start up of new projects, increased service demands due to the economic downturn, my Doctoral studies, and tending to our young families. While time is always a precious commodity, Jane and I are excited to create more space for our blog and re-engage with all of you who were following us and to welcome new readers who are keen to ponder the potential use of online spaces in the delivery of career guidance and development services.

I am currently developing the research study for my Doctorate at the University of Sheffield. My working title is “Facilitated Online Career Services: Understanding and evaluating the experience and effectiveness for adults”. I am really interested in ways that facilitated online services can support adults in their career identity development and life-long career transitions.

Also upcoming is my participation at the NCDA-IAEVG-SVP International Symposium this June in San Francisco. I will be an active discussion member in “Techniques and Technologies for Career Development” and will be presenting a round-table paper entitled “e-Career Services – Engaging with clients through online career counselling”.

This past Fall I had the chance to present my research and exchange ideas about facilitated online counselling at the IAEVG conference in Wellington, New Zealand. I was excited to learn that my session in Wellington reached the top ten list! This pitcure of me is taken in the Hawke's Bay wine region.

I was also honoured with an invitation to speak at the Canadian Forum of Labour Market Minister's symposium where I talked about e-career services as a new method for reaching and serving Canadians. My presentation is available here.

I continue to meet more and more people who are keen to explore online practice and what it can mean as an additional career guidance service. As we talk more about the use of online spaces in career development, it will be important that some over-arching service definitions develop. Right now terms such as Web 2.0, ICT, online, and virtual can be found in many publications and conference programs; but depending on the intent, design and type of interaction sought, the essence of what is being discussed can vary greatly. Although I am keen to explore many of these topics, my passion still lies in facilitated services. Here’s a definition I’ve been developing for this:

Learning and counselling that takes place using an online space, where the helping relationship occurs through the use of synchronous and a-synchronous communicaiton. Individuals have control in accessing and completing their development program 24/7 while also engaging in a purposeful and interactive process with their career facilitator to create meaning, grow personal understanding, and implement change.

I’d love any comments or feedback on how this definition fits for you.

Over the coming days and months, I look forward to sharing my research and ideas I’m pondering and making links with others who are interested in this field. I hope that you will find time to share your comments too!

Here’s to ongoing online presence!