How to Make Sure Your Next Career Move is the Right One

The subway train rattled beneath the East River. In a few minutes we’d pull into the Borough Hall station in downtown Brooklyn, where I’d get off and then walk to my bus stop.

I was halfway through my 50-minute commute.

It was the end of my first week of my first full-time job out of college.

I was supposed to be one of the lucky ones, with an enviable salary job at an art magazine. Yet, the shine of this new graduate was decidedly off.

I felt depleted. Drained.

Looking around at the tired, inexpressive faces of my fellow commuters, bodies packed into this subway car, the light casting a grey wash over us all, I thought:

Is this it?

This is the rest of my life?

I felt a sudden fury. I got off the train and navigated through the busy streets, anger still hot in my veins.

This exhausting grind was normal?

This was the reward for so many years trapped behind a desk in school?

When would I ever be free?

I felt betrayed.

Everything in me wanted to rebel.

I didn’t though.

My more practical side told me that maybe it would get better with time. So I stuck with it.

Physically I adapted to that wearying routine, but my spirit didn’t. I would search for more than a decade for something better.

This moment is seared in my memory, and still serves as a important source of inspiration for my work today.

I want everyone to feel free in both life and work.

I want everyone to experience the joy and fulfillment that comes from using their strengths and making a difference for others.

I don’t want anyone to feel trapped in a senseless grind.

At that moment in my career – and at important other junctures – I needed someone to say to me:

Of course there is so much more for you. And it’s out there for you.

Let’s just take a step back and take stock: of what you can offer, what you really want, and what might be some ways of getting there.

The person who finally said that to me was my first coach ten years later (10!) and she made all the difference for me.

I got clear on what I really wanted out of my work, and where I hoped it would take me, and started correcting my course from there.

I learned the power of calling a timeout for deeper reflection, and pulling in outside perspectives to help me reassess and find new possibilities.

Today I love my work.

It uses my strengths and challenges me. It has a firsthand, measurable impact. It gives me flexibility and freedom, and there’s huge possibility for what I can do with it, and how much I can earn.

And I get to do this work from this farm outside Barcelona, or anywhere else I might choose in the future.

YES.

Now that I know the steps to getting here, I want to share them with as many people as I possibly can.

Because I know that once you fix your relationship to work, so much more of what you want in life falls into place.

Where are you at with your own work?

When was the last time that you took a step back and did a Career Checkup?

20 Signs You Need a Career Checkup

A Career Checkup is taking an intentional pause to look at your career path and take stock of where you're at, how you got there, where you want to go next, and how you might get there.

How do you know that it’s time to do a Career Checkup?

There are many signs, and ones that we often allow to go on for a long time.

Here’s a list of the signs I often see:

1. You’re overdue for a promotion and/or raise.

2. Work is causing regular anxiety like you’ve never or rarely experienced before.

3. You once liked your role, but increasingly you’re doing stuff you don’t like and/or don’t feel like you’re good at.

4. You dread going to work.

5. You feel stressed out on Sunday nights thinking about the work week ahead.

6. The last time you were asked, “Where do you see yourself in 5 years?” you had no idea what to say (or you did know what you wanted to say, but you couldn't say it to your boss).

7. You know you need to look for new opportunities but you’re stuck or don’t know where to begin.

8. You need a new job, but don’t know how to get the one you want.

9. You want to switch careers or industries but don’t know how to translate your experience or get your foot in the door.

10. You frequently fantasize about quitting.

11. You see that there are limited opportunities for growth or promotion at your current company.

12. A key part of your job (the location, leadership, strategy, colleagues, etc.) is not working for you.

13. You know your job is never going to give you enough space to do the other things in life you really want (like finding love, living somewhere you really like, having a family, more free time, balance, etc.)

14. You know deep down that your company, industry or leadership don’t align with your values.

15. Your identity is so wrapped up in your job, you’re not even sure who you’d be without it.

16. You have a new job opportunity and aren’t sure whether to pursue it.

17. Your health and/or relationships are suffering due to your work.

18. You don’t know how you’ll build the wealth you want with the job you have.

19. Your work is consistently contributing to self-doubt or low-confidence.

20. You're so busy and/or tired you don't know where to get the time or energy for a new job search.

Did one or more of these statements ring true for you?

Any one of these is a sign that now is a good time to do a career check-up.

Why Career Checkups are So Important

Maybe you’re at a moment when you know you need a job and you feel tempted to skip the deep reflection step.

Instead, you react to the pressure to quickly respond to that recruiter, pull your resume and cover letters together, reach out to that contact…

But here’s what’s at stake if you don’t take the time now to do a Career Checkup:

Finding yourself six months, one year, two years down the line at the exact same impasse.

Dissatisfied. Frustrated. Undervalued. Underpaid. Not living up to your potential.

The common cycle: You know you need to make a change. You talk about making a change. Then, ultimately, you go back to what’s comfortable, safest or the easiest.

If you want to actually make a shift and have work that you enjoy doing, and that supports you in the life that you want to have, you have to pause and get clear.

You need to look at the whole picture so you can begin to understand where you want to go, and what you’ll need to do to get there.

That’s what my work is all about.