How to Change Career Direction, Get Clarity & Get Moving

Confused and wondering how to change career direction? Here’s how to get clarity and get moving towards your ideal career…

Originally published 27 September 2021. Updated 20 September 2024.

Many people come to me because they’re confused and uncertain about their career direction, and paralysed with indecision about where to go next.

They say things like…

I don’t know if I want to stay in this job/role/field forever.

I just fell into this job and now I feel trapped.

There must be something better out there but I don’t know where to start.

I hate my job but I can’t do anything else.

I’d really like to do such-and-such but I haven’t got the qualifications/skills/experience.

I’m stuck in a rut and I can’t get out.

Sound familiar? It’s common to have these thoughts for months or even years, and feel like there’s no escape from the day-to-day drudgery of your current job.

So how do you get out from under this stagnation, discover your career direction, and start moving again?

Think About the ‘What’ Before the ‘How’

Much of this confusion and insecurity comes from thinking about the How before the What.

It’s incredibly difficult to think clearly and make a plan towards something (the How) before you even know What you’re aiming for.

You just get bogged down worrying about all the things that could go wrong or all the obstacles in your way, which just adds to your muddled mindset and feelings of frustration.

You end up sabotaging yourself before you even get started.

The key to ditching all your jumbled thoughts and indecision is to start with the end in mind.

Only when you are crystal clear on what that is do you make a plan to get there.

Know Your Values and Priorities

There’s no point in pursuing a career path if it doesn’t align with your values and priorities, so make sure you know what they are.

Write down your top 5 core values and your top 5 priorities and use them as a reference for decision-making and planning.

A few examples of core values:

Honesty
Integrity
Ambition
Kindness
Justice
Wealth
Love

A few examples of priorities:

My family
My health
Financial security
Career advancement
My own home
My friends
Having fun

Everyone’s values and priorities are different.

If healthy living is a core value, you may want to think twice about a marketing role in a soft drink company.

If a priority is making lots of money, a job as a sales assistant in a fashion store is not going to cut it (although it could be a stepping stone to bigger things).

How to Choose the Best Career

Not surprisingly, job satisfaction comes from doing what you’re objectively good at, and what you enjoy doing.

Try writing down the things you know you’re good at, and then another list of the things you enjoy doing, and see if you can find some intersectional points.

For example…

I’m good at:

Empathising with others
Staying calm in stressful situations
Sports
Listening
Playing guitar
Helping my friends with their problems

I enjoy:

Exercise
Music
Talking to people
Variety
Reading
Working in a team
Being involved in my community

Looking at the commonalities of this particular list, pursuing a career in the police, social welfare or medical services may be a good fit.

Are You Already in the Right Career?

At this point, you may realise that you’re actually in the right career, but just not in the right role, department or organisation.

If that’s the case, think about creating challenging career direction goals within your industry.

You may want to write down several career options and think about the pros and cons of each.

Ask yourself what sort of work environment you want to be in. Indoors or outdoors? In a large or small company? Private or public entity?

Do some research and learn more about what’s involved in working in specific jobs. Talk to your friends and family, or consult a career coach, and write down ideas and options in a journal to help you get clarity.

Make a Plan for How to Change Career Direction

Once you decide on what you want, I recommend writing a specific goal around it.

Make it challenging but achievable, and include language that resonates with you.

Going back to our example, it may look something like this…

“To feel challenged and to be doing good in my community as a full-time officer in the NZ Police Force, based in Auckland and earning at least $70,000 per annum by December 2025.”

Now that you have a clear goal, it’s time to plan how to get there.

Strategies

Get information from the police website about what’s required to join.
Create a timeline for achieving the tests and qualifications needed.
Schedule my exercise (running 3x a week, CrossFit 3x a week) to prepare for the fitness test in July.
Study relevant courses 7pm to 9pm Monday to Thursday.
Volunteer for community work once a week.
Put my application in before September 2025.

The road to your goal won’t be smooth. It never is. You’ll have setbacks and disappointments along the way and you’ll probably let yourself down from time to time.

But it’s important to go easy on yourself. Just get back on track the next day.

Make sure to adjust your strategies as circumstances dictate. Have contingencies in place for potential obstacles.

Expect things to go well, but not perfectly. Progress beats perfection!

Be Open to Opportunity

Remember that nothing is set in stone, and although you want to do the best you can to work towards your goal, no-one can predict what the future holds.

Your priorities may change, or you may see opportunities further down your career path that you hadn’t thought about before.

There’s nothing wrong with changing tack later if you’ve done your research and you think it’s best for you.

If you’ve been languishing in your current role and feeling frustrated about your career direction, now’s the time to make a plan and get moving toward your ideal job.

How to Change Career Direction, Faster

Gaining clarity so you can get moving is easier said than done. Having a sound plan and a clear path to follow eliminates uncertainty and gives you the confidence to succeed.

Career coaching will give you clarity and build your plan fast quicker than you can on your own.

I’ll help you clarify your goal – and then I know the science to get you there. Let’s work together.

Get in touch if you’d like a free, no-obligation clarity session.