How to Use Exploration to Clarify Career Direction

I was recently asked by an aspiring medical professional/student - “ How can I make sure this is a good job for me?” 1. Journaling After Each Shift or Experience Encourage the student to write down: • What they did: What tasks or responsibilities did they enjoy? What felt draining? • How they felt: Were they energized, overwhelmed, fulfilled, or indifferent? • Moments of meaning: Did anything move them emotionally — a patient interaction, a team moment, a breakthrough? • Values alignment: Did the work align with their personal values (e.g., compassion, science, service, justice)? ⸻ 2. Ask Key Reflection Questions Weekly: Set aside time each week to answer: • What am I learning — about medicine and about myself? • What parts of this work excite me most? • Do I feel a sense of purpose in what I’m doing? • What skills or strengths of mine are being used here? • Can I see myself doing this for 10–20 years? ⸻ 3. Shadow or Explore Other Roles Sometimes students think they want to be doctors, but might thrive as nurses, physician assistants, therapists, or public health professionals. Encourage exploration of different roles within healthcare to: • Compare environments (e.g., surgery vs primary care, inpatient vs outpatient) • Understand team dynamics • Observe the emotional toll and rewards of different roles ⸻ 4. Talk to Mentors and Professionals Encourage the student to speak with professionals at various stages of their careers and ask: • What they love and what’s hardest about their job • How they knew this was the right path • What they wish they had known in training ⸻ 5. Use a “Career Fit Scorecard” They can create a simple 1–5 scale to rate: • Interest in subject matter • Emotional fulfillment • Work-life balance potential • Financial expectations • Stress tolerance • Lifestyle flexibility • Intellectual challenge Looking at the scores over time can help clarify patterns. ⸻ 6. Visualize the Long-Term Ask: “If I continue on this path, where will I be in 10 years?” And then: “How does that make me feel?” This simple visualization often reveals whether the path feels right in their gut. ⸻ 7. Normalize Doubt Finally, reassure them that questioning their path is not only okay — it’s wise. Many people who enter healthcare do so after pivoting from other fields or rediscovering their purpose along the way.

I want to share how I navigated my career uncertainty. Here's a simple 5-step process I think you'll find valuable: 1. Start with self-discovery. - Reflect on what energizes you. - What work makes time fly for you? These insights are crucial. 2. Complete assessments. - Leadership and personality assessments can be eye-opening. 3. Network conversations. - Reach out and connect with individuals who have taken similar career paths. Their experiences can guide and inspire your own understanding. 4. Explore beyond your degree. - Understand that your degree is just a starting point. - The real assets are your transferable skills like leadership, communication, and problem-solving. 5. Informational interviewing. - Engage in conversations with professionals. - Ask about their career trajectories and challenges. These insights are often invaluable. Remember, your career is more than your degree. It's about the intersection of your skills and passions. If you’re feeling lost, start exploring and be open to where the path leads. Action makes everyone feel about the future. Take action.

I Almost Quit My Career Pivot—Until I Did This (what I taught in my find your pivot workshop) A few years ago, I was stuck. I knew I wanted out of engineering, but every time I tried to figure out what was next, my brain felt like a browser with 87 tabs open. Do I go into tech? Do I try project management? What about something completely different? The overwhelm was real. Then, I stumbled on mind mapping. (Which is awesome if you’re a visual person!) Instead of forcing myself to think my way into clarity, I visualized it. I grabbed a blank sheet of paper (yes, paper) and wrote one thing in the center: “What do I actually enjoy doing?” From there, I started drawing branches: - My values - Skills I loved using. - Tasks that drained me. - Industries that intrigued me. - Random things I was curious about. Suddenly, I saw connections I hadn’t noticed before. I wasn’t just leaving engineering. I was moving toward something that aligned with me values! That mind map led me to explore Customer Success in ConTech—and the rest is history. So if you’re feeling stuck in your career pivot, try this: - Grab a blank page (or use an app like Miro ) - Write a central question: “What do I actually enjoy doing?” or “What skills do I want to use?” - Branch out—no wrong answers, just exploration. Set a 30 minute timer, and don’t stop writing! You might just find the clarity you’ve been looking for. Have you ever used mind mapping? We did this exercise as part of the “find your pivot” workshop a few weeks ago - and participants loved it! If not, give it a try and let me know how it goes!

𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸... "𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘪𝘵." You used to dream about 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥. Now you're stuck in a job that drains your soul, numbs your motivation, and boxes in your potential. 𝗦𝗮𝗺𝗲. I never imagined my career would feel so... 𝗳𝗹𝗮𝘁. But fear kept me in that stuck place 𝘸𝘢𝘺 longer than I care to admit. Until one day, I stopped waiting. And 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨. If you're craving a career that lights you up from the inside out— Here are 𝟱 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲: 𝟭. 𝗥𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘂𝗽 What brought you joy before the world told you to “be realistic”? There’s gold buried in your childhood curiosity. 𝟮. 𝗗𝗼 𝗮 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳-𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗻 What energizes you? What drains you? What do others consistently admire in you? Pay attention. 𝟯. 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 Search job boards like you're window shopping. Make a list of roles you’d love if fear wasn’t in the room. (𝘙𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳: 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘺.) 𝟰. 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝗱 Platforms like 𝗛𝘂𝗯𝘀𝗽𝗼𝘁 𝗔𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗺𝘆, 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱𝗜𝗻 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴, and 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗿𝗮 are goldmines. Start where you are. Progress beats perfection. 𝟱. 𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝘃𝗶𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲 Find someone doing what excites you. Message them. Ask for 15–20 mins to learn about their path. People love to help—𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘴𝘬. You don’t need a full plan. You just need a 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 step. Need help finding yours? 👉 DM me the word "𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆" and I’ll help you map out what’s next. #CareerChange #CareerGrowth #JobSearchTips #CareerClarity

“What’s my next step?” is the wrong question to ask your manager I had a wake-up call when a manager early in my career told me: “Your career advancement isn’t on my quarterly objectives.” It stung, but he was right. The best managers will guide you, mentor you, and advocate for you. But they can’t and shouldn’t be the architects of your professional journey. Your manager knows only a fraction of the paths available to you. Their perspective, while valuable, is inherently limited by their own experience and priorities. The most fulfilled professionals I know share one trait: relentless curiosity. They don’t crave perfect clarity, they embrace exploration. They experiment, build cross-functional relationships, and volunteer for projects that stretch their capabilities. Instead of asking “Where should I go next?” they say “I’ve been exploring these areas and would love your insights on…” or “can you help me identify an opportunity to do…” Curiosity transforms uncertainty from a barrier into a catalyst. You don’t need to see the entire staircase to take the first step. You just need the courage to be curious. Your career deserves your leadership, not just your participation.

This week, a colleague PM told me he felt stuck in his position and asked for advice on how to grow his career. Here's what I shared: Manage your career like a product Think of your career as a product: Where do you have a strong market fit? Are you growing or stagnating? Do you need a pivot to unlock your next stage of growth? Adopt the same strategic mindset you’d use to grow a product and apply it to yourself! Clarify your direction Feeling stuck is frustrating, but the first step is to figure out where you want to evolve. What excites you? What skills or roles do you aspire to? Start by answering those questions—it’s the foundation for any growth. The world is more colorful than your company’s logo When you’ve worked at the same company for a while, it’s easy to think the whole world operates the same way. But it doesn’t! Explore other industries, connect with people in different fields, and you’ll discover a world full of vibrant opportunities and perspectives waiting to be explored. Find a mentor Sometimes you need guidance from someone who isn’t your manager and doesn’t have a vested interest in your current role. Seek a mentor—inside or outside your organization—who can provide unbiased advice. (If you think I could help, don’t hesitate to reach out!) Read what others write on career growth Great insights can come from thought leaders who share their experiences and frameworks. For instance, I recommend reading Nikhyl Singhal, who writes extensively about product management and career development. Feeling stuck in your career isn’t the end; it’s an opportunity to reorient and grow. The key is to take charge: apply a product mindset, explore the colorful world beyond your current context, learn from others, and seek guidance from those who’ve walked the path before. Growth starts with intentional steps. Where will yours take you next?

I went from nearly giving up on my career to finding a fulfilling path in just six months. How did I do it? It all started with the realization that I was stuck in a rut. My job was draining, and my motivation was at an all-time low. The spark that once fueled my passion for HR had dimmed significantly. But instead of wallowing in self-pity, I decided to take control! Here’s what I did: 1️⃣ Self-Reflection: I took time to evaluate what truly mattered to me in a career—was it the paycheck or the impact? It turned out, it was definitely the impact! 2️⃣ Networking: I reached out to mentors and peers who inspired me. Their insights were invaluable and helped shape my new direction. 3️⃣ Skill Enhancement: Instead of scrolling through endless job postings, I enrolled in online courses related to talent acquisition and performance management. This not only boosted my resume but also reignited my excitement for learning! 4️⃣ Goal Setting: Writing down clear goals gave me something tangible to work towards—it became a roadmap for success! 5️⃣Side Hustle Exploration I started learning skills I could monetize online. Freelance HR consulting. Resume coaching. Little wins → Big confidence boost. Fast forward 6 months… I landed a role that checks every box for me: ✓ Impact ✓ Growth ✓ Alignment If you’re feeling stuck — I promise you’re not alone. But you can change direction. You just need that first tiny step. 🎉 So if you're feeling stuck or uninspired, remember this: you have the power to transform your career path if you take those first steps! What steps have you taken recently towards your career transformation? Let’s inspire each other in the comments below!

A client came to me wanting to make a career change but wasn’t sure where to start. It’s a common spot to be in, especially if you’ve spent years working in one area. You might think, “I should just stick to what I know, right?” Not necessarily… In an earlier post, I talked about the importance of reflecting on “Why” you want to make a change. That’s the starting point. Assuming you’ve done that, what’s next? If your goal is to find purpose and direction in your career, then you should reflect on questions prompted by the Japanese concept of “Ikigai”. 🔹 What do you love to do? 🔹 What are you good at? 🔹What does the world need? 🔹What can you be paid for? Your answers might change over time as you grow and as the world changes too. I’d add a couple more questions to think about: 🔹What are your circumstances? (e.g., financial needs, family needs)  🔹What are your values? (i.e., your non-negotiables) It’s useful to check in with yourself on these questions now and then because your answers will evolve over time. This approach has guided me in making four career pivots. And I loved all of them. Each one helped me discover new passions, develop new skills, and uncover new opportunities. Exploring these questions is like using a compass in your career journey. What questions have helped guide you to leading a fulfilling career and life?

I used to think finding purpose was about waiting for that aha moment—that lightning bolt of clarity to hit me. But here’s what I’ve learned: Purpose isn’t found—it’s built. I came across a Harvard study that changed my perspective: 80% of people with fulfilling careers didn’t start with a clear sense of purpose. Instead, they built it through consistent action and reflection. Here’s what worked for me: 1. Small wins matter: Every project, skill, and interaction helped shape my direction. 2. Start with curiosity: I didn’t need the perfect plan—just the willingness to explore what energized me. 3. Make the journey meaningful: I stopped waiting for the “perfect” job and started building purpose into what I already had. Take Indra Nooyi, former CEO of PepsiCo. She didn’t have a straight path to success but took on roles that intrigued her, reflected on what energized her, and aligned her work with her values over time. She built her purpose step by step, and that’s exactly what I’m doing now. Here’s how you can start: 1. Think about 3 tasks this week that energized you. 2. Ask yourself: What made those meaningful? 3. Find ways to amplify those elements in your next project. Purpose isn’t hiding somewhere—you’re building it every single day. What’s one step you’ll take today to bring more meaning to your work? #Purpose #Growth #Leadership #Inspiration #Success #Mindset