Sylvie Desjardins
CEO
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Sylvie Desjardins is the CEO of NxCareer, a career specialist and a certified rehabilitation vocational professional (CRVP). With a master's degree in guidance counselling from the Université de Moncton, she worked as an employment counselor and held various roles with the government of New Brunswick. In 2015, she founded NxCareer with the goal of helping high achievers take ownership of their careers so that they feel fulfilled and happy.
Sylvie is passionate about all the hidden secrets of job hunting. She developed her expertise by advising adults undergoing a career transition and by guiding organizations to find the best employees. As a business owner and career specialist, she has been invited to Radio-Canada / CBC and Acadie Nouvelle on several occasions and has been nominated (Top 40) from 20 sous 40 by the Grand Chamber of Commerce Moncton in 2019 and was one of the 20 award winners in 2020.
As a guest speaker, Sylvie is a natural. She has been invited as a speaker all across New Brunswick, Quebec and way too many times on Zoom in 2020 and throughout the covid-19 pandemic! She is devoted to sharing ideas, tools, and resources that will help as many people as possible to create the life they want. By combining facts, and relevant information with humor, Sylvie communicates ideas so that the audience will feel inspired each time.
Sylvie is the youngest Board Member of the Conseil Économique du Nouveau-Brunswick, serves on the VRA Canada Membership Committee and she is a proud Mentor for the CARDE, a mentorship program for young entrepreneurs.
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What are you most proud of professionally? And who or why?
I am most proud of the fact that I built my own company from the ground up. Growing up, I was surrounded by hard working family members; My mom was a teachers’ assistant and my father was a probation officer. As my father was my role model, it was natural for me to pursue roles in the public sector. A few years later (after job hopping quite a few times), I realised that I was never feeling professionally fulfilled and I felt like I didn’t want to spend my life working for other people; I wanted to find ways to have a greater impact within my community. However, I had no clue how to do it and at that time, I would have never described myself as a risk taker.
Taking the leap of faith and leaving a secure position for this entrepreneurial journey is certainly my proudest accomplishment. I will always remember the day when I handed my resignation letter to my former employer and my boss said “are you sure?”… Was I sure? Not at all. Was I scared? Absolutely. However, the fear of failing was an important driving force and it helped me push through even when times were tough.
Now I get to help high achievers find happiness at work all across Atlantic Canada and I couldn’t be happier professionally. It is this desire to continue to grow and create the opportunity to have an impact on professionals from all across the country that keeps me on pushing myself to be better and grow NxCareer to the next level.
What’s your vision for Atlantic Canada in 10 years? What’s our biggest opportunity now?
I’m optimistic for the future of work and the future of Atlantic Canada. We did really well during the pandemic and it shows how the East Coast is filled with resilient individuals and creative thinkers. No wonder so many East Coasters moved back to their land and brought family and friends with them. Too often, we have fallen into a trap of thinking that we are limited, too small, too poor and too far from the rest of Canada and as such, unsuccessful and unable to achieve great things, but I believe that it is quite the contrary. It is time to build, open new businesses, create wealth and show the rest of the world how Atlantic Canada is the best place to raise a family, have a successful career and/ or build a business.
What was your greatest stage of growth? What made it a shift for you?
2020 (and into 2021) has definitely been a year (and period) of growth, personally and professionally. Covid-19 forced me to really understand why I do what I do and why I could not let the pandemic have the best of me and my business. As such, I had to get out of my comfort zone to create new opportunities and manage the business differently to make sure my organization would overcome the impact of these uncertain times. In March 2020 I had hired 2 amazing ladies and in April, the business crashed and we lost most of our clients. As such, we had to be creative, explore new markets and change our service offering. I am so proud of what we accomplished in 2020 and we are now stronger than ever. It’s hard to grow when you do it alone but when you surround yourself with the right people, you can achieve and overcome whatever comes your way.
What’s your favourite or most read book or podcast? Now or at each of your greatest stages of growth?
Top 3 books: The E-Myth, Atomic Habits, Miracle Morning
Atomic Habits by James Clear offers a proven framework for improving habits and breaking the bad ones. As a business owner, this book significantly helped me get through the tasks that I didn't enjoy completing and at the same time, it helped me develop a better system for my business so that I don't fall off track. One of the core concepts of this book is the importance of focusing on small improvements. James Clear talks about a 1% improvement per day, which I tested and really works! Atomic Habits will reshape the way you think about progress and success, and give you the tools and strategies you need to transform your habits. Definitely a must read for busy business owners!
Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod was a gift from a good friend and I’ll be forever grateful for this gift (thanks Karine!) as it has definitely been life changing. Like many others, I was finding myself beginning each day by looking at my phone and snoozing too many times. Since reading this one, I created a morning routine that gets me excited (most mornings) to wake up at 5:30am. This book explains the 6-step morning routine using what the author calls “Life S.A.V.E.R.S” (silence, affirmations, visualization, exercise, reading, and scribing). While I don’t do all the steps, I found my own routine that works perfectly for me and my wellbeing.
The E-Myth by Michael Gerber is strongly recommended to anyone that wants to start a business. The author cuts through various myths about what’s involved in starting a small business and how to make a business successful. Through this book I’ve learnt that being good at what you do is not enough to have a successful business. You need to find the balance between being the “technician” the “entrepreneur” and the “manager”. I read this one in 2019 and wish I had read it at an earlier stage of my business.
Ultimate Favorite Podcast: Into the Wild by Renée Warren is my absolute favorite at the moment. Her guests (and herself) make me feel inspired each episode. It’s the only podcast that I listen to until the end. This one is for all the ladies (not only business owners) that want to achieve great things in their personal and professional lives.
What’s your deepest learning from this past year? How did/will you apply it?
My network is truly my greatest asset. Having a bunch of business cards is one thing but when you truly care about the people you meet and you take the time to create true connections and you continue to nourish those relationships along the way, your network will be there when you need it. This past year (2020 into 2021) has been a year of growth (for many!) but despite the impact of the pandemic, by shifting our services and reaching out to my network, I was able to help more people and I’m so grateful to be able to say that we had our most successful year yet.
As Burg and Mann wrote in the book The Go-Giver, “Your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment.”
Who’s inspired you, directly or indirectly? How have they inspired you?
I find inspiration in a variety of people and things but in 2020, Renée Warren and her husband, Dan Martell, have inspired me so much. They inspired me to get out of my own way, overcome the imposter syndrome and reach higher milestones. Both of them are hard workers and are so generous with their time. They both are truly dedicated to help entrepreneurs succeed in all spheres of their lives.
Another huge inspiration for me has been one of my mentors, Pierre Battah, author of Humanity at Work. When I started my business, Pierre saw the potential I had when I was still not seeing it for myself. The Imposter Syndrome was real but through his guidance, suggestions and support I found the clarity I needed to start and build NxCareer. I believe that all professionals should have at least one mentor and a coach if they want to keep growing.
Last but not least, while it may sound cliché, my father was (and still is) a strong inspiration. He was well respected and always gave more than he received. While he passed away in 2017, I continue to lead with the same values that he had. Those values are my driving force and I will continue to lead with purpose and integrity as he did his whole career.
What would you have done differently?
I would have hired a coach sooner. Building a business from the ground up is challenging and it’s easy to lose sight of what is truly important. A coach provides valuable insight that helps develop long-term and short-term goals, while improving a business in areas that the owner might have overlooked. At the beginning, I was scared of growing too quickly and losing the quality of the services we offer. If I had known that I could grow significantly and offer more value to my clients, I would have been able to help more people in the process. Fortunately, when I hired a coach, it wasn’t too late and gave me the clarity I needed to grow, even during a pandemic.
What are the principles you live by?
One of the core principles I live by is that “I am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to become” which is inspired by a popular quote from Carl Jung. I feel like those who succeed in this world aren’t those who have escaped hardship. I also believe that adversity is often the fuel to greatness. I quit my full-time job in 2017, 2 weeks prior to my father’s passing as he was getting cancer treatment in Quebec City and I wanted to provide emotional support to my mother. As I had already started my business as a side hustle, I thought that I could work virtually for a couple of weeks and then I would figure out what I would be doing next. I could have returned to my old job, but at the time, the grief made me become more resilient and made me learn to deal with and address adversity. I believe that every challenge I faced helped me build my confidence and develop the ability to conquer future obstacles as a business owner.
I also lead with integrity. In my opinion, integrity is one of the most important characteristics of leadership. Integrity means that I am true to the word I say in all I do and I want people to be able to trust me because you do what I say. Integrity is an important part of my relationships with my team, my clients, my friends, my family and my network. I am far from being perfect, but I hold myself to a high standard. It is important for me to be transparent, say the truth even when it’s hard and it means having tough conversations. Through integrity, you build trust and with trust I know that NxCareer will continue to grow and have a stronger impact on Atlantic Canadians.
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Entrepreneur, Career Specialist, Connector, Bookworm, Paddleboarder, Coffee lover