Navigating What’s Next
Written by Cassaundra Young (’07), MPH, CPHQ, VP, Care Model Advancement, Equality Health
As recently as a generation ago, people stayed in one place for most of their career. And while that serves some, in my experience, I have found great value in navigating my career as a series of shifts that have positioned me for greater impact over time. These pivots may have started out as curiosity, but I have come to realize that there is a strategy for navigating what’s next.
One of my mentors once said that there is a time in your career to be the passenger on a ship, going in whatever direction the captain chooses. But there’s also a time where you realize that you can be the captain of your own ship and navigate wherever it is you want to go.
If you are thinking about making some changes in your career and want to take the role as captain, here are four things I’ve learned along the way.
Is now the time to steer?
Before you consider taking the next step in your career, make sure you have fully maximized the benefits of where you currently are. Just like we crawl before we can walk and run, the same process applies to work. There will be a time when you are the one driving, but don’t discount the value of learning from the leadership of others. This is often the safest you will ever be! You get exposure to the world of work without the expectation of being the expert just yet. You’ll identify your strengths and the things that interest you. You’ll also identify the things that you’d prefer not to do, which is equally important. Make sure you have used your time committed to learning, volunteering for assignments and advancing in your craft before you jump ship!
Chart the course
Much of career navigation is the awareness that there are many paths leading to a single destination. And while this can be overwhelming, it is your responsibility to chart the course and determine the direction to point your feet. You have to research to the options available to you given your skills and experience. And perhaps most importantly, you have to decide what you want out of your career and how to prioritize each of those things. For example:
Do you want to lead a team? If so, are you willing to give up being an individual contributor?
Are you willing to sacrifice time outside of work for greater responsibility in your role?
What kind of impact do you want to make?
This is also a great time to seek out mentors to help you think through the next step in your career. They can help you check-in with yourself and explore any additional grounding questions that you may want to consider. The answers to some of these questions can change over time, but I do recommend getting clarity on what you want before you look for your next role so that you are not distracted by “shiny things.” Every door that opens is not meant to be walked through, and the only way to determine if an opportunity is a good fit is to know what you want upfront.
And finally, as cerebral and deliberative as this process may be, I still think there is something to be said about the gut feeling you get when you are genuinely excited about an opportunity! When something ignites you, you tend to show up as your best self, so if possible, let joy be one of your requirements. You’ll thank yourself later!
Equip yourself for the journey
As the captain of your own ship, you must make sure you are equipped with the tools needed to get to your ultimate career goal.
I encourage my mentees to think about their ideal role and identify the gaps between where they currently are and where they want to end up. LinkedIn is a great tool for researching career paths. Consider the trajectory of people who inspire you and note their skills and experience. This will create an informal checklist for you to use as you navigate your next steps. Then, start finding ways to fill those gaps. Take a course, volunteer for a project you wouldn’t normally raise your hand for, or use your next role as an opportunity to gain a specific skill.
For example, I once took a job solely to address a gap that I had on my resume. It wasn’t somewhere I desired to be long-term, but I knew that I could provide value while allowing the role to equip me with what I needed for what was next. This approach is not without its risks, but if you choose this route, be sure to give it a time limit so that you don’t unintentionally stay somewhere for longer than you should.
Sail at your own speed
Contemplating the next steps in your career can be exciting because you get to decide your own travel speed. Sometimes you’re meant to let the wind carry you and sometimes you’re meant to accelerate at a faster pace. If you are using each step as an opportunity to gain insight, you are never falling behind or wasting time.
I recommend defining success for yourself and aligning those success metrics with your grounding questions (mentioned earlier). It is so easy to compare our accolades with our peers, but when success is made more personal, you eliminate the need to compare pace with those around you.
It would be irresponsible not to also point out that making a shift in your career can be a bit scary given so much of the future is unknown. I could say that it always works out, but the truth is that you just get better at it over time. There are benefits to taking that next step, but it’s also very important to seek wise counsel and evaluate each opportunity with a growth mindset. And while the pieces of my career continue to weave together, I reflect on the times I decided to steer my own ship and make a pivot in my career—for they have brought opportunities I would not have otherwise known, built networks that continue to broaden and granted me with experiences that continue to cultivate my leadership.