"The five-year plan may be dead, but our capacity for doing our most impactful work and live into the goals that we set for ourselves is very much alive." We long for a sense of control over the future, but planning in uncertain times can feel confusing and futile.

This article from Kate Northrup on Harvard Business Review shares how micro-planning can help you navigate your career with purpose and adaptability, no matter what twists and turns lie ahead…

I'm headed to two graduations this weekend, and that sea of caps and gowns makes me think back to my own transition from those "time-honored walls" into the real world. 

Here's a snapshot of baby Carole Ann, with my mom adjusting my silly hat and glasses; I was SO ready to close the "good student" chapter of my life and take the world by storm. But there was a hitch: I graduated with a liberal arts degree and absolutely no understanding of how to frame my skill set. (Can I get an amen?)

One of my clients, Kelly, is on the hunt for her next position. She’s looking to pivot into something new—diving into policy in the public sector—after several years in corporate finance and operations.

Here’s the challenge: looking through job postings is like trying to drink water out of a firehose.

Culling through Indeed, sorting out job alerts, and finding the right opportunities has left Kelly feeling drained, especially on top of the full-time job that she is so ready to move on from. She’s having trouble staying motivated and positive as she looks to the future.

When embarking on a job search, we usually start with two obvious questions:

• What is the title of the role I want to step into?

• What industry do I want to work in?

We use the answers to these questions to create the framework of the search. For Kelly, that’s becoming a Policy Analyst in state government.

But here’s a different approach to a job search—one that goes far deeper than the job title and industry to bring a more purposeful lens to your search.