Alison Garwood Jones

Yesterday I wore a low-heeled suede boot for my talk at the 2026 CAREER EXPO hosted by the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies, and lifted myself up to a height of 6’2″.

There’s something unexpected and strangely comforting for audiences when they see someone tall share the crossroads and vulnerable spots in their career progression.

People equate height with invincibility, even power in the workplace. I equate it with having a hard time finding pants.

What yesterday’s CAREER EXPO taught me is that we’re all asking, “What’s next for me?” And from the moist eyes in the house, I could see that many people want to fulfill some sort of creative potential they feel knocking around inside of them.

Maybe because we’re Canadian, we’re waiting for permission to do something about it. And maybe because I’m tall, I’m not. Being #1 is outdated (and makes some people freeze). Being the only one feels promising and worth committing to (h/t Jimmy Carr).

Yesterday’s presentations with Stephen Allen, Amanda Ono, Christine Crouch, Kim Ferreira and Achev offered us several ways to respond to the moment we’re living through:

• Resistance to AI and your own creative impulses is limiting and pointless. The two may feel at odds, but both require your understanding and constant attention. As one speaker put it, “test and invest,” and learn to live with the daily discomfort this will cause.

• You don’t have to know everything — about AI or how to evolve. No one knows what will happen (especially not the tall people). Now is not the time to cave. Action is the best cure for anxiety, say all the people who care about having a say in our future (h/t Fei-Fei Li).

• Today your career progression is a jungle gym, not a ladder (good one, Amanda Ono!)

• The workplace has redesigned itself around skills, not degrees (and especially not fancy degrees). Skills are transferrable. Which ones can you redeploy? Oh, and soft skills — like emotional intelligence and relationship-building — are the hardest skills to develop and the most important going forward (Ladies and liberal arts degree holders, here’s your chance to shine!)

• If you’re mid-career, think beyond your own discipline, and don’t put your career development on the back burner (wise counsel from Kim Ferreira). Own your own skill development, and update your LinkedIn profile every time you acquire a new one (so much better than waiting every five to ten years to refresh your CV).

My thanks to Juan Mavo-Navarro for inviting me to participate in CAREER EXPO 2026, to the irrepressible and delightful Ann Park for introducing me, to Jane Welowszky for adding her energy to the room and shooting me action. And to Gregory Garson for cheering from the back (and snapping this pic!)