Editor’s note:
Before you get started, grab your favorite beverage, light a candle if you like, and grab your G&V Journal to start diving into these powerful questions that have the potential to help you become more self-aware, experience new revelations and set new goals for yourself. 

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“So, what do you do?”  How many times have you heard that question over the course of introductions and small talk?  At times, you might be really excited to answer the question.  Other times, especially during times of job loss or transition, it’s just more complex or difficult to answer that question.  And for many, 2020 has added layers of complexity and even loss to our professional lives, making for very uncertain circumstances.  But, with the complexities and loss that many of us are facing, there is also the opportunity for something different or more than we had before, but only if we can see it.  Only if we can do the work of looking at where we’ve been and holding our hands open to ask where we should go.  

So, today, we are asking you this common yet deceptively complex question. “What do you do?”  Or, “What do you want to do?”  Will you be brave and have this very important conversation with yourself?  Be vulnerable and make room for all of the layers and complexities, the joys and griefs, the successes and failures.  And, lastly, we pray you will dream a little and find hope and renewed confidence in what lies ahead.      

Current Career Realities

1. What does my current career look like?  Job title?  Responsibilities?  List them all out so you have a clear picture in your head as you begin to journal.   

2.  Of my daily tasks, which ones play to my strengths and are the most energizing and bring the most joy? Which ones are the most mentally and emotionally draining?  And which tasks do I spend the majority of my day completing? 

3.  For the more difficult and/or mundane tasks, what purpose do they achieve?  Having this in mind can help encourage us to press forward in the work we do, even in the hard tasks.  

4.  Has there been a job loss?  Pause and take the time to grieve.  We don’t always choose the career decisions and transitions we make.  What are your emotions around the loss?  Are you harboring bitterness?  (Ask God to help you release and forgive.)  Are you allowing this loss to affect your identity?  (You are not your career.)  

5.  What am I grateful for at work?

Career Goals

6.  What do I want my career to look like in one year? Five years? Ten years? What motivation is driving these goals? 

7.  Have I taken the time to ask God about my career?  He cares about your work and wants to lead you in this area of your life, so take time right now to pray, listen for what He has for you in your work and find alignment with His will.  If your career goals are not in line with what God has revealed to you, what adjustments do you need to make?

8.  Can my career goals be accomplished in my current position or serve my long term career goals in any way? If not, what is my plan? If so, what do I need to do to get closer to my career goals?  

9.  What am I hoping will be true of a new job/career that is not true right now? 

Career Challenges

10.  Am I ending my workweek feeling burnt out?  If so, is there a way to lighten my load?  Reorganize my day? Delegate some tasks? 

11.  What are some internal and external challenges?  Are these challenges ongoing or temporary?  

12.  If I am completely honest with myself, are there any beliefs or assumptions holding me back?

13.  In my current role, am I missing any important learning/growth opportunities available to me? How can I start taking advantage of them?

14.  Has there been workplace conflict?  Have I done all that is in my power to resolve it in a mature and responsible way through the appropriate channels?  Is there anything that I need to do to “search for peace, and work to maintain it.” (1 Peter 3:11, NLT) 

Career Transitions

15.  What is my favorite part of my industry? Am I working in that area? 

16.  What has kept me from changing my career before?

17.  What were the last 5 compliments I received regarding my work?  Does this give me any insight into my strengths and what could be a good area to pursue in my career transition?  

18.  If I were guaranteed success, the project I’d take on would be…

19.  Why do I want to leave this job? Why have I left previous jobs? Am I repeating patterns in my career?  If so, are they healthy or unhealthy patterns? 

Career Action Steps

20.  What would it take for me to transition to a new career and/or job? Money, title, schedule, responsibilities, location? Why?  How can I make these things happen so that I am able to transition to something new?  

21.  What time of day am I most productive?  Is it possible to organize my week to better utilize those hours and maximize my effectiveness? 

22.  Who did I reach out to and connect with this week?  How did I help my colleagues or clients?

23.  What distractions am I allowing into my days? How can I start to minimize them?

24.  Are there any steps I need to take before I leave my job? Are there any events coming up that might affect my transition timeline?

25.  In light of my answers to all the previous questions, what is one action step I can take this week?  Who will I tell?  Is there anyone I need to ask for help to accomplish this?  

 

No matter what your answers were, or your current reality is, we hope you remember this core truth in whatever you do or will do in the future:  God your Father is with you in it.

In whatever you do, He cares and walks alongside you in every single step, including the steps you take in your career.  He is able to lead, equip, and do far more through you than you could ever do for yourself.  Even if your work seems mundane and unimportant, He’s with you.  So, pause.  Breathe.  And submit your career to His leadership and accept the help that He desires to give.    

“God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.” {1 Peter 4:10-11, NLT}

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Interested in receiving guidance in your career? Learn more about how G&V Coaching can help you.  Click here to find help in your pursuit of a life well-lived.  Our G&V Coaching program is designed to help you walk in wholeness and thrive in every season.