Ask a Mentor: Help! Yours, Overwhelmed New Resolver

Written by Julie Tereshchuk.

This is going to be the year I finally get my act together and figure out where I’m going with my career. But, I don’t know where to start. Any suggestions?

Networking is key at every stage of one’s career. Informational interviews can give you much-need direction, and might even help you find a new job! Don’t be shy about reaching out. Most people want to be helpful and share their knowledge with you. Make sure to follow up with a handwritten thank you note, not an email.

– Margaret Barry

First of all, don’t beat yourself up. Almost everyone goes through this many times in her career.

1. Get together with a group of like-minded people and set up regular meetings to allow each person to review their career path. It helps to verbalize your thoughts with other people who can help you be accountable for any commitments and/or give you additional contacts for networking.

[Editor’s note: WCA has several groups that can help in this way, including Freelance Austin and Careers Over Coffee.]

2. Interview clients and co-workers about what they perceive as the best things you bring to your work and even what areas you could improve. Does it match up with your thoughts? Does it uncover areas that you would like to improve or change? Is your current place of work the right one for you? If you like to visualize, use colored sticky notes, perhaps one color for each different category, and put them on the wall. Looking at the information can help you prioritize your thoughts and that can lead to setting up action items.

3. If you have a good relationship with your boss, consider setting up a meeting to discuss plans for your future. Come with ideas of what you would like to do in the next 90 days to a year and how it can benefit the organization. Don’t assume that you have to leave your current job.

– Barbara Springer

Early in your career is a great time to take an assessment of your strengths and interests. There are many. Invest in yourself with the help of a coach or other professional who can help you with this inventory/assessment. There is also a basic one you can do for a low cost using the book StrengthsFinder.

Also, identify your long-term goals. Expert in your field? Entrepreneur/business owner? Boss/executive? When you’ve selected the one you think you aspire to, picture in your head what that might look like, including the potential down-side, and see if that matches your life goals. For example, being a business owner means lots of uncertainty. How is your risk tolerance? Climbing the corporate ladder to be the boss might mean long work hours. Will this interfere with your personal goals? Becoming a subject-matter expert might limit your opportunities to a specific industry or profession, or at least make it harder to change. Are you ready for that?

See if you can get a job (or reposition your existing job) to get as much exposure to other departments as possible. This might help illuminate where your interests and skill sets intersect.

– Maura Thomas