Disclaimer.

General information, not advice for you

Everything published on this site, in the newsletter and in the articles linked from the writing page is general information about careers and professional life. It is written for a wide audience of students, graduates, working professionals and the people who advise them.

It is not advice about your situation. It cannot be, because it was written without knowing anything about you: your field, your finances, your visa status, your health, your obligations or what you actually want. Two people can read the same paragraph here and need opposite things.

Please do not treat anything here as a recommendation to take, or not take, a particular decision about your career.

A call is a conversation, not a professional opinion

An introductory call is a short conversation. What is offered on it is experience and an honest view, not a professional opinion you can rely on as you would rely on advice from a lawyer, an accountant or a clinician.

Reading this site, subscribing to the newsletter or sending a message does not make you a client. The coaching terms set out when a working relationship actually begins.

Not legal, financial, medical or immigration advice

Career conversations run into other people's territory constantly. To be clear about the boundary, nothing on this site or in a call is:

• legal or employment law advice. Contracts, notice, severance, human rights complaints, non-competes and workplace disputes need a lawyer licensed in your jurisdiction;
• financial, investment or tax advice. Decisions about salary, equity, pensions, taking a pay cut, going freelance or funding a degree have financial and tax consequences that need a qualified professional;
• immigration advice. This matters here, because much of this writing is for international students and graduates. Study permits, work permits, post-graduation work permits and permanent residence are regulated, and advice on them in Canada may only be given by an authorised representative such as a lawyer or a licensed immigration consultant. Nothing here is immigration advice, and no immigration outcome is predicted or promised;
• medical, psychological or mental health advice. Coaching is not therapy, counselling or psychological assessment. Burnout, anxiety, depression and distress deserve a qualified clinician. If you are in crisis, please contact a local crisis line or emergency services now rather than waiting for a call.

Where a question belongs to one of those fields, you will be told so and pointed towards the right kind of professional.

Frameworks and assessments

Frameworks are used here as a lens, not as a verdict. The six element framework described on this site, and any personality or interest instrument used in a session, can help you think. None of them measures your worth, predicts your performance, or settles what you should do.

A personality instrument in particular describes preferences at a moment in time. It is not a diagnosis and it is not a selection tool, and no decision about you should rest on one.

No guarantee of outcomes

No outcome is promised. Not a job, an interview, an offer, a promotion, a raise, an admission, a grant or a visa. Anyone who promises you those things in this field should be treated with suspicion.

Results depend on your field, the labour market, timing, who is hiring, and most of all on what you do next. Examples and stories described here are illustrations of what has worked for someone, not a prediction of what will work for you.

Your decisions are yours

You stay responsible for your own choices and for checking anything important before you act on it. Verify facts that matter, read the documents, and take qualified advice where a decision warrants it. No liability is accepted for a decision you take after reading this site or after a call, to the extent the law allows.

Accuracy over time

Some of the writing collected here goes back to 2017. Labour markets, hiring practices, funding, immigration rules and the programmes described all change, sometimes quickly. A piece is accurate as at its date of publication and is not revised afterwards.

Check the date on anything before you rely on it, and check the current position with the organisation concerned.

Other people's content

Articles, talks and interviews linked from this site are published and hosted by other organisations. Several were written with co-authors. Those pieces are subject to their publishers' terms, their editing and their corrections, and they may be changed or taken down without notice here.

A link is not an endorsement of everything on the site it leads to.

An independent practice

Dinukafication is Dinuka Gunaratne's own practice. As the footer of every page says, what is written here is his own view and does not represent any employer. It is separate from the university where he works and from the associations and boards he serves, and none of them is responsible for anything published here or said on a call.

Questions

If anything here is unclear, or you think something on this site is wrong or out of date, please say so at dinukagunaratne@gmail.com. Corrections are welcome.