How to actually enjoy your work (without quitting and starting your own personal petting zoo)
The "find your passion" advice is making your relationship with work worse. Here's how to get enjoyment out of the job you already have.
Bad bossesWhen the person above you is the problem
All of them →How to deal with a bad manager (without losing your job or your mind)
When your manager makes work harder, get specific about what's happening, ask for a workable change, and decide what you need next.
Dear Peter: My boss is a "Nice Guy," so why am I miserable?
A reader struggles with a kind but ineffective boss who avoids conflict and feedback, creating anxiety and stagnation despite good intentions.
Matchmaker, matchmaker: how to spot a good manager before you accept the job
1:1s shouldn't feel like a rollercoaster ride. And not just principles and abstractions – what do I specifically look for?
Becoming a managerThe first year in charge of people
All of them →Burnout and urgencyToo much, too fast, for too long
All of them →Dealing with burnout at work (and figuring out if that's what you've got)
Work feels exhausting, detached, or harder than it used to. Look at what's changed, what might be driving it, and what help you need.
Career coach vs. therapist - which one do I actually need?
A hard time at work can call for career support, mental health care, or both. Here's how I'd think through which kind of help to look for.
Permission to be "Good Enough"
What if "good enough" isn't settling—it's a strategy. Here's your permission to stop chasing "excellence" and start doing work that matters.
AI at workNew tools, vague mandates
All of them →Reviews and growthFeedback, mentors, the next step
All of them →What does a career coach actually do?
What happens in a career coaching session, what people bring to it, and how to decide whether the support is useful for you.
Beyond lip service: what real mentorship looks like
Mentorship in the workplace is often treated like an afterthought despite being highly valuable, yet rarely receives proper structure or investment from organizations.
Dear Peter: I'm feeling stuck. Do I need an MBA?
MBA: maybe! But also...
Hiring and job searchBoth sides of the interview table
All of them →Changing careersLeaving a role, a field or a long break
All of them →How to switch careers without starting over
Thinking about a career change? You don't need to blow up your life to do it. Here's the playbook—from someone who's helped a lot of folks do it.
Dear Peter: how can I switch to a non-profit from a ..profit?
Non-profit? More like very pro-fit!
Dear Peter: "hell hath no fury like a PM's scorn"
A project manager with eight years of experience who excels at their role but dreads the work seeks guidance on transitioning to fulfilling employment without sacrificing financial stability.
Wait, what happened?
- Weren't you.. a career coach?
- Yup! Then I moved to Vienna and found out Austria regulates coaching as a licensed profession. That means hundreds of hours of training, supervised practice, and exams. In German. Just to do it as a business.
- So get the license?
- Maybe someday! Until then, I can't offer coaching. I'm doing what I'd always done alongside it: writing.
- I was hoping to work with you. Now what?
- Coaching's closed, but I'm always happy to connect. Shoot me an email at peter@peterdurlacher.com.
- I'm already a client. What happens to me?
- Sign in to your account for the details, or shoot me an email at peter@peterdurlacher.com.
- Why is the coaching stuff still here?
- For posterity, and so you can see what that work looked like. It's an archive instead of a menu.