How to Make a Confident Career Decision (When You’re Not Sure What’s Next)

Many of us reach a point in our careers where something no longer feels quite right.

Sometimes it’s obvious. A role has run its course, a restructure changes the nature of the work, or an opportunity comes along that forces a decision.

Sometimes it’s harder to put your finger on. You find yourself feeling restless, frustrated or disconnected from work that used to energise you.

I’ve worked with many people at these career crossroads over the years, and while every situation is different, the experience is often surprisingly similar. People spend months trying to think their way to a decision, gathering opinions from friends, family and colleagues, yet still feel no closer to knowing what to do next.

I can relate to that.

When I left corporate life, I did it quickly. At the time, the reasons felt obvious. I was bored, tired and knew I wanted something different. What I hadn’t done was spend enough time exploring why I felt that way, what I wanted instead, or what role work should play in my life going forward.

I didn’t have a plan. I had a lot of questions.

Working through those questions took time, experimentation and support from other people. Looking back, I could have made the process much easier on myself if I’d slowed down and done some of that thinking earlier.

It’s one of the reasons I’m passionate about helping other people navigate career decisions more thoughtfully than I did.

Start with yourself

One of the most common mistakes I see is people jumping straight to solutions.

They update their CV, start browsing job adverts or focus on the opportunities in front of them before they’ve really understood what’s driving the desire for change.

Before you decide where you’re going, it’s worth understanding where you are.

That means getting clear on what matters to you now, not five or ten years ago. It means understanding your strengths, recognising what’s draining your energy and identifying the conditions that help you do your best work.

I’ve worked with senior leaders who thought they had a role problem when what they actually had was a values problem. Once they understood that, their decision-making became much clearer.

Define what good looks like

Many people are very clear about what they don’t want.

They don’t want the long commute, the difficult boss, the constant firefighting or the lack of development.

That’s useful information, but it only gets you so far.

At some point you need to define what you’re moving towards. What does a good outcome look like? What matters most? What are you willing to compromise on and what feels non-negotiable?

Without that clarity it’s easy to be drawn towards opportunities that look impressive on paper but aren’t actually the right fit.

Build momentum

There comes a point where more thinking stops being helpful.

Career decisions are rarely made in isolation. Conversations, networking, research, testing ideas and exploring options all create useful information that you simply can’t access by sitting with your thoughts.

The people who navigate career crossroads most successfully aren’t necessarily the people with the clearest plan. They’re often the people who are willing to take sensible steps forward, learn from what they discover and adjust as they go.

Don’t do it alone

This is probably the most overlooked part.

Many people try to navigate career crossroads on their own. Others talk things through with friends, family or colleagues, which can be helpful, but those conversations often come with opinions, assumptions and personal biases that can make decision-making harder rather than easier.

One of the reasons coaching can be so valuable at this stage is that it gives you dedicated time and space to think. You’re not trying to work everything out between meetings, over dinner or while scrolling job adverts at the end of a long day.

Instead, you have an objective, confidential thinking partner whose job is to help you explore what’s really going on, challenge your assumptions and support you in making decisions that are right for you.

I’ve seen people spend months going round in circles with a career decision and then make significant progress once they have the time, structure and support to properly work through it.

Final thoughts

Career crossroads are rarely comfortable.

They can bring uncertainty, frustration and self-doubt, particularly when you feel pressure to have everything figured out.

What I’ve learnt from my own experience, and from supporting many others through theirs, is that the quality of the decision often depends on the quality of the thinking that comes before it.

Taking the time to understand yourself, define what matters and get the right support won’t necessarily make the decision easy. It will help you make it with greater confidence and far fewer regrets.

If you’re navigating a career crossroads and would like more support, I’ve recorded a webinar on successful work transitions which explores these themes in more detail.

Here’s the recording: https://youtu.be/44l5js03GHE 

Or, if you’d like to talk through your own situation, book a complimentary Context Call and we’ll explore what’s going on and whether coaching would be helpful.