Are you looking forward to the weekend?
You may want to cancel your plans to get ahead in your unique career finding plans!
Finally figuring out what it is you want to do can feel like a difficult place to make headway, but I've got 10 strategies for you that you can start applying this weekend. Or, whenever you have time if you want to do get started on your spooky season shopping instead this weekend instead.
Strategy #1. Get yourself a pocket sized notebook and actual writing implement.
Thankfully, building your career doesn't require a big investment, but I would highly recommend getting a small notebook to carry around so that you can write down ‘contender gigs’ as inspiration strikes. You can also use it to write down your thoughts, fears and anything else you’ve got going on.
It will help your brain process the information in a way that your notes app just can’t do.
Bonus: this gives you an excuse to hit the ‘Back to School’ aisle at your fave retailer, thrift store or you know, grab one of the 32 unopened notebooks you already have.
Strategy #2. Research Time
I know you don’t wanna, but a weekend is a great time to do things you usually don't have time & energy for during your already busy week.
Setting aside dedicated time to research potential topics, roles, paths, skills and tasks you want to do in exchange for a salary is arguable the most crucial step in the whole process of figuring out what it is you want to do.
You don’t need a whole weekend. Genuinely, just 30 solid minutes of uninterrupted time will do. Let yourself go down the rabbit holes, dig through those old collages you made once, flip through those magazines you picked up at a garage sale. You never know where inspiration will strike.
Strategy #3. Define Your Goals/Purpose/Why
If you've been getting burned out in doom scrolling job boards for something, anything that sounds interesting, you may need to take a minute to define your goals/ “purpose” / Why - whatever word you put to your motivating factor to get reinvigorated.
I know you’re probably thinking, “But wait, EB, you told me to do this back when I started interviewing for jobs (ones that I wasn’t even interested in btw).” And you’re right, I did. Because
You're right, but here’s the thing: you have to check in with our goals / purpose / why etc. to ensure they still apply, feel true and be willing to change what needs adjusting.
If you're feeling a little lost with this step, I created this free worksheet on getting clear on your why. It will help you Find a Career That Makes You Happy in no time.
Get your free 5 Big Questions to Find a Career That Makes You Happy now >>
Strategy #4. Do Something Unrelated to Finding a Career
All work and no play make Jack, Jill and Sam pretty dull.
It is the weekend, and you deserve some time off, a little self-care and some freakin’ breathing room!
Taking time away from trying to find a unique career can be a great way to restore the energy (and inspiration) you need to actually come up with some great ideas. It’s why some of your best ideas come to you in the shower. You’re relaxed and just busy enough for your brain to make some connections and process all that’s going on.
Some of my favorite ways to unwind for inspiration are:
Doing a hobby that requires your hands but not really your brain (like crochet).
Take an urban hike. Pick a part of your city and let yourself get a little lost. Poke your nose in shops, around corners and look up.
Go to an actual bookstore or library and let yourself wander and browse.
Remember, when you unwind, don't keep worrying about your career. And forget about your laundry pile, stinky veggie drawer and whoever it is you need to call back. Just allow yourself to actually chill out!
Strategy #5. Book some time with your Mentor
Combining work and play is a clever way to get ahead on your career and still have some fun.
Your mentor would love to help you with concerns and worries about your career path so why not reach out before things become too overwhelming and feel unsurmountable?
Don't have a mentor yet? Take this weekend to cultivate a relationship with an expert you admire, reach out to another brand in your niche, or scroll through LinkedIn or Fishbowl groups to find like-minded professionals.
Related Post: Finding Your Career Path: What It Is, Tips, Tools, How to Do It
Strategy #6. Brainstorm Your Career Ideas
Get your whole family, group chat, and old friends involved.
If you’ve been living in your own head and this process of choosing a new career path has gone unsolved for too long, a good brainstorming session might be just what you need.
Honestly, it’s hard to figure out everything on your own. Sometimes you’re just too close to the problem (and yourself) to see the way forward.
My client Mery was at her wits end with pinning down what it was she truly wanted to do next. She’d been laid off and was taking it as a sign that the career change she’d been considering was a go. She booked a resume session with me that became a brainstorming/workshopping session.
By the end, we had brainstormed multiple avenues for her to consider and confirmed her hunches as to where her attention was being pulled and set her up with an action plan to move forward.
Strategy #7. Try Adding Visualization to Your Morning Routine
Evidence suggests that people who use visualization are able to not only relax the body, but improve athletic , academic and professional performance along with improving memory and more.
The weekend is a great way to start adding it to your career finding explorations.
You can get started before Saturday breakfast by visualizing your ideal week before you even get out of bed.
This is an exercise I have all of my clients do. I encourage you to visualize what you see, hear, taste, smell and do during your ideal week to make it even more tangible.
I cover this strategy in detail in my blog post Visualize Work Not Sucking.
The great news?
You don’t have to go all-in on this or spend hours of time to see if it’s working for you. You should know pretty quickly. Just test it out by spending just a few minutes relaxing, then picture yourself walking and working through an ideal week.
If you’re getting results (and I bet you will!), here’s how to amplify them:
Tell someone about your Ideal Week mental vision board
Create a plan to make the ideal, real
And if visualization isn’t a good fit for you, that’s absolutely okay. There are plenty of ways to uncover your unique career ideas so just move on to #8, below.
Remember, you’ve got everything to gain and nothing to lose because this one is a fun one!
Strategy #8. Create a ‘contenders list’ of potential gigs, roles, tasks etc
Do you consider yourself a “list” person? Good!
It's time to put those talents to use for your Career Ideas List.
This is another exercise I have my private clients start ASAP. I want you to gather up whatever it is you use to take notes or make lists (maybe your journal from Strategy #1?) and I want you to list Every. Single. Career. Idea. You. Have.
I mean it. Shoot for over 100+ ideas. These can be Job Titles, companies you’d like to work with, tasks you’d like to do, amoebas of ideas of role responsibilities, wild fantasy “it can’t actually be a job” things - you get me.
This list will not only help you see patterns in your interests and ideas but when you see them all out there in black and white you’ll see which are quick no-go’s and which peak your interest enough to want to research deeper.
I don't want to hear anything about “if I had the ideas I wouldn’t have trouble coming up with ideas”. This is where you take your brainstorming from Strategy #6 and go wild with it. Start with what you have and build from there.
You can’t find the right one idea if you never start, but you can even use this free workbook to get started >>
Strategy #9. Optimize your network
If you’re looking for another actionable way to improve your chances of landing on the perfect career idea, your next step should be to start optimizing your network
Talking to anyone and everyone about your career idea search. Not only can they help you with brainstorming, they can also act a sounding board and also as a connector to folx you should talk to.
If you don’t lean on your network, what will happen is you’ll leave gems of ideas left unfound!
Here are some optimizing ideas to get you started:
Think past LinkedIn, start with your rec softball team or your fellow dog park goers.
Create a spreadsheet of everyone you think you might want to start talking to, work methodically through to see who you know who knows them. Get connected.
Organize your friend group. Ask them all who they know that you should meet. Offer up your network to them too!
Strategy #10. Implement your Framework
If you're new here, it may be the first time you’re hearing me talk about my Find Your Thing Framework. It’s my secret to helping clients find work that works for them and create careers they actually enjoy!
Here’s how it works:
Foundation: Uncover what you need, want and are interested in.
Exploration: Based on your foundation, explore all the options available to you.
Evaluation: Make those big decisions!
You can find out more about that framework here >>>
I developed it because I found that many of my clients were struggling with the same roadblocks and I knew from my own experience changing careers (twice!) that having a step by step plan to work through was the way to go.
Not sure where to start? I created this free workshop and workbook you can use. It’s great for anyone wanting to change careers or just finally figure out what it is they want to do:
Download your free Career Change Starter Kit now so you can get started
Want more help with finding a unique career you actually like?
If you have any questions on these strategies, get in touch here and I’ll do my best to help. My mission is to help you create a career you actually like!
I first launched EB Sanders Career Coaching when I realized that my favorite part of my career was helping folx build their own careers.
My hope is that this guide has helped you get one step closer to your ultimate goal of finally figuring out what it is you want to do (and given you a few juicy ideas for the weekend!). Hey, who said Sundays can’t be relaxing AND productive ?
Personally, my favorite strategy from this list is #4 but any one of them should start netting you better career idea generation.
And don’t forget to say hi over on Instagram or LinkedIn.
Yours in you can figure this career out goodness,
EBS
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EB Sanders
Career Coach for Creative Types
My Website | Free Stuff | Pinterest
Helping you figure out what you want to do and how to do it your way.
