Finding Your Career Path When All Is Not Clear

Have the autumn mists come down on your career?

Are you unclear as to where to go or what to do next? 

The problem when this happens is that sometimes, because there is no clear way forward, no obvious path, you stay where you are.

It's a bit dull.

There's no warm feeling about it. It's a bit uncomfortable.

But hey! Its safe and it's familiar. 

How many people do you know who are in that situation?

How many are doing nothing about it (except perhaps moaning)? Is that you? 

Certainly it's a lot of the people I work with, but they are the ones who stand out from the crowd, the ones who are doing something about it, taking positive action to get something better. 

If you find you are in that "career mist" situation, it is your choice whether you stay there.

Remember one of your career success mindsets: notice what you are getting, and if you don't like what you're getting, do something different. 

When I say that sometimes people go to straight to a place in their head where they think I'm saying they've got to change career. No! At least, only if it's right for them. I work with as people who actually stay in their current organisation or even role, as I do who change role or career. But the difference is that once we've worked together  they go to work with a smile on their face. 

So where do you start to do something different?

I'll give you three straight forward practical tips to do just that. 

1. Know what you enjoy

Make a list of your skills and personal qualities. You'll find there's loads more than you can think of immediately if you get into the detail of how you do things. 

Then look at them and ask yourself which you enjoy and which you don't. 

Action: can you organise your time or change how you do things so you're doing more of the things you like and less of those you don't? 

2. Know what you need

Write a list of what's important to you to get from your work. This works best if, once you've done that, you ask yourself a second question: what else is important to me about work?  And see what else comes up. 

This one can be very interesting as its not something people think about too often. Notice how well your criteria are being met. 

Action: what can you do or how can you change the way you look at things to get more of the things you want from work?

Even small actions that make things just a little bit better can make a difference because once you've done one thing, you can go on and do another. ...and another ...and another.

3. Keep taking action

Managing your career is something to do on a continuous basis. Not just when you've neglected it so long that you're stressed out and wanting to move.

In fact, if you pay a little attention often, it can prevent you ever getting to that stage. It's a bit like driving a car.

Watch someone else or notice how you drive yourself: you point the car where you want it to go and then you keep making tiny adjustments with the steering wheel to keep you from drifting into the kerb or central reservation.

If you don't pay attention and just let it drift, eventually you're going to crash.

Don't let that happen with your career. Here some resources to help you: 

• Over 70 blogs at Dave Cordle Blogs, all with great tips for your career and all for free
• YouTube videos at Dave Cordle Career Coach, with more free tips for your career.
• The Career Base Camp (paid) The Career Base Camp, where you'll find easily accessible online learning for everything you need to go to work with a smile on your face, and a dedicated community where you can get expert career support.