Fearing our obsolescence, lack of employability, or that we’re ill equipped to convince others of our value, we sell ourselves short. For too many, career uncertainty and its resulting anxiety lead to suboptimal choices. The key is to be alert with curiosity, not fear. Like driving on an unfamiliar highway, ambiguity forces us to be alert.
Consider what other environments outside the financial realm might benefit from your keen problem-solving skills. In what other contexts might such moments be possible? For example, maybe you’re in a financial role that requires complex analyses of data and the times you feel you’re at your best are when your insights lead to breakthrough solutions. She conducted informational interviews and travelled internationally to see the “on-the-ground” work related to causes she cared about.Ĭonsider the moments throughout your career where you felt you were doing your best work and feeling the most satisfied. For instance, Deborah, a former HR executive looking for her next chapter, allowed herself to explore a variety of possibilities before jumping into her next career. Not having a specific destination to fixate on (e.g., I want to be a life coach or I’m going to be a veterinarian) allows you to step back and wonder about career paths you might never have considered. Let the unknown open you to possibilities.Ībsent the “answer” to what’s next, uncertainty raises better questions about what could be next. Here are five ways to take advantage of not knowing what’s next. In a way, people search for meaning like a drunken person searches for their lost house keys - next to the lamp post, not because that’s where they dropped them, but because that’s the only easy place they can see. In our experience, many who claim to have the answers may have defined a “purpose” merely to sooth their previously unacknowledged lack of significance, or they’ve simply managed to persuade themselves that they have a firm idea but ignored the many options and possibilities available. We believe there’s value in sitting with this liminal state of uncertainty. In fact, not knowing what to do may be your biggest competitive advantage.
In our view, there’s nothing to worry about if you’re going through some of this existential career rumination but are unsure of the path forward. Some have felt a sudden burst of clarity about what they do - and don’t - want next for their career.īut what if you don’t know for sure? What if, beyond your general sense of malaise or misgiving, you’re saddled with a deeper sense of uncertainty about what you want next? You hear colleagues say things like, “I want to make a difference” and “I want to feel like my work matters,” and privately fret, “Well, I want those things too, but is there something wrong with me if I don’t know exactly what that is?” Indeed, recent research suggests more than half of all Americans are considering a job change because they feel their employers don’t care about their concerns, and they want flexibility to become a permanent part of their work lives. These days, there’s lots of talk about the crisis of meaning spawned by the pandemic and the reckoning with toxic workplaces that have many leaving companies in droves.
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