Feeling Lost With Your Career Path? Here’s Some Tips To Help You Out

If your car has ever gotten stuck in the mud in the middle of nowhere with no help nearby, then you know how frustrating life can be. Perhaps that’s a rare experience. But what about getting stuck in a long queue or a traffic holdup when you’re just about late for an important event or meeting?

That’s almost the same feeling you get when facing a muddled career. You’re tired of moving from paycheck to paycheck, switching roles with no steady uptrend, and living in uncertainty due to job insecurity. You might even lack the vibe to remain work-productive and feel like you’re in the wrong place, on the wrong desk, answering the wrong boss.

Trust us: you’re not alone. In this article, we’ll share some actionable tips from experts who’ve had similar experiences and navigated till they found their way to success.

 

💡 Know Yourself, Figure Out the Rest After

Brooke Webber, Head of Marketing at Ninja Patches, says, “Rushing to secure a career spot without knowing yourself first is like trying to hike a newly discovered forest without having a map and compass. You dig in here and there just to find the right footing, and that can leave you burnt out.”

Martha Beck, in her best-selling book Finding Your Own North Star, wrote about our two selves, which you should know: essential and social. 

The essential self culminates our untainted core identity and personality, which represent our truest form. We feel joy, achievement, and comfort when we plug into this core. And when things go south, there’s that feeling of something amiss or off course.

On the other hand, our social self is that aspect of us defined by society. We’ve been told to remain demure at social gatherings, not to burp on the dining table, and to look into people’s eyes when communicating. In the end, it’s all about trying to please a system that you grew into, even if that sometimes comes at the expense of your sanity or success.

 

💡 So, How Does Social Self Actually Affect Your Career?

Alistair Flett, Managing Director at Pronto Hire, creates an analogy. “Imagine your parents, friends, or strangers once praised your ability to put things in order. Your social self adsorbs this affirmation, configures your mind to believe you’re best at anything administrative or leadership, and subconsciously makes you rule out other possible non-administrative careers”, he says.

Or imagine being told you suck at anything maths. Your social self automatically steps in to exclude math-inclusive careers from your list. Sometimes, this is good if it aligns with your essential self. 

But it could be bad at times, too. 

For instance, an introverted, sensing, thinking, and perceiving (ISTP) person, 5.4% of the world’s population, possesses an analytical mindset crucial for leadership. Social influences convince you to narrow your career to just leadership, neglecting that your essential self is introverted. 

You join the leadership row and find it challenging to thrive due to the constant demand for social interaction and decision-making under pressure, which may conflict with your natural preferences for independence, spontaneity, and hands-on problem-solving. This misalignment makes you unable to fully embrace your strengths in practical, analytical, and adaptable tasks that may not always require leadership in a traditional sense.

For Murtaza Oklu, Owner of OMO Transfer, “Your north star is your essential life, and your social self must always be in alignment with it if you want a fulfilled career. Only your truest self knows whether accounting will bring the fulfillment you want or mechanical engineering will leave you empty.“

To find out your essential self, use Jung’s personality test.

 

💡 Jung’s personality test

Jung’s personality test is an assessment system used to measure a person’s essential self and inborn preferences, not what they have been configured to like by society. This indicator grouped personalities into 16 types based on whether you’re an introvert or an extrovert.

Usually, businesses ensure their employees take this test to judge accurately their capacities before assigning roles. But you can do this online, with free platforms like Humanmetrics or Crystalknows, even before you job-hunt and know your innate competencies.

Once you understand your essential self, compare it with your social self, current skills, and other achievements that influence the trajectory of your career path. Then, modify accordingly or train up with competencies that align.

 

💡 Reflect on Your Motivations

There are two types of motivations: intrinsic and extrinsic.

Jurgen Appelo defines intrinsic motivations as people’s innate desires to do well and eagerness to accomplish objectives. Extrinsic motivations, on the other hand, are external rewards like money, praise, promotions at work, bonuses, etc.

In summary, both types of motivation give you the push to start something, remain committed to it, and grow productive. But if it’s lacking, you will always feel like you’re in the wrong place, doing the wrong job, or even empty and directionless.

Understanding what drives you enables better decision-making, fosters greater satisfaction, and reduces the risk of pursuing roles that clash with your personality or long-term goals. Jurgen summarized these drives into just ten motivations known as CHAMPFROGS, meaning Curiosity, Honor, Acceptance, Mastery, Power, Freedom, Relatedness, Order, Goal, and Status.

• Curiosity: I have many things to learn, investigate, and think about.
• Honor: I feel proud that my values are reflected in how I work.
• Acceptance: The people around me approve of what I do and who I am.
• Mastery: My work challenges my competence but is still within my abilities.
• Power: There’s enough room for me to influence what happens around me.
• Freedom: I am independent of others with my work and my responsibilities.
• Relatedness: I have good social contact with the people at work.
• Order: There are enough rules and policies for a stable environment.
• Goal: My purpose in life is reflected in the work that I do.
• Status: My position is good and recognized by the people who work with me.

Arrange these motivators in order of importance, from the least to the highest. If your essential self values power and curiosity, but your current career path makes it impossible, then you need a change.

Choose the six or seven most important motivators and crosscheck them with your possible career options. Gradually eliminate the options that won’t offer you these drives and narrow your list to a couple of options to explore.

“Your career is a marathon, not a sprint. Don’t be afraid to take small, calculated steps forward rather than aiming for giant leaps that might lead to burnout.” – Kathryn MacDonell, CEO at Trilby Misso Lawyers

 

💡 Unrestrainedly Explore Opportunities

“There’s a popular conception to follow what we love. That’s great advice, but it doesn’t always work out. First, it narrows your job search, and you’re only concerned about jobs that fit your ideal description. Secondly, the job you think will make you happiest might turn out to be the one that sucks the most”, says Sabas Lin, CTO at Knowee.

In one of Adam Grant’s podcasts, he called “do what you love” a terrible idea. For instance, almost everyone has a spec. But only a handful of people will actually find and marry their spec. The rest end up with an entirely different person, and they’re just as happy as those who found and married their spec. 

He also likened broad exploration to dating. While for some, a single relationship turns out to be the best, others need to try a couple more times before they find their Mr or Mrs right.

So, stop waiting for passion or a “spec” before trying out a new role or skill. Jump the gun and ignite that passion after getting involved. As Grant said, true passion should result from effort and investments, not a cause.

After doing a personality test, map out a small range of roles and skills that fit in. Be open to exploring as many of them as possible till you find a perfect fit. You must also be willing to switch roles, even if they drastically differ from your previous career, so long as they align with your essential self.

Of course, avoid burning out from trying out too many. For instance, you could try marketing, writing, or sales and hiring. But not all at once – you’re not aiming to become a jack-of-all-trade.

 

💡 Refine Skills, not Job Roles

About 60% of executives and 38% of workers believe skill-based hiring and positioning or fractionalized working is the best way to create value for employees and organizations.

Role-based positioning focuses on a specific job title or position, emphasizing experience and qualifications directly tied to that role. Here’s how it looks:

• “I am a project manager with 5 years of experience leading IT teams, delivering projects on time, and managing budgets over $1M. I am seeking a senior project management position in the tech industry.”

For you, it creates risks:

• Limits opportunities to project management roles, making it harder to pivot if these roles aren’t available.
• If the salary falls short of expectations, you have little negotiation power. Your pay is per the role, not your years of expertise or skills.
• If the organization restructures and eliminates your role, you’re left searching for new opportunities and sending out numerous applications, which can be time-consuming and stressful.

Ultimately, focusing on roles restricts one’s ability to upgrade or switch careers, and that’s bad news in an era when job security has become highly volatile due to AI.

In contrast, a skill-based organizational structure dismantles roles into smaller, specialized tasks so that individuals with specific skills can take responsibility for each part. This makes the model more adaptable and flexible, especially in a fast-changing job market.

Toni Farrell, Marketing Manager at Coastal Motorhomes & Caravans, advises, “Acquiring soft, transferable skillsets that are sought after by companies, like communication, attention to detail, problem-solving, and leadership. Hard or technical skills are also critical, but you should evaluate their demand.“

Most importantly, hone your hard skills to reflect your expertise. Companies love authorities – people who know their stuff.

 

💡 Network and Build Relationships

Studies show that 85% of vacancies are filled via personal or professional relationships. While personal relationships are with friends and families, you build professional relationships through networking.

35% say they got their job through professional connections. So, if you’re stuck and unable to land the right role, maybe it’s about time you go out there. Your next big role might come from a typical LinkedIn connection.

To network and build connections, do the following:

• Leverage social media: “Register on professional platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Join relevant communities related to your career path. Connect with authorities and leaders in your space to follow their feeds for opportunities. After you’ve built a good rapport, you could pitch your skills to them and ask for recommendations,” Samantha Brown, General Manager at Shout Media, says.
• Attend networking events: Explore virtual and physical networking opportunities to expand your professional connections. For virtual events, sign up for webinars, live Q&A sessions, and online conferences using platforms like LinkedIn Events, Eventbrite, or Meetup. Participate in virtual coffee chats or speed networking to connect with industry professionals.
• For physical events, attend career fairs, industry-specific seminars, workshops, and expos in your area. Use platforms like Meetup or local community boards to find relevant events.
• Participate in coworking spaces: Work from coworking spaces to meet like-minded professionals, freelancers, or startups. These spaces often host networking events and create opportunities for informal discussions.

Julia Doak, Franchisor at Bedpost, also suggests “Reaching out to family, friends, former colleagues, and acquaintances who might know of opportunities or connections in your field. Casual conversations can often lead to unexpected referrals or advice.”

 

Wrapping Up

Finding your career path can be chaos and take different turns. So, first, know yourself. Using Jung’s personality test, figure out your personality and align it with your social self. Then, reflect on what motivates you about a job and what doesn’t. Use these drives to narrow your job choices to those that help you feel fulfilled.

Unrestraintly explore opportunities that align with your essential self; it doesn’t come once for everyone. Also, refine your skills, both soft and hard, until you become a known authority in that space. Companies now hire expertise for niche-specific tasks, not generalistic roles. Lastly, network and build relationships with people relevant to your career path.