Ottawa: (613) 563-0584
Toll Free: 1-800-798-2696

Brett Martinson
November 7, 2002

I want to write you a note of thanks for all your time and effort over the last couple of years. It has been quite a road from when I first came to see you, one that was not always easy and smooth but, as the saying goes, nothing of much worth ever is. I greatly appreciate your patience and advice through those times, as it was exactly what I needed – someone in my corner with the experience and knowledge to help me get on to the next step.

I have always remembered one of the first questions you asked of me:
"How do you think I can help you?", which showed a great amount of interest in me and my individual situation. It gave me comfort that this was not to be a blind process, yet one that takes the individual into account; as you once mentioned, the art & the science of what you do.

That question has also stayed with me as much for the answer it produced: that I felt I knew what I wanted to do but I couldn’t articulate it to myself, much less a company or hiring manager. It is by this simple measure that I have gauged my success with you and JobJoy, and I feel I have received that clarity and more. I now see the major forces pushing my career interests (to help people and to learn), how my talents and skills (processes, planning, organisation, etc.) support those interests and, therefore, how my career decisions align with those interests (management consulting, business coaching, etc.). I also see that my career direction is not based on past titles but rather based on my talents and skills. This has completely changed my perspective on how I view my career, to say nothing about searching for jobs.

Next week I start as a Project Manager with Lansdowne Technologies, which will definitely go a long way towards my goal of helping companies reach a higher level of performance. I finally feel on track to where I want to be and what I want to do. I look at my career as pieces of a larger puzzle, rather than one job at a time, and, from that greater perspective, I feel better suited to planning my career, rather than just finding a job.

George, my thanks for all your time, patience and advice. I sometimes imagine (probably rightly so) that I may have required more from you than your average client, and I want you to know it has been greatly appreciated.

All the best,
Brett

Postscript: In May 2004, Brett left Landsdowne to pursue his aspiration for hands-on business coaching. He is now working with the Full Dimension Group, a business coaching company helping people and businesses improve all aspects of there business. As he says, "It's been a great experience just to make the change, continuing along the path!

Full Dimension Group, Ottawa, On
http://www.goalset.com/

Maria Ford
May 20, 2002

I was at work when I first contacted George. I literally walked out of a horrible meeting, back to my desk and opened the yellow pages to find a career counselor. Although I knew I was unhappy, I couldn’t put into words exactly why, nor could I say with certainty what would improve my situation.

I had a vague notion that I wanted to work for myself, but the possibility seemed years away and I was miserable contemplating the distance between "now" and "then." This was symbolized in my inability to find a name for my future business. I’d been trying to come up with one for years, but every idea I had was somehow lacking, just as every time I thought of a way to go out on my own I was overcome with many reasons not to do it.

George’s approach of "finding your right work through your personal story" was ideally suited to me as a professional communicator and writer. The series of writing exercises he put me through was challenging and often painful. George showed me how seemingly irrelevant memories, actions and behaviors of my past were playing an important role in my current situation, and he taught me to analyze those stories for clues about my "right work."
George helped me iron out my confusion and unhappiness, both by giving me the words for it, and also by helping me find my own words for it.

It was during this JobJoy process that I finally came upon a name for my business — a name rooted deeply in the discoveries I had made with George and one that held the personal meaning I needed to make the risk of self-employment seem irrelevant. Symbolically, it was this milestone that made everything following seem possible.

It took me eight months to work through my professional unhappiness, take a deep breath and take "the plunge." A great deal of my success in reaching the goal of self-employment is due to George and the JobJoy process. An equal portion is due to the network of friends and acquaintances that George gave me the confidence to draw on for advice and support.

The results? One of those contacts put me in touch with a company that awarded me my first independent contract, the nature of which will sustain me while I build a business. And, now that I’ve demonstrated my commitment to an independent venture, other contacts are approaching me with interest and opportunities. This, despite starting the business in the worst economic downturn that high-tech in this city has ever seen.

My business, Kaszas Communications, is one of the most creative, empowering challenges I’ve ever taken on. It allows me to focus on my best skills, talents and personal vision to do what I do best: strategic marketing communications strategy, positioning and writing for technology-based companies.

Kaszas Communications, Ottawa, ON
http://www.kaszas.ca

Siri Bandhu Khalsa
Sept 17, 2001

What does a maturing massage therapist do for a living when her body is starting to crumble? I wondered. Until one day I saw a poster on a phone pole it said, "George Dutch, career counselor, bioenergetics background". "Hmmm, interesting combo." I’ll him a call." I was still a bit dubious about making myself vulnerable. Also, I had been to several other "career consultants" who just said, "Do what you are doing." But, what do I do when I can’t do what I’m doing?

George Dutch, career consultant extroidinare, had me write my life story. I liked how he perceived how I perceived things. At the end, George made some recommendations like "try stand up comedy". I tried, the environment was too vulgar for me. "You seem to have enjoyed marrying your friends. Have you considered marrying people for a living?" And so "Weddings Your Way" came into being. Aptly named by George’s friend, Hyatt Saiken.

"Weddings Your Way" helped pave the finances to purchase the property that now houses "The Natural Choice/4Nature BNB & Spa, Ottawa’s only vegetarian bed and breakfast. Both businesses have received good press. Weddings Your Way has had a few mentions and a write up in The Ottawa Citizen with a 6X8 photograph and full article proudly displayed in our main room. The photo was taken by Weddings Your Way photographer, Harimandir Singh Khalsa. This unique wedding was featured on CJOH-TV evening news. The Natural Choice BNB Spa’s first article was in the Los Angeles Times, (good for a start). Since then, we are listed in National Geographic Traveler Magazine, the Lonely Planet, Frommer’s, La Routarde, 1-800 Ontario, Ottawa Convention and Tourism, and the book Secret Ottawa.

Oh, did I tell you, my husband’s family was in the hotel business? George always said, ‘He will come along." Harimandir is the best hotelier there is, and bakes organic spelt bread for the guests. The best compliment is when a guest says, "I slept so well last night." We are getting lots of return and referral business, which is the public’s seal of approval.
I say that George (as well as many others) helped us buy our house.
Thank-you George for taking the fear of "What is to come of me?" out of our lives, and keeping work fun. We marry people!

William Fraser
August 10, 2001

I first encountered George Dutch, a professional career consultant, when he hosted a radio phone-in show. I was amazed that George could draw a link between callers' jobs and their hobbies, and how clearly he saw that hidden path from unfulfilling job to satisfying career.

If you phoned George's program, in the space of a short conversation he could decipher why certain hobbies appealed to you. It was like he knew callers better than they knew themselves! George recommended exciting career opportunities that drew on your job experience yet combined your personal interests. He was passionate about the power of self-fulfilment while remaining realistic about the challenges of career change.

As for me, I had fallen into a banking career after university. Although successful enough, it wasn't in line with my studies or my interests. I chose to bypass his radio program and contacted George directly at work. During the initial interview, George detected my artistic temperament and asked me to write my life story, focussing on hobbies and achievements at various ages. It was an emotional challenge to relive some of those times. I was surprised how far I had drifted from some youthful pleasures.

George read my biography and reported back: I had a strong thread of creative design in me, from my earliest days as a little boy and through all the hobbies and school clubs and part-time jobs I undertook, before full-time employment and self-sufficiency drew me away from my true skills. I had turned into a business finance manager, when my spirit wanted to create movies and magazines and dozens of other media projects.

George pointed the way: I certainly wasn't going to produce my first movie overnight, but I could use my financial management experience to forge a niche in the movie industry. Once in that environment, my talents would shine and I would be sure to find more and more successes.

It has taken some time and a lot of natural reluctance. I interviewed for these very jobs and was not hired. So, I relocated with my employer closer to a major film and TV production market. From there, I took on a short-term contract with a film festival, where I met screenwriters who helped me develop a screenplay. Armed with this experience, I landed a job in TV finance.

Not all has been rosy. That contract ended, and I found myself unemployed for awhile, then working outside the industry. Pitching my screenplay to producers didn't meet with success.

But I persisted with the script, and even took some acting classes to perfect my understanding of performance. I am not a natural actor, but this was a whole new world to me. For the first time in my educational history, all my classroom colleagues impressed me with their skills and intriguing personalities.

There, I met a talented writer-actor-director who was looking for someone with the very film industry understanding and financial skills I had unwittingly developed. I looked at his many project ideas, but honed in on a one-minute short film he had constructed. I expanded this idea into a whole new direction, he twisted it another way, and I molded it differently again.
We now have something that is being pitched to producers as a TV series, something that feels very fun and original, yet remains commercially viable. My assignment is to develop the marketing plan and financing structure, while remaining involved in the creative 'big picture'.

It's a long way to go yet, but I'm positive about the potential. Getting there is half the fun, and I feel fully alive when working on this project. I still continue to plug away on some other writing projects of my own, knowing at least one of them will capture some distributor's or broadcaster's interest, and I will move on to that next exciting stage in my producing career.

John Morris
August 18, 2000

In my job search I did not have any severance from my last position; I had been on short-term contract for five years.  I also refused to pay the $6,300 out of my own pocket required by a locally based international Executive Search firm for career transition services.  But I wanted out of what I had been doing; too few opportunities and too little reward for how hard I was working.   I was worried about the transition and many doors were shut because I had no experience in where I wanted to go in my new career. 

For my budget, George Dutch’s services were also expensive at $500.  But after reading Job Joy I was committed to his process.  I took a week to diligently answer the questions in his book and then waffled on whether I had $500 to spend on the analysis.  My friends and family thought I was being foolish contemplating that kind of expenditure while unemployed.  Yet, I warily proceeded with great anxiety.  Now I am convinced that George Dutch’s report led me to land the perfect job for me.  George provides clients with three main products: a close reading of the client's autobiography (approximately 17 pages single spaced), a statement of the essence of the client for use in interviews and job search materials (approximately 3 pages) and suggested career directions that will likely bring job joy.  The six suggestions for new careers he suggested in my case expanded my universe; I would have never thought of most of the items on the list.  He further supported these suggestions with evidence from my autobiography and job advertisements from local newspapers.

In the end, I was unemployed for only a month after receiving George’s three-part report.  I am fully aware that most major career transitions take on average eight months.  I have my new career and now I am in a much better position than I ever was in my previous career.  Further, I have more job joy now than I ever did in my last situation which lasted 5 years.

John Morris

Postscript: In Sept 2000, John again changed careers and accepted a
position with Environment Canada working as an auditor to help companies
comply with new environmental legislation.

"The most important result of my work with you was discovering that at last I had some way of describing myself. No longer was I just a generalist, I was a "systems analyst." Wow! It is only some time after I had been working in my new field that I realized that what I was doing reflected a statement you had made: "You can analyze, teach and build a system. Just find one you like working with!" Teaching computer applications certainly complies with this statement. Your referral to Ms.***** was greatly appreciated. I have worked off and on for ***-*** and it has been one of the most congenial satisfying and rewarding work situations it has been my good fortune to enjoy. Thank you."
Denise Morier, Ottawa

"Our work together helped me clarify my goals and my target jobs. It also gave me the confidence to shoot for what I want in a job. This helped me in my interview to ask for what I wanted to help me pursue my goals. Now that I am in my new job, it helps keep me focused on where I eventually want to be in management. Knowing this helps me seek out training/experience that will improve my skills for managerial positions."
Margaret Embleton, Iqualuut, N.W.T.

"Your services are excellent. Everything happened. Our work together triggered the events that led to a new career for me. None of this was coincidence. Your advice changed my outlook which changed my experience. I wish I had known you 30 years ago."
Vera Adamovich, Stittsville

"While I was having the interview, one of the interviewers mentioned how much he liked my resumé, he thought it was unusual yet very informative and it was a pleasant change from the resumés he had been receiving. So once again, thank you for all your assistance in your counselling and preparing my resumé. It helped me a great deal."
L.S., Help Desk Operator, Ottawa

"I have a lot to thank you for. In the last year I have started to strip down my approach to so many things in my life. I'm changing things I do in my professional life as well as my personal life. I'm learning to delegate, or hire out for tasks that take too much time, don't interest me, or don't utilize my natural talents. The other thing that I am doing is talking to people. I have tended to work in isolation most of the time, because this has been the way that I work best. I am making a point of networking with people on a regular basis, and I am finding it to be quite enjoyable. Thanks again, George. You provide a very important service for so many people."
Dave Watson, Richmond

"George: Our work together gave me the courage to stop and look at my life direction, both personally and professionally. The following will bring you up to date. As a medical secretary, I realized that my true passion was a love for words. As you know, in my private life, I am a travel writer (hobby), a newspaper addict, a voracious book reader and a dictionary lover. Therefore, what made sense (this is where you came in) was to direct my life skills and work experience toward a new career - one that would lead me to editing and writing. To attain the confidence, I approached people in the field, took every workshop available that related to editing and became actively involved with the Editors? Association of Canada. Meanwhile, new doors were opening, many of which I never knew existed. Shortly thereafter, I landed my first editorial position, and in the same year became co-chair, Public Relations Committee, Editors' Association of Canada. In October 2000, to take my dream one step further, I became owner of my own editorial business - Highgrove Editorial Services. In summary, it is never too late to find that direction. In fact, life is just beginning. Thank you for your part in all this."
Janie Gilmour, Ottawa

"Our sessions enabled me to start on a path of inner enlightenment. I was able to realize the importance of my personal story. I recognized the power is within myself to experience job joy. Thanks for launching me on a fascinating journey."
Tom Mitchell, Ottawa

"The report on my core strengths helped me to place value on characteristics I had taken for granted. The "Ideal Job Description" is quite accurate. The Personal Statement also accurately reflects my personality. Our work together was the first step (opened the door) to observing my likes & dislikes, strengths and weaknesses in and out of work."
Ginette Emond, Ottawa

"Hi George. On Monday I'm starting a new job as Corporate Sales Manager for ******, which I am very excited about. I will be selling corporate group ski & golf days, retreats, etc. They kept the proposal (similar to the one that I showed you) that I sent them 2 years ago and called me to an interview when the position opened! That would be interesting for your listeners to hear ... follow up and don't give up hope! It's a sales position, and I still get to use my marketing skills as they are very open to that and encourage the entrepreneurial spirit. I will be back working from home, which I really enjoy. Thanks again, and keep in touch for gold and skiing at ******. Cheers!"
P. Thompson, Ottawa