Clearing the Path to the Career You Want

My client Naomi had been dreaming of working in the fashion world since she was a child. Every week, she read piles of fashion magazines. She made sure to keep up with all the big-name fashion blogs. She religiously followed fashion influencers on social media. “I wanted to learn everything I could about the industry,” she told me.

As a teenager, all her summer jobs were in clothing stores. After supporting herself through college and design school, she landed a job at Neiman Marcus, where she dreamed of becoming a buyer.

Little by little, Naomi worked her way up at Neiman Marcus. Everyone, including her bosses, noticed her passion and dedication. Within a few years, she became head of the bridal suite.

“It was beyond exciting,” she told me. This was her dream job at her dream company. After all those years of climbing the ladder, she’d finally made it.

But as time went by, the excitement started to wear off. “I have a vision for fashion, but this isn’t fulfilling,” she said. The work was stressful, and it made her feel empty.

Still, she wasn’t ready to let it go. After all, wasn’t this her path? How could she walk away after working so hard for so long?

When to Pivot

If you can relate to Naomi’s situation, and you think it might be time to change direction in your career, the first thing to do is give yourself full permission to pivot.

When Naomi told me that her job at Neiman Marcus felt unbearable, I reminded her that she was free. She didn’t have to stay there if she didn’t want to.

Then I asked her to take a few days and live in that place of feeling free. “Tell yourself you’re going to quit,” I said. “Imagine it’s going to end.” Then I asked her to write down all the feelings that came up. Did she feel sad? Relieved? What was she missing? What were the positives and negatives?

After that, she did the same exercise, only this time, she told herself she’d stay at Neiman Marcus. Then she wrote down all the emotions that scenario brought up for her.

Living as if she’d decided one way, then switching to living the other way for the same period of time helped Naomi find clarity. In the end, she knew she was ready to quit her job.

But she was afraid to change direction.

Instead of pressuring herself to find a perfect new career, I suggested she take baby steps. So she started off by asking people in her life if they knew about any interesting jobs.

A few weeks later, one of her co-workers at Neiman Marcus told her about a job managing the company’s new packing facility. A packing facility? It didn’t sound fun or glamorous at all. But something inside her wanted to give it a try.

Be in it fully—and find the meaning

When Naomi started at the packing facility, the advice I gave her is the advice I give all my clients when they’re searching for their ideal career:

• Find the meaning in whatever you’re doing.

• Stay active: anticipate what people need instead of waiting for them to ask you.

• Be in your work fully: your job can be much more than a means to an end.

Approaching her work this way helped Naomi realize that she wasn’t just managing a packing facility.

Even though she was younger than the people she was managing, she felt how much they appreciated having a boss who listened to them, created a clear structure, and made things run smoothly.

She was making a difference in people’s work lives and, by extension, their home lives. To her surprise, she fell in love with her job.

And that wasn’t all. By helping her bosses and colleagues feel good about themselves and their work, she was also building connections that will help her if and when she’s ready to make her next career move.

As she learned to find the meaning in what she was doing, she uncovered strengths she didn’t know she had—and developed a deeper sense of her potential and possibilities.

Do you want to learn more about how to create your ideal career? In my new book, Life Launch, I give you additional guidance on how to clear a path toward the career you want, including how to set professional goals and move through your blocks. Download a sample chapter here.