Writing out your dreams, goals, passions, frustrations, and affirmations is one of the best ways to gain career clarity. When I was stuck and burnt out in my career, writing out guiding journaling prompts helped me tease out what I really wanted buried underneath my job ennui. It also provided a moment of zen (or place to rant) after a stressful workday. Journaling can also be used to reprogram your mindset towards positivity, track your milestones, and process any negativity.
This is a key mindset and planning tool for any professional especially those seeking a change in their career. Journaling can be done in many ways so experiment with what works best for you!
Do you like to handwrite or type? Doodle in the margins? Use washi tape to make things pretty? Collage vision boards? Write stories? Make lists?
You can do all of that in your journal if it gets you thinking and analysing!
These prompts as a jumping off point. Use them as needed so don’t feel pressured to use them all or do them in order. I would recommend reading them through and noting which ones provoke an emotional response in you.
Did a question make you feel defensive or remind you of a good memory? Nuggets of understanding are often buried in what triggers us.
The journal prompts were created to give a comprehensive foundation for creating a career strategy from networking to barriers. I also incorporated journal prompts that would help you prepare for interview questions such as ‘tell me about yourself’ or ‘where do you see yourself in five years?’
Some best practices for journaling include:
● Date your entries
● Keep writing without editing
● No lying to yourself
● Be natural
● Re-read entries
Incorporate journaling into self-care routines or during travel or at conferences. Jot down ideas. Make journaling useful to you!
Your authentic career evolution starts within. This can be the most challenging step for some, but with a will, a prompt, and a fun notebook, you can do it!
Here is a selection of prompts from my short ebook, Career Clarity Now, which you can get for free at that link. The prompts in the book are organized by theme, but can be answered in nearly any order.
Prompts 22 through 53:
22. If you had complete financial security and did not have to work, what would you do?
23.Why would you do that?
24. What hobbies do you have that are relevant to your career?
25. What is your favorite part of your industry?
26. Do you want to change careers, why or why not?
27. Do you feel burnt out by your work, why or why not?
28. How many hours would you work a day if you owned your own schedule?
29.What ways do you feel like your lifestyle is improved by your career?
30. In what ways do you feel like your lifestyle is negatively affected by your career?
31. What is the most interesting profession you’ve ever heard of?
32. When you close your eyes and think of the perfect workplace, what does it look
like?
33. What does this perfect office place make you feel?
34. Who are your co-workers in this perfect office place?
35.What makes this the perfect office place for you?
36.What management style does the perfect office place have for you?
37. What projects do you work on in your ideal office place?
38. How long is your commute to your perfect office place?
39. How do you communicate in this perfect office place?
40. What is your main motivation in your career?
41. Do you work to live or do you live to work?
42. If you had your chance to work anywhere in the world, where would you work?
43. Why do you think you haven’t changed your career before?
44. How long have you been unhappy in your career?
45. Who influenced you to go into your current career?
46. Are you doing what you studied in college?
47. Do you want to be doing what you studied in college?
48. Do you wish that you had gotten different training?
49. What do you have career FOMO about?
50. Who is your ideal customer slash client slash collaborator?
51. If you could do just one career, what would it be?
52. What you want most of all in this world and why do you want it?
53. Do you feel like you have a Soul’s purpose, why or why not?
Get more prompts in the Career Clarity Now: 100 Career Journaling Prompts eBook (Free, fyi)!
Ready to lean in, climb up, and evolve your career?
Forge a New Path!
Kick starting your career begins with understanding into what you truly want with in a happy, stable, and authentic career.
How do you figure it out?
Ask yourself with 100 journaling prompts to get clear on your career!