When Your Career No Longer Fits
Many people come to Career Coaching with a sense that their career doesn’t quite fit in the way it once did. It no longer feels like something they’re actively choosing. A feeling of being ‘trapped’ or ‘I can’t do this forever’ is common, and it’s not always about the job itself. Sometimes it reflects a career that has started to run on autopilot rather than intentional decision‑making.
There’s solid research behind this. Studies published by Harvard Business Review consistently show that career satisfaction is strongly linked to autonomy and a sense of agency. Agency is similar to control, it’s the feeling that you’re steering your career direction rather than being steered by it. But when that sense of agency drops, wellbeing, fulfilment, and confidence often drops with it.
Most people don’t notice this shift happening immediately. Usually something else prompts them to pause: a change in energy, a shift in values, or a growing sense that their work no longer reflects who they are now. In organisational psychology, this is described as “identity-work misalignment”. This is the gap between your current self and the career decisions made by an earlier version of you. It’s a normal part of adult development but if left unchecked, can lead over time to significant feelings of frustration, incongruency and low confidence.
The work, then, is to become more intentional again. That means paying attention to what energises you now, what no longer fits, and what you want your work to provide at this stage of your life. Intentionality doesn’t require a long‑term plan, but it does require a direction. How do we gain more clarity on this? Ultimately through action. By small experiments - think test and learn, conversations, and gaining higher grade information through action as to what feels right, rather than simply trying to think (or ruminate as often is the case) your way to certainty.
This is important because many people can choose differently now. Careers are no longer linear, and most people will make several transitions across their working lives. What matters isn’t staying on the same path, but choosing one that aligns with who your strengths and full capability. Because we all have a responsibility, to live up to our full capability.
Career Coaching is a structured, thoughtful process designed to help you understand what matters, make intentional decisions, and move forward with clarity and confidence. If you’re ready to explore this work together, reach out for a conversation about how to begin.