A lot has been happening these days… Students are graduating and trying to join a competitive job market. Experienced professionals are getting laid off and figuring out their next move… All of us are trying to go somewhere in our careers.

Some of you may be feeling really lost and unsure where to start. You’re scrolling through job boards—either desperately applying for anything and everything available—or you’re paralyzed by all the noise and can’t seem to get your head in the game.

Today’s blog post is going to give you 3 simple tips for figuring out what’s next for you. These tips come from hundreds of conversations that I’ve had with people around the world, all the way up to those in the C-Suite. Enjoy 🌻

1. List out your skills and interests

Start off by jotting down a list of skills you possess and topics or experiences that interest you. This can be based off your personal perspectives and those of others. Take a personality test! Go ask your friends, family, and peers to tell you what they perceive your skills and interests to be.

Instead of listing something generic down like “communication skills”, try to get really specific.

Some examples of skills:

• Networking with senior stakeholders
• Leading technical projects
• Planning large scale events
• Staying organized throughout chaos
• Creating comprehensive plans
• Copywriting for LinkedIn
• Designing graphics from scratch with Photoshop
• Scaling a team or organization

Some examples of interests:

• Writing creative copy
• Writing informational blog posts
• Interviewing people
• Designing a website (visual aesthetic)
• Taking portraits
• Drawing cute animations
• Filming and editing videos

Then, circle the top 5 skills and 5 interests that you actually enjoy using on a daily basis. These are the skills you want to look out for in the job postings. Avoid applying for any jobs that don’t have at least 5 of these skills and interests.

2. Explore different and interesting roles

In this day and age, similar roles can have very different titles. Some roles are pretty obvious and generic like “Social Media Manager” while others are cryptic and interesting like “Digital Experience Manager”. Even people with the same role title at the same company can perform vastly different tasks.

It doesn’t hurt to check out random job postings and read through them. You may be surprised that a role you’d never thought of before actually encompasses the skills and interests that matter most to you. Take note of these interesting role titles and research them further to see how other companies or industries are employing these professions. For example, being a “Social Media Manager” for a big tech company is extremely different than a startup media company… so figure out which one aligns more to your skills and interests.

You also want to research the compensation for these types of roles to see if they align with your goals. Some roles are considered “high-value” and pay more whereas others are less lucrative. If you’re attracted to higher paying jobs but currently lack the skills, this could be an indicator to do some up-skilling (e.g. taking courses, getting certifications, going back to school).

Also keep in mind that job descriptions are usually idealistic and quite different from the actual day-to-day. This is where having coffee chats or informational interviews come in handy (see next tip 👇🏼).

3. Talk to a lot of people

When I was trying to figure out my next role, I had 100+ coffee chats with people around the company, around the world. I learned about so many different parts of the company and learned how to connect dots in ways that no one else would be able to without the same knowledge and context that I’ve gathered.

Conversations give you perspective, and perspective is power. Understanding how things work helps you realize where the challenges and opportunities lie. It helps you figure out how to navigate these nuances. Once you can figure these things out, you can bring a unique perspective to the table and impress your future hiring managers and add value to your future teams—even as an outsider.

Talking to people also helps you process your own thoughts and assumptions. Maybe you figured out which skills and interests matter most to you, but you can’t figure out which industry you’re interested in. Talking to people in different industries or disciplines can help you determine what areas you gravitate towards or want to shy away from.

For me, I enjoyed talking to people to understand what they actually did in their jobs and if these activities resonated with me. Sometimes, I found that a role I thought was interesting actually turned out to be not my cup of tea. Other times, I found that the role was great, but the management or leadership was not… overall, these conversations were very insightful!

P.S. If you’re not sure how to have good conversations, try creating a Career Walking Deck to break the ice!

Thanks for reading! My personal philosophy is growing 1% everyday through finding inspiration to share with the world. My goal is to make job hunting and career development less painful for you and I’ve already helped thousands of others in 78+ countries. I continue to share my learnings and advice through #kkarenism across platforms like LinkedIn, TikTok, and even straight to your inbox. If you like what you see, check out my other content, connect with me, and share these resources with your network 🌻