3 Questions To Help You Decide On Your Career Transition

By all accounts, the next 5 years will bring tremendous change. According to the World Economic Forum, Future of Jobs Report, about 25% of jobs will churn in 5 years. That means new ones will be added and several others will vanish.

Times of such intense change can mean two things.

It can mean great opportunity. If you actively participate in crafting your next career moves.

Or, it can mean leaving yourself very vulnerable to the winds of change as they flow through your organisation.

The Three Questions

So here are three questions to help you consider your next career transition. These are questions that I have personally used in my own transitions. And in helping others think through theirs.

Q1. What Kind of Work Energises Me?

Now this is at the heart of our search for a meaningful career. Work that makes us come alive. Work that uses all that we've got at that time. Work that gets us 'in the flow', and leaves us with a sense of ease and fulfillment.

Look back at all the work you have done through your career and think about what kind of work truly energizes you.

This can be really different for each of us.

"I love it when I get stuff done."

"I love when I can connect the work I do with business outcomes".

"I love meeting new people and building connections."

"I love working with data. Thinking about what it is telling me and writing about it."

"I love building products. Making them better each day. I just never tire of it"

(Each of these are real statements from conversations earlier this week)

Here are mine:

"I love work that allows me to influence the world to be one mm more humane."

"I love quiet time, reading and writing."

As you can see--each of these answers points to a different kind of career move, right for a different kind of person.

Hold on real tight to the answers you get. This is super important.

Knowing what energises you is the KEY to crafting a career that is right for you.

This is the foundation.

The beauty of career transitions is that we get to build on what we already know to build a future that is better than the path we are already on. And if you have been working for a decade or more, you actually already know a lot about the kind of work that energises you.

Now sure, none of us gets to work 'only' on the stuff that energises us. (Sigh!)

Yet the central part of our work must allow us enough time to do what truly brings us joy. Else, what's really the point!

Q2. What Kind Of People Do I Like To Work With?

The people we work with matters more than we sometimes realise. While we are often drawn to the job title and brand name, I know many people who have stayed on in their careers for decades simply because they enjoyed the company of the people they worked with.

"I like to work with very smart, very well educated people."

"I like to work with fun people, so that we can hangout after work. Work is not just supposed to be all serious"

"I like to work with people who are honest and don't gossip behind my back. You should just say what's on your mind."

"I actually like to work by myself much of the time. I like quiet environments."

Here's mine:

"I like to work by myself a lot of the time.

And then I like to work with very capable, reliable and independent professionals. It also matters a lot to me that they are good human beings."

Once again, we are each different here. And we should honour these differences.

In choosing which career moves are right for us, our fit with the people around us matters more that we realise.

Research from Gallup has consistently shown that having good friends at work considerably impacts our satisfaction from our workplace and how long we are likely to stay on in that role.

We readily accept that in our personal lives we are drawn to people who are different. Our tribe. Our friends. The people we enjoy hanging out with.

This is true not just personally, but professionally as well.

Understanding who this is for you allows you to choose organisations where you are more likely to find 'your tribe'.

Or if you have some freedom--create your own.

Q3. What Problem Do I WANT To Work On Next?

Traditionally, careers have been all about a ladder that invites you to go up till you are eventually 'eased out' of the organisation.

Instead I am suggesting a different way.

One that I believe is far more empowering. And creative.

And one that allows you to stay connected with the broader landscape of change around us.

One way to think of a career stint is that it is an opportunity to solve problems.

A Chief Learning Officer may be focused on "how can we build capabilities to match those needed by the business strategy".

A Head of Product may be focused on how do I get the next version of the product even closer to my customers stated or unstated needs.

A Head of Sustainability may be focused on how can I change the manufacturing operations of my firm to be more carbon neutral.

This also allows you to think beyond traditional roles and into roles that are more entrepreneurial.

You may want to work on.

How do I tweak the k-5 syllabus so that children are better prepared for a future of change?

How do I build an interface that allows livelihood opportunities to a wider section of the potential workforce?

The list is endless.

You get to decide which problem do you want to devote your precious life to.

A changing world beings with it an endless list of problems to be solved. If you want to do this even better, you can think of the new problems that are emerging as emerging technologies and climate change interact with an area you are interested in.

There are careers (and fortunes) to be made by solving cutting-edge problems.

Knowing which problem you want to solve can change everything.

It gives you that elusive "why" behind your work. Truthfully, the 'why' doesn't just emerge from nothing.

It is instead an active choice that you make.

Here's another reason why this can be empowering.

You do not have to stick with one problem all your life. You can choose to focus on one problem for as long as you wish. (My own preference for myself is about 3-5 years).

Whatever time span sustains your interest, and allows you to develop depth is good. You get to decide.

In the end, the world is changing faster than we sometimes realise.

This can be scary. It can be exciting. It can be liberating.

One thing I have realised is that life rarely hands you a perfect career, just like that. It is also not enough to just keep working hard and 'playing the game.' That way you can at best be successful, but not necessarily fulfilled.

Instead you have to play a fairly active (and intelligent) role in crafting a fulfilling career. Step by very active step.

One that calls on you to discover what you are capable of time after time. One that asks you to keep learning more about yourself and the world you are in. One that brings moments of flow and insight where you solve a problem or create something valuable.

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(About me: I lead Unqbe, a think-tank and advisory firm around building future organisations, and building future careers. We track change through commissioned and primary research. We help leadership teams build the new workplace through a culture that supports change and people practices for the future.)