The Evaluation Couch

Welcome to The Evaluation Couch, where we discuss topics related to evaluation and navigating a career in evaluation. In this space, I will share about my evaluation journey, share tips from my career advising and management experience, and invite other evaluators to hear about their perspectives. My goal is to continue promoting the use of evaluation and help evaluators build the careers they deserve.

22. Knocking On Other Doors 12/14/2024

22. Knocking On Other Doors In this episode, Diego Luces shares a story about how he knocked on a company's door and ended up landing on a job when he was still a fairly new immigrant in Canada. Diego shares what motivated him to take this risk and how he maintained a positive mindset after being rejected in his job search process. He offers useful advice to help others navigate the job search process. This episode discusses the importance of diversifying our job search strategies as well as barriers faced by immigrants in searching jobs in a different country. /episode/index/show/2b16e000-785c-45ab-b7cc-7bac6fc7c78b/id/34442045

21. Beyond the Basics: Transforming Your Resume 12/06/2024

21. Beyond the Basics: Transforming Your Resume In this episode, Maria provides useful content to help you transform your resume. This episode covers the cognitive processes behind common resume tips, general rules for effective resumes and how to organize your information. Maria shares three frameworks you can adopt to write effective work experience content. She also shares things to avoid using real-life examples to showcase how to improve your resume content. She ends with a few strategies you can use to maintain updated and effective resumes. /episode/index/show/2b16e000-785c-45ab-b7cc-7bac6fc7c78b/id/34309935

20. Amplifying Eval24 Voices: Career Risks, Goals, and Advice 11/28/2024

20. Amplifying Eval24 Voices: Career Risks, Goals, and Advice This episode features several attendees of Eval24, the 2024 American Evaluation Association conference that took place in Portland, Oregon. Maria engaged several attendees to ask them about risks they have taken in their careers, goals they are working towards and advice they would give their younger selves. This episode features several amazing evaluators. I am grateful for their generosity with their time and wisdom. Featured evaluators in alphabetical order: Allison Prieur, Angela Suarez, Audacity Nadler, Bijan Kimiagar, Carolyn Haythorn, Eddah Kanini, Elizabeth DiLuzio, François-Daniel Portelance, Gabriela Castro, Gladys Rowe, Grace, Joanna Hillman, Olivia Melvin, Prabin Nanicha, Rachael Kenney, Theodore Theoharis, Tian Ford, Veronica Olazabal, Vivien Ahrens, Zach Tilton. /episode/index/show/2b16e000-785c-45ab-b7cc-7bac6fc7c78b/id/34187650

19. To Apply or Not To Apply 11/21/2024

19. To Apply or Not To Apply This episodes focuses on our experiences of getting stuck when deciding whether to apply to a job or not. Maria shares experiences when getting stuck and building scenarios based on speculation have led her to not take action. She explains how our brain makes decisions and discusses some narratives or biases that can promote the decision loop that might lead to inaction. Finally, she shares a framework that can support your decision-making process to avoid getting stuck. Resources: Thinking, fast and slow by David Kahneman Maria's /episode/index/show/2b16e000-785c-45ab-b7cc-7bac6fc7c78b/id/34073141

18. How to Tailor Your Job Application 11/14/2024

18. How to Tailor Your Job Application This episode is a how-to guide for tailoring your job application. Maria provides an overview of why it is important to tailor your application and how to overcome barriers getting in the way of creating a relevant and concise application. She demonstrates the process she would follow to tailor an application by using a real job posting as an example. The episode discusses Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools that can make the process more efficient and how you can use them. Resources: The used in the example was retrieved on November 13, 2024 from Indeed. includes the keywords results from Copilot, Teal, and JobScan. /episode/index/show/2b16e000-785c-45ab-b7cc-7bac6fc7c78b/id/33931222

17. Healthy Job Search Mindset Part 3: Identifying Your Strengths to Improve Your Story 11/04/2024

17. Healthy Job Search Mindset Part 3: Identifying Your Strengths to Improve Your Story This is the last episode in the series dedicated to healthy job search mindsets. In this episode, Maria discusses the importance of developing your story, the narrative that describes your uniqueness and the value you add to a job. This episode focuses on an important component of your story: your strengths. Reconnecting with your strenghts will not only allow you to stand out but will also increase your resilliency. Maria shares an excercise to identify your strengths and shares an example from her career to show how it works. Other resources you can use to develop your story: /episode/index/show/2b16e000-785c-45ab-b7cc-7bac6fc7c78b/id/33777322

16. Healthy Job Search Mindset Part 2: Embracing Failure, Grit, and Resilience 10/10/2024

16. Healthy Job Search Mindset Part 2: Embracing Failure, Grit, and Resilience Welcome to the second episode in our series dedicated to job searching and maintaining a healthy mindset throughout the process. In this episode, Maria provides several practical actions you can take to embrace failure as part of the job search process and increase your grit and resilience to overcome job rejections. Resources: /episode/index/show/2b16e000-785c-45ab-b7cc-7bac6fc7c78b/id/33405472

15. Healthy Job Search Mindset Part 1: Maintaining Your Perspective 10/02/2024

15. Healthy Job Search Mindset Part 1: Maintaining Your Perspective Welcome to the first episode in our series dedicated to job searching and maintaining a healthy mindset throughout the process. In this episode, Maria explores the external factors that can impact your job search outcomes. By understanding these factors and gaining insight into the inner workings of the organizations you’re applying to, you can shift your perspective and protect your self-esteem during your job search process. Maria shares practical strategies to navigate this reality. Resources: Resources to learn about discrimination in the workplace: fact sheet (Canada) /episode/index/show/2b16e000-785c-45ab-b7cc-7bac6fc7c78b/id/33299937

14. Beyond Attending: Leveraging Conferences to Grow Your Career 09/20/2024

14. Beyond Attending: Leveraging Conferences to Grow Your Career In this episode Maria shares her strategy for leveraging conference to grow your career. This episode includes actionable steps you can take before, during, and after conferences to move closer towards your career goals. /episode/index/show/2b16e000-785c-45ab-b7cc-7bac6fc7c78b/id/33134742

13. Navigating Our Fear Zone: Insights From Launching My Podcast 07/31/2024

13. Navigating Our Fear Zone: Insights From Launching My Podcast In this episode, Maria explores why some people take action while others don't. This episode discusses the process of stepping outside our comfort zone and navigating our fear zone to reach our growth zone. She shares how she experienced and overcame the fear zone when she launched The Evaluation Couch. She then shares tips you can try out to navigate your own fear zones and her reflections on all she has gained since launching this podcast. Resources: The comfort zone - growth zone model Maria talks about is derived Learning Zone Model developed by Tom Senninger and is described in more detail describes the research that suggests that excitement and anxiety are physiologically the same and the power of reframing our emotions Watch Brene Brown's TedTalk: /episode/index/show/2b16e000-785c-45ab-b7cc-7bac6fc7c78b/id/32361607

12. The Ink that Connects Us: Stories of Evaluators 07/24/2024

12. The Ink that Connects Us: Stories of Evaluators In this episode Christine Wise and David J. Hanson join Maria to share about Eval and Ink. Eval and Ink aims to unveil the identities and elevate the voices of evaluators by exploring the narratives behind their tattoos. Christine and David share the story behind this project and reflect on the powerful experience of connecting with others who are sharing the stories of their tatoos with them. This episode discusses how our identities show up in our evaluation work, the need for celebrating the cultural diversity in our field, the importance of considering the humanity involved in evaluation, and the value of self-reflection in our work. Learn more abotu Eval and Ink and get involved . David's definition of Culturally Responsive and Equity-Focused Evaluation is from . David also shares about the program from Expanding the Bench. /episode/index/show/2b16e000-785c-45ab-b7cc-7bac6fc7c78b/id/32271062

11. Doodling a YOU Career: A Conversation With Chris Lysy 07/18/2024

11. Doodling a YOU Career: A Conversation With Chris Lysy Chris Lysy, from Fresh Spectrum, sits in the couch to share how he built a special career by leaning into his interests and diversifying his skills. Chris shares how he became the artist behind thousands of evaluation cartoons and shares valuable tips related to exploring our interests, finding opportunities, starting a consulting business, and creating content. Visit Chris' for free resources, cartoons, and more. Watch Chris' and Maria's Q&A mentioned in the episode and see the cartoons . /episode/index/show/2b16e000-785c-45ab-b7cc-7bac6fc7c78b/id/32192727

10. Bridging the Generational Gap: Transforming Workplaces for Younger Generations 07/12/2024

10. Bridging the Generational Gap: Transforming Workplaces for Younger Generations In this episode, Maria highlights the value that younger generations bring to workplaces and the importance of understanding generational differences to build better working conditions for all. This episode provides an overview of the historical and contextual factors that influence the motivations and expectations of different generations. It also provides suggestions of how we can transform workplaces to make them more inclusive of younger generations. Resources and references: Generation Why: How Boomers Can Lead and Learn from Millennials and Gen Z by Karl Moore /episode/index/show/2b16e000-785c-45ab-b7cc-7bac6fc7c78b/id/32108892

9. Our Use of AI: Barriers and Self-Limiting Beliefs 07/03/2024

9. Our Use of AI: Barriers and Self-Limiting Beliefs Diego Luces joins Maria to discuss evaluators' use of artificial intelligence (AI). Diego brings a lens to this discussion from his work as a software engineer working on AI tools. This episode discusses barriers and self-limiting beliefs that evaluators shared with Maria about AI. It includes suggestions for how evaluators can address some of their concerns and reframe their limiting beliefs if they choose to prioritize embracing this technology. Resources: Microsoft's Responsible AI: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/ai/responsible-ai Resources to improve your Copilot prompts: https://copilot.cloud.microsoft/prompts /episode/index/show/2b16e000-785c-45ab-b7cc-7bac6fc7c78b/id/31998512

8. Reframing a Bad Job Experience 06/27/2024

8. Reframing a Bad Job Experience In this episode, Maria reflects on the role that a bad job experience can have in shaping our careers. She shares her own learnings from a bad job and how reframing her experience has helped her learn how to navigate future challenges. The episode also includes tips to help you reframe challenging job experiences to turn them into learning opportunities. /episode/index/show/2b16e000-785c-45ab-b7cc-7bac6fc7c78b/id/31914487

7. Navigating Scarcity Mindset: Earning Potential in Evaluation 06/19/2024

7. Navigating Scarcity Mindset: Earning Potential in Evaluation In this episode, Maria discusses her experience with scarcity mindset around the earning potential of a career in evaluation. She introduces the concept of scarcity mindset and how it can impact your decisions, stress, and well-being. This episode discusses the importance of talking about money and having compensation information to make career decisions. Maria shares a few steps you can take if you are experiencing scarcity mindset around your earning potential. /episode/index/show/2b16e000-785c-45ab-b7cc-7bac6fc7c78b/id/31805357

6. Lifelong Learning and Career Goals: A Conversation with Michelle Anderson-Draper 06/13/2024

6. Lifelong Learning and Career Goals: A Conversation with Michelle Anderson-Draper In this episode, Maria interviews the incoming Canadian Evaluation Society (CES) President, Michelle Anderson-Draper. Michelle reflects on her journey in evaluation, the role of planned happenstance in her career and her hopes for her presidency term. Throughout the conversation, Michelle shares her own careeer goals, highlights the value of lifelong learning and provides valuable tips to help evaluators grow in their careers. Visit the Canadian Evaluation Society to learn more about the CES Fellows, Designation program, and Provincial Chapters: For more information on the Student and Emerging Evaluator representative to the Board position, visit: /episode/index/show/2b16e000-785c-45ab-b7cc-7bac6fc7c78b/id/31727412

5. Plain Language: Seven Tips to Help You Use Appropriate Words 06/04/2024

5. Plain Language: Seven Tips to Help You Use Appropriate Words In this episode, Maria honours her friend and colleague Carol Wilson, celebrating her retirement by emphasizing the importance of using plain language in evaluation. The episode offers a brief introduction to Plain Language and provides seven practical tips to improve your communication by using words that are appropriate for your audience. This episode was informed by Maria's experiences as well as resources from and the . /episode/index/show/2b16e000-785c-45ab-b7cc-7bac6fc7c78b/id/31599242

4. ADHD and Evaluation: A Strengths-Based Reflection 05/29/2024

4. ADHD and Evaluation: A Strengths-Based Reflection To celebrate Mental Health Month, Maria uses storytelling to promote discussions around mental health and celebrate the diversity within individuals in the evaluation profession. Maria shares her story navigating her Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or ADHD and how she has used a strengths-based approach to asses how her neurodivergence makes her a better evaluator. This episode provides an overview of what ADHD is, what symptoms may look like, and highlights the importance of accommodations and enabling environments for people with ADHD to thrive. Maria shares a few resources including: /episode/index/show/2b16e000-785c-45ab-b7cc-7bac6fc7c78b/id/31515747

3. Elections and Reflections: Leading EvalYouth 05/21/2024

3. Elections and Reflections: Leading EvalYouth Gabriela Rentería Flores, Chair of the EvalYouth Global Network, joins The Evaluation Couch to share her reflections. As we approach the upcoming elections for a new Management Group, this episode introduces EvalYouth and dives into the experiences of both Maria and Gaby. They discuss career opportunities, valuable learnings, and the sacrifices inherent in taking on leadership roles within EvalYouth. Maria and Gaby share their hopes for the future and encourage potential board nominees to recognize the impact they can make. /episode/index/show/2b16e000-785c-45ab-b7cc-7bac6fc7c78b/id/31393637

2. Planned Happenstance 05/14/2024

2. Planned Happenstance In this episode, Maria discusses Planned Happenstance, a career development theory. Maria provides an overview of Planned Happenstance and the five attitudes or skills that can help you make the most of chance events. She shares three tips that can help you adopt this theory to grow your career. /episode/index/show/2b16e000-785c-45ab-b7cc-7bac6fc7c78b/id/31284007

1. Positionality Statements 05/03/2024

1. Positionality Statements In this episode, Maria discusses positionality statements and shares her positionality statement for The Evaluation Couch. This episode includes a brief introduction to positionality statements and examples of how evaluators use them in their practice. Maria shares aspects of her identity and position in this world relevant to the topics that will be discussed in this podcast. She shares three tips for integrating positionality statements in your evaluation practice. /episode/index/show/2b16e000-785c-45ab-b7cc-7bac6fc7c78b/id/31099168

The Couch Story 04/29/2024

The Couch Story /episode/index/show/2b16e000-785c-45ab-b7cc-7bac6fc7c78b/id/31031793

The Evaluation Couch

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