Career Refresh Digest #36
Welcome to the latest edition of the Career Refresh Digest.
I’m finding that many people are feeling anxious at the moment – whether that’s from the global uncertainty or closer to home with cost of living, high unemployment rates and job insecurity. It’s a lot.
In that context, it's understandable to put career thinking on hold, to wait until things feel clearer or more stable. This edition is about why that's worth reconsidering – and what you can usefully do instead.
*****
WORTH THINKING ABOUT
Clarity doesn't wait for the right conditions
When the external environment feels unpredictable, the instinct is often to stay put. To hold off on career decisions until the market settles, until the organisation stabilises, until life feels less full on.
The problem is that waiting for external conditions to improve before doing internal work has it backwards. The external environment may not settle on a timeline that suits your career. And in the meantime, the questions that matter most – what genuinely fits you, what you value, what kind of work gives you energy – don't get any clearer on their own.
Clarity isn't a luxury for stable times. It's most useful precisely when things feel uncertain.
I often say to clients, the best way to navigate in a changing world is to do the internal work so you can spot the right opportunities that inevitably arise. Knowing what you need from work, what you're no longer willing to accept, and what direction makes sense for this stage of your life – that knowledge holds regardless of what the market does. It's also what makes you less reactive when decisions do need to be made quickly.
*****
WORTH REFLECTING ON
What's actually within your control
It helps to separate what you can influence from what you can't.
You can't control the labour market, your organisation's restructuring decisions, or the global forces shaping the economy. Spending energy there tends to produce anxiety rather than progress.
What you can control is your own clarity. Specifically:
Whether you understand what genuinely suits you at this stage – not a previous stage
Whether you know what's draining you and why
Whether you're making career decisions based on what you actually need, or based on what feels safe given the external environment.
I had one client who was convinced she was going to have to find a new job, maybe even change careers, because she wanted to work remote and her current boss didn’t allow it, and because there were going to be restructures within her organisation and potential redundancy. But once she started to focus on what she needed from her work and the conditions she needed to thrive, she realised there was a lot she could influence within her current organisation. She was able to secure a new role internally that ticked almost all of her ‘must haves’.
The distinction matters because it changes what you do next. If the problem is genuinely external, waiting may be reasonable. If the problem is internal clarity, waiting doesn't help – it just defers the question.
*****
WORTH DOING
Check whether you're waiting – or avoiding
When you are feeling stuck in a situation and unable to see a way out, it’s worth thinking about what’s actually holding you back.
Sometimes waiting is the right call. The timing isn't right, the information isn't available, the decision genuinely needs more time.
But sometimes what feels like prudent waiting is a more familiar pattern – putting off something uncomfortable by pointing to external conditions as the reason. The world being uncertain is a very convincing reason not to act. It also conveniently removes the pressure to look at what's actually going on internally.
A useful question to ask yourself:
If the external environment were completely stable – no market uncertainty, no global anxiety, no organisational change – would I still be uncertain about this career question?
If the answer is yes, it's often fear of making the wrong choice that holds people back.
And in that case, the work isn't about waiting for conditions to improve. It's about getting clearer on what you actually need – which is something you can do right now, regardless of what's happening out there.
*****
If you'd like to do some of that thinking with support, a 15-minute conversation is a good place to start. It's a chance to talk through where you are and whether coaching is the right fit for your situation. Book a fee call here.
– Lucy
Enjoying this? The Career Refresh Digest is published fortnightly. Subscribe here to receive it directly.
ABOUT THE CAREER REFRESH DIGEST
The Career Refresh Digest is a fortnightly newsletter for mid-career professionals who feel stuck or out of step with their work. Each issue shares practical insights and tools to help you reset direction, make clearer decisions, and reshape your work to better fit your life – drawing on recommendations, research, and insights from client work.