Career exploration is a lifelong process.(But don’t let that scare you!)
Career exploration is a lifelong process.
If you would’ve told me six years ago that I would be telling you this- I’d walk (ok run!) the other direction. When I first decided to go into the helping people business I was certain that this would be my forever career, and it was a one time decision that I could cross of my list, and then shut the door. But that version of me was someone who had a lot of living (and learning) to do! Making choices can be scary and challenging. And the more I talk to people who are at different stages in their career journey it becomes clear that we make career change decisions over and over again- even if that decision is to stay on your current path.
Look back over time to what go you here.
When is the first time you remember making a choice about your career?
What career paths were modeled by your family members?
What careers or jobs were modeled in your community?
What jobs and careers stood out in television, movies, or books?
What jobs did you hold in your adolescent or teenage years? What role did those jobs play in your decisions?
If you went to college, what experiences during that time changed or affirmed your decisions?
Regardless of if you are now in college considering your first “official career decision” or if you are approaching retirement I am guessing you’ve grown and changed a lot since you made those decisions.
Think about this earlier version of you.
What motivated you in your adolescent years?
Where did you live?
Who were the people closest to you?
How did you spend your time?
What did you prioritize?
What was most important to you?
I am going to guess the answers are different today. So why woud you career decisions be any different? Part of exploring what you want to do as a profession, and how you want to spend your time, is looking inward at who you are now and how you’ve grown. Life would be boring if we all stayed exactly the same with our interests, values, needs, identities, motivators, and connections. All of these things shape how you approach the world and how you want to make meaning of your time.
So that leads us to the present. Are you still following a decision that was shaped by an earlier version of yourself? Have you taken a look inward to see what has changed? I don’t know about you, but as much as have love and appreciation for teenage Beth, I definitely wouldn’t want her to step in and make my life choices for me now!
The role you play outside of work might have changed (parent, caregiver, partner), or maybe your motivations have changed as well (time, money, stability, achievement). A regular practice of career exploration can help you either affirm where you are, pivot to a different role, or change pathways all together. So yes the idea of change, especially with something as important as how we support ourselves, can be scary. But it can also be a freeing process that gives you clarity on where you want to grow, and how you want to get there. This process might affirm your choice, and clarity on what you hope for your future. Or maybe it suggests a shift in work setting (Organizational Culture, Organization Size, Organization Structure), work style (remote, in office, hybrid work, team based collaboration, or individual entrepreneurship), or work activities (management, technical, people facing, leadership, etc). Career exploration can mean changing your path entirely, but it more often means making smaller strategic changes to better fit your needs and values.
This is the type of coaching I live for! Making what seems like a scary, ambiguous, unknown process clear and meaningful.I’d love the chance to guide you in this process, so you can feel confident in where you are and what comes next. Trust me, the teenage version of you will be glad you did!
