Confused About Your Next Career Move? If So, Read?This.

Are you doing the job you thought you would be after high school or college? Do you know what you want next in your career? Don’t worry; you are definitely not alone. Most of us probably fall into the category of being unsure because it’s challenging to plan an exact career path with all the changes in the world today. The effects of the pandemic and the advances in technology continue to spawn jobs that didn’t exist just five years ago. With shifts in arrangements for when and how employees return to work, your role in an organization can define how you balance your life. All of these factors can make pursuing your career goals challenging.?

What if you are unsure of your career aspirations??

I remember when I didn’t know what role I wanted to pursue. While I always had an interest in the media industry, I struggled to define the exact position aligned with my interests and skills. I entered the industry as a master control operator at Cartoon Network. While I loved various aspects of my job, I knew I had the potential to take on more advanced roles. It can be difficult to figure out the next step when you are heads down working in a job. When I finally gained the courage to talk to someone about my career, I missed the mark entirely because I had not done my homework. I needed someone who I could brainstorm with and get insights into how my skills aligned with adjacent roles.

So how do you begin to define what you want?

Think about the process as peeling an onion. You begin by taking one layer at a time with a vision to create your own recipe. Just like the outer layer of the onion is rough, slippery, and falls away easily, looking at the roles in your immediate sphere may or may not interest you. As you continue your search, you will discover leads that put you on a path to something good. Then, suppose you have the courage to network with colleagues. In that case, you will encounter the people and information to expand your knowledge and hone in on meaningful work. In summary, you are creating your own recipe or career path. Like peeling onions for a delicious dish, start with one ingredient that will lead you to more unique experiences.

There is a practical way for you to explore your career interests and identify your next career adventure.

Begin by talking with colleagues who are in roles that may interest you. Ask the hard questions, including would they choose it again if given the option.

Here is an approach I designed called “A.D.V.I.C.E. ” — Ask, Develop, View, Identify, Create, Expand:

A — Ask a mentor, advocate, or career coach to support you on your journey to uncover your career aspirations. You will need their counsel to help plot a logical path in your plan and identify blind spots in reaching your goal.

D — Develop an open mindset towards understanding your strengths and talents. Sometimes it takes input from others to know what you do well. Take a quick survey from others about your strengths and where you can improve. This may help shed light on skills you have that apply to areas you have not considered.

V — View the world through a different lens. Explore your interests by looking at job postings to see what exists. Start by talking to people in the roles you want, reading articles, listening to podcasts, and viewing role-specific videos (job hacks, interviews, etc.). The objective is to uncover information by engaging deeply in the occupations that interest you.

I — Identify your transferable skills. Most people create their resumes without exploring their abilities that apply to other areas and occupations. Update your resume, and then imagine how you want your resume to look 5 years in the future. What skills are missing?

C — Create a learning plan or project to build the skills you need. Be proactive about closing any gaps that could derail your goals. Remember your future resume? This aspirational document is an indicator for where you should invest your time.

E — Expand your connections with people in the roles, companies, and industries you want to explore. Most people don’t mind talking about their career journey. Create a short list of people to engage for virtual coffee/tea to learn about their successes and failures.

Ultimately, your goal is to uncover, understand, and utilize information to make informed decisions about your next career adventure. Use your strengths and interests to help guide your steps towards what will be fulfilling.

CAREER TIP: Before you begin, it may be helpful to create a master resume. This document contains all the jobs you have done with skills, projects, assignments, gigs, volunteer roles, and significant accomplishments. Use this information to holistically review your skills and potential gaps. Sometimes we forget about projects we have done or discount work because it may not be in the current industry. Compare your skills and experience to the role(s) that interests you. Remember, skills are transferable and may aid in creating a shorter path to your career goal.

Stacey Young Rivers is the Senior Director of People Growth + Enterprise Skills Strategy at WarnerMedia. With expertise in developing strategies to close skills gaps and build talent pipelines, she is also mom, author, a Ph.D. candidate in Educational Leadership at Mercer University (Atlanta), and a 2021?Women of Color in STEM Technology All-Star.