By Jenna Starkey and Erin Goodwin

It’s always interesting for me to notice the common themes and questions that come up for my clients and community. It reminds me, again and again, how often we experience similar challenges and struggles - albeit from endlessly different worldviews and experiences.

In the last few months, I added a la carte Career Coaching options to my offerings page (for more information click here). For most of my coaching career, I’ve helped clients polish their resumes, brainstorm action plans for career pivots and explore new paths that make their hearts sing, without a doubt the most common question I've received is: “Jenna, how do I find other industries or jobs that could work for me? What am I missing? What do you know that I don't?”

The tricky part is that there is no RIGHT answer

This question assumes there is one singular "right" and most aligned position or place for us. That there is a needle in a haystack somewhere and we need to FIND it (preferably yesterday). My answer to this question can be unsatisfying to people, because the ego loves easy answers and quick solutions. The reality is that there is no perfect job or industry for you - because there are most likely thousands of jobs and perhaps industries too that could work for you. In my frank opinion, the question is simply the wrong question to ask.

So what can I ask myself instead?

Some helpful questions to reflect on are: What is my criteria for the places and positions I am interested in? How can defining my criteria narrow down the various industries and jobs I am looking at? Do I know anyone working in industries or jobs I find fascinating? Can I ask them about their roles?

Instead of trying to find ALL of the options, can I explore one at a time and use that exploration to fill in my knowledge gaps and cross different options off my list?

When we take the pressure off to find the one “right” industry or job, we can open ourselves up to so many possibilities and ways of getting there, routes and places that we may not have even imagined for ourselves. Our pool also becomes bigger, which makes it easier to find work too. At the same time, I know a bigger pool might sound overwhelming, but hear me out. When our criteria is strong it narrows options and helps us focus.

Using your criteria to explore the job market ensures that the options you choose to explore WILL align with your values, transferable skills, criteria and emotional needs, even if they don’t sound good/check all the boxes on paper. And for the record, it's nearly impossible to find out if a role aligns with all this juicy personal criteria by looking at a job description. 

Who uses these methods?

I can think of hundreds of examples of folks who’ve worked in the tech industry who realized there was something intangible in their hearts about where they wanted to go. It doesn’t quite matter the role, but you can imagine UX, data scientist, Product Management, CMOs, PR pros, Customer Service Reps, Sales, Finance and everyone in between. For each one of these clients who were initially feeling restless about where to start, the process was all the same. We started with criteria, identifying values and embarking on networking exploration.

Take a seasoned Software Engineer at Google who was able to take time to reflect on his criteria, his personal interests, the environment and people he really wanted to be around to navigate into what felt to him a completely different “industry” that brought him way more satisfaction and peace. In the process he was able to have rich conversations with his family, friends and network that reflected back to him just how much he missed working with his hands outside of the computer. This launched him into exploring work to pair his love of building and remaking furniture! He found that by making space for this passion he developed an inner fire to create a YouTube channel that leveraged his Software Engineering skills, love for building and creating impact in the community. This desire and “industry” was completely dormant until he started the uncovering process, and he catapulted his career with the background he had as a foundation.

Here’s another example from my virtual assistant, Erin. When she graduated from college, she knew that the field she studied wasn’t the right industry for her, but she had experience in sales and a passion for wellness. So, she looked for sales positions in wellness companies. Long story short, it wasn’t a fit - but this learning is exactly what helped inform her criteria. She learned that working in that office made her realize that she had strong values of freedom and autonomy - and deeply desired to work when and how she wanted, to learn something new, and to work with people who were doing work she believed in.

With her new parameters and criteria, she opened herself up to the potential possibilities.

Through trial and error, she found virtual assistant and copywriting positions that met her criteria and interests with clients she resonated with. Through working as a virtual assistant, she also found her true passion: writing - something she never would have guessed before this exploration. Now, she still works as a virtual assistant and copywriter for three different clients she loves, while she writes her first book and develops writing skills on the side.

I've also worked with several former teachers who wanted to change industries for better pay and flexibility but didn’t know where to begin. Together we went through the design thinking career process I laid out and narrowed down the options that aligned with their new criteria. Three teachers I worked with were able to pivot to Ed Tech, while another is considering branching into Recruiting based on the data they provided.

By identifying options, exploring skills that felt transferable, and getting proof that pivoting was possible by talking to others who successfully pivoted, they felt confident enough to change industries in a big way.

Next Steps

If you are looking to pivot, or are needing a change but aren’t sure where to go, here are a few journal prompts to get you started:

• What are my superpowers that are hard to see? What is the water I am swimming in?

• What do I truly enjoy doing?

• What transferable skills do I have?

• What am I interested in?

• What is my criteria for what’s next? (start with fixed costs, location, hybrid vs remote etc. )

• Who do I wan to work with?

• What skills do I want to develop or use?

• What does my ideal work day look like?

I know what you're thinking, all these answers put together feel so unrealistic to attain. Well my friends, this is called having high standards and strong criteria. See if you can start to see a shape forming for a prototype to explore.

With these answers, start to get curious. Do you know anyone who works at ANY organization that meets your criteria? (Not a perfect one, just one that aligns.) Can you reach out to them and ask if they'd be willing to share about their experience at that company? Perhaps you can learn if that company is hiring, or ask how they landed their role? 

AI as a tool for job search

Some folks find it helpful to use AI during the job transition period, because they can ask it to help them eliminate options and scan the internet for updated answers. This is why I created a worksheet to support my coaching clients and career coaching clients to use AI during the job search - it’s a great tool.

If using AI sounds interesting to you, go ahead and add your criteria to ChatGPT or Claude and see what comes up!

The name of the game here is facts + experimentation

The best most fulfilling jobs are usually more about the people, exciting products, leaders, environment, and aligning interests than what looks good on paper. Let's move towards options that spark interest, curiosity and excitement, and see where we end up instead. 

Ultimately, narrowing down the data you have and pairing that with experimentation (aka action!) will get you answers quickly. Rather than waiting to find the perfect answer, get out there, talk to people and try things on to get closer. And don’t forget to track what you learn.

If this sounds interesting to you, or if you are feeling lost in your search for your next role and looking for a thought partner to support you in taking the next step, you are always welcome to book a free discovery call - I would love to support you.