Welcome to the windmills of my mind
My life is a bit of a patchwork. I have a multitude of interests, spanning a wide range of topics. And so, my blog reflects this patchwork identity of mine: a place where I share with you my thoughts, passions, worries, questions, hopes, and dreams. Looking forward to reading your comments. Dina
Peeling the Onion: My first published article about Gestalt—and the story behind it
My first published article is out! And yes, I'm very proud. 😊 🧅 "Peeling the Onion—A Gestalt Perspective on the Art of Reflection" appeared in the October issue of Coaching Perspectives, the magazine of the Association for Coaching (AC). In it, I explore reflection as...
Opening the door: Poetry, reflection, and relational coaching
Image by sosinda from Pixabay Our Relational Coaching Circles are growing! 🌱 Since our community began on 1 March 2026, it has grown to 57 members, with more joining. My deepest gratitude and thanks to you all for your trust, openness, vulnerability, and generous...
Two career moves that began before there was a vacancy
How spotting a need and helping build a business case opened up unexpected possibilities in my career—and what you might explore in yours. Two of my most exciting roles opened up when I saw a need and helped the manager build a business case for a role—with no...
Remembering Christa: giving thanks and saying goodbye
Christa was 49 years old when she passed away from brain cancer on 29 September—exactly seven days after her birthday. She was a year younger than me, had two grown-up children, a loving partner, and so many people whose lives she had touched. Generous portions and a...
Gestalt coaching uncovered: Reflections on my Association for Coaching webinar
(Video excerpts below 👇🏽) Some conversations leave you so energised that you just can’t wait to have more of them. 😊 That’s how I felt after leading “Ask Me Anything: Gestalt Coaching Uncovered” last week, hosted and facilitated by the Association for Coaching. 🎉 More...
Your weekly poem: Phoenix—or rising from the ashes
🌿 A poem a day keeps the blues away… PHOENIX–or rising from the ashes. 🌿 🌻 Are you willing to be sponged out, erased, cancelled,made nothing?Are you willing to be made nothing?dipped into oblivion? If not, you will never really change. The phoenix renews her...
Beyond STAR: How to structure examples in an interview
STAR ⭐️, CAR 🚗, HERO 🦸🏽♀️, and my own approach, PIE 🥧—four ways to tell your story, and why I prefer bringing impact forward for more senior roles. There’s no shortage of acronyms when it comes to ways to prepare for an interview: STAR – CAR – HERO – and I’ve decided...
A step back on paper. Seventeen years of possibilities.
Over the past few weeks, I've shared how one humanitarian course with the Irish Defebce Forces, six months in Serbia, and a year and a half at the UN made me realise HR was my home—just not Compensation & Benefits. The answer came through a role I was, on paper,...
CV tip: Is your CV up to date, but still wishy washy?
When I help clients rewrite their CV—or that crucial first page—I often start by interviewing them, because what's on the surface is rarely the whole story... "Is this your most up-to-date CV?"Yes. "And it includes your key responsibilities and...
Your weekly poem: I dwell in Possibility
🌿 A poem a day keeps the blues away… I DWELL IN POSSIBILITY—and the space we give it in our lives. 🌿 🌻 I dwell in PossibilityA fairer House than Prose,More numerous of Windows,Superior of Doors. Of chambers, as the Cedars —Impregnable of eye;And for an everlasting...
How career experiments helped me find my way back to HR
Exploring a career beyond Human Resources It took me two years away from Human Resources (HR) to realise it was still my home. I don’t regret those two years. Without them, I would always have wondered: “What if?” Last week, I shared how a humanitarian training helped...
CV tip: How long should your CV be?
"Your CV has to fit in one page.""Your CV must never be longer than two pages." I hear these rules constantly—from people I coach, from friends, and sometimes as advice they've received from other coaches. And honestly, they drive me a little insane. In my 20+ years...
Your weekly poem: Wild Geese
🌿 A poem a day keeps the blues away… WILD GEESE—or when feeling stuck is part of the process 🌿 🌻 (...) Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.Meanwhile the world goes on.Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rainare moving across the...
Career change strategy: Different moves need different approaches
Not all career changes are equally difficult.And not every career move needs the same strategy. There's a difference between moving to:1️⃣ Same/similar job, same industry, new employer2️⃣ New job, same industry, current employer3️⃣ Same job, new industry, new...
Career experiment: How I discovered my dream job was not for me
The best career experiment I ever ran confirmed that my dream job was absolutely not for me. For years, I had dreamt of working in either the humanitarian or human rights field, but I did not know enough about either to know whether it was really a good fit for me....
CV tip: How to write a CV that doesn’t sound like a job description
Your CV should not read like a job description. If you're a specialist with a clear target role, relevant experience and a well-written CV–but you're still not getting interviews–this may be why. Most CVs I see describe what someone was responsible for: Managed X...
Your weekly poem: The Waiting
🌿 A poem a day keeps the blues away… THE WAITING—or when your next career chapter is not ready to introduce itself yet 🌿 🌻 I was waiting for something to arrive. I didn’t know what. Something buoyed, something sun knocked. I placed my palms up, little pads of butter,...
A spontaneous trip to Geneva: Nostalgia & new beginnings
I decided to spend two spontaneous days in Geneva–my very first home in Switzerland, where I spent the first ten of my 34 years here. The last time I visited was in 2021, and I hadn’t realised how much I had missed the city and my Geneva friends. ☀️ My husband and I...
How to explore a new career without quitting your job
You cannot think your way into a new career or into complete career certainty. You have to try possible directions on. Pros-and-cons lists have their place, as does reflection. But they are not enough. They can help you identify what matters: your values, strengths,...
When a good job is no longer the right job
A job can look right from the outside and still be wrong for you. When I first moved into HR, I happened to land in Global Mobility. Later, I moved into Compensation & Benefits. I was good at it, and kept progressing from intern to analyst to C&B manager for a...
CV tip: How to tailor your CV for a target role
Is this you? If you're a mid-career professional in Pharma, have broad cross-functional experience, and your CV has already been rewritten three times without generating interviews, your next step is not necessarily a fourth rewrite. A polished document cannot...