“I don’t know what career I want.”
You’ve probably said this in your head more times than you can count and it’s likely led to feelings of frustration.
I know, because I used to feel the same way.
That’s why I’m sharing my step-by-step process to find not only a good career but the right career for you.
But first, let’s break down common mental roadblocks and learn how to overcome them.
These things are holding you back from the career you want
You already know what you want to do with your life (at least on some level) if you remove one thing:
Fear.
People often reach out to me about what they want to do for their careers and lives because I’ve created my own custom career.
When they tell me about their dreams, they seem to have great clarity. They know what they want.
But making a career pivot requires taking a risk.
If you knew your career plan would work with 100% certainty, what would you do?
When you remove the possibility of:
- Failure
- Rejection
- Embarrassment
- Uncertainty
All of a sudden, you know what you want.
Beyond fear, here are some other challenges I faced (and you’ll likely face, too):
The resistance is real
I work with a lot of people who have traditional 9-to-5 jobs and have spent a lot of time building 10-year credibility. They stand out among their friends, family, and community for what they currently do. But to make a career change or try something new, they will have to lose status.
Because the minute you start doing something different in your career or life, you take two steps back in order to take ten steps forward.
You have to lose some status to gain it back tenfold. Accept this upfront and deal with it.
Status won’t be the only thing you give up. It’s time to let go of any preconceived notions, because…
Society wants you to follow the script
When you’re deciding what career you want, it’s hard to ignore everyone around you.
Parental pressure and expectations are very real for a lot of folks.
Then there are your peers and other family members. It’s hard not to compare yourself when “everyone” is working these seemingly prestigious jobs at well-known corporations.
It’s easy to feel like:
- Your desired career path is too different
- You will be ostracized for choosing a non-traditional career
- Everyone is ahead of you (FOMO!)
But a traditional career is not synonymous with a better career. Forget the comparisons because there’s no perfect plan for finding a job you love.
Prepare for your future career. (And get paid.)
Build skills that matter: communication, leadership, time management. Your future self will thank you.
Request Interview
People hesitate to invest this required resource
People are afraid to make a commitment to a certain career path because they’re afraid they’re going to waste time in the process.
You, ironically, waste the most time by waiting for the perfect time to start.
It’s easy to lose five, 10, 15, or even 20 years of your life. All because you never took the time to figure out and pursue the career that you really wanted.
You need courage.
To move forward without having all the information available to you.
To construct your life based on what you want and what you care about vs. what other people think.
And to have faith that if you move forward and trust your intuition, amazing things will happen even though the details might be foggy now.
Related:
Here’s the mistake most people make: They think clarity comes before action.
They’re convinced they need a perfect plan before they start moving.
In reality, clarity comes from action—not overthinking.
You learn what you want by trying things out, testing ideas, building skills, meeting people, and paying attention to what energizes you. Which is exactly why you need…
The career discovery process
These are my best practical tips to figure out what career you want. It’s more important to focus on competence than passion because competence creates passion. When you get good at something, you will naturally become more passionate about it.
The way you get close to having a career that “helps you find your passion” is to find things you’re drawn to and are naturally good at (or can pick up quickly).
Start with your strengths
This is why I often suggest people take strengths tests like:
- CareerExplorer
- CliftonStrengths Assessment (formerly Strengths Finder)
- Big Five personality test
- Enneagram test
I took a Strengths Finder test years ago when I was trying to make a pivot and build a better life.
The results suggested a career that focuses on ideation and coming up with concepts. It identified that I had skills for writing, reading, and synthesizing information. I took all of those recommendations and used them to make (very good) money online.
Look for natural talents and interests
Charlie Munger has a saying:
Play games that you can win.
That means you want to find a game that you are predisposed to win because you already have a natural talent for it.
To find your strengths, you can use tests, yes—but you can also think back to times you have excelled in your life. Ask yourself questions like:
What are some things that come naturally to me that others find difficult?
Starting out in a career where you already have talent will reduce (at least some of) the friction and make it easier to stick with it and grow.
What career did I want between the ages of 14 and 18?
The concept of your future starts to form here. You’re getting to know yourself and your dreams…and haven’t (yet) been beaten down by societal pressures.
What can I talk about endlessly?
Take something that you love to do. While you may not turn that exact thing into a career business, you can still still apply that passion to your business.
What do other people consistently tell me I’m good at?
In my case, people in my past told me that I was articulate, had a strong vocabulary, and had a good speaking voice. That feedback helped me recognize those abilities and use them as part of my career.
5 Practical steps to finding the career you want
Step 1: Brain dump
Do a brain dump of every single possible career option that you might like to have moving forward. No idea is too ridiculous, nothing is too crazy. Just go with your gut.
Then:
- Take a day off and sleep on it
- Cross out all the obvious “nos”
- Sleep on it and let it breathe
- Narrow it down to your final three options
Step 2: Research
After that, it’s time to look at your top three choices with a critical eye. Look up blog posts, videos, YouTube content, and LinkedIn articles about what the career requires:
- Degrees you might need
- Potential certifications
- Hours you’ll have to invest
- The network you must build
- Primary skills needed
Pay attention to how successful people in the industry are actually getting hired and building visibility online.
Step 3: Score your options
Rate each option from 1 to 10 based on these factors:
- How passionate you are about the topic or career
- The level of natural talent or ability you have
- Financial compensation and profit potential
Take the career choice that has the highest score among all variables. You want something that you enjoy, but you’re also good at, and that also makes good money.
Step 4: Create your action plan
Put everything into the plan.
Example: If you hypothesize that you want to become a data analyst, map out the necessary steps:
- Take a coding boot camp
- Get certifications
- Revamp your LinkedIn profile
- Build a portfolio
- Create content to showcase your understanding
- Network with senior professionals
- Define your ideal position
- Develop required skills
- Begin the application process
Step 5: Test and iterate
Give yourself 12 to 24 months to let it sink in. It’s going to take a couple of years in this field to decide what you want. (And remember, your first career choice doesn’t have to be permanent. The goal is progress, not perfection.)
After you give it a go, you can judge the result of your career experiment.
- Did it go as well as you anticipated?
- Did it give you everything that you thought it would?
- Do you feel a sense of passion and competence?
The key is to take action, test, and iterate.
It’s time to retire the old playbook
Whether you decide to build a business or follow a more traditional career path, the professional world looks a lot different than five years ago.
AI is reshaping some jobs and eliminating others. Online applications are crowded and sending hundreds of resumes into the void (even customized ones) isn’t a viable strategy.
That doesn’t mean opportunity is gone, but it does mean you need to adapt.
One of my clients, Rachel, helps her clients pivot into careers they love and land jobs without applying online at all. She spends almost zero time on resumes and cover letters. Her process is different from not only what most career coaches do but also what most job seekers do. Here’s what she recommends:
Make the process fun
If you follow my recommendations from earlier in the post, you’ll learn to treat career exploration like an experiment, not a life-or-death decision. Curiosity and momentum lead to clarity.
Skip the line
Don’t rely only on cold applications. Reach out to people directly instead—after you’ve taken the time to research an individual or company and understand their problems. If you can identify real solutions, you’re already ahead of the curve. Understand that MANY opportunities come through conversations, not job boards.
Demonstrate your skills and share your point of view
An acquaintance of mine, who is a storytelling consultant, has turned down five job offers in the past 12 months. Companies come to her because she has been sharing her POV and backstory online. Anyone can create projects, share ideas, and post their work—take advantage of this. Showing how you think > listing experience on a resume.
“I don’t know what career I want” is a lie
You already know what you want.
It’s…
The thing you would do if you couldn’t fail.
The thing that lights you up but you’re a little bit scared to try.
The thing you want to do, but you’re worried about what your friends and family might think.
The thing that temporarily lowers your status.
The thing that makes you confront the complex person you really are—with all of your strengths and weaknesses, your confidence and insecurities.
That’s what you’re supposed to be doing. You know that. Now go do it.
