How to Map Your Career

Most people imagine careers as ladders: a sequence of jobs, promotions and milestones leading steadily upward. But a career is rarely a straight line.

In reality, careers are ecosystems. They grow through relationships, experiences, skills, opportunities and chance encounters.

The following exercises are designed to assist you plan and build a future career, or to develop or change your current career path.

Reflection Stage: Understanding Where You Are

Before deciding where you want to go, take stock of where you are now. Consider the following questions:

• How did you imagine your career when you first started out?
• How has that vision changed?
• What work excites you most today?
• What are your strengths?
• What values are important to you?
• What impact would you like your work to have?

Write your answers down. Notice the patterns that start to form.

Industry Mapping Stage: Understanding the Landscape

Every career exists within a wider ecosystem. Identify three practitioners, companies or organisations whose work inspires you. Research:

• What they do
• Who they work with
• How they present themselves
• What skills they appear to have
• What opportunities they have created

Look for recurring themes. This exercise is not about copying another person’s path. It is about understanding what is possible and identifying opportunities that may not yet be visible to you.

Want to know more? Reach out to the people on your list and see if they have time for a 30-minute call to talk you through how they have navigated different parts of their career journey.

Future Vision Stage: Designing from the Future Backward

Imagine yourself five years from today. Write the future date at the top of a page. Now imagine that everything has gone well. Answer the following:

• What are you doing?
• Who are you working with?
• What projects are you known for?
• Where are you living?
• How do people describe your work?
• What does a typical day look like?

Be ambitious but realistic. The goal is not prediction. The goal is clarity. A detailed vision creates a destination that can guide present decisions and help you map out the steps you need to take to build your skills and experience.

Gap Analysis Stage: Identifying What Needs to Happen

Compare your future vision with your current position. Ask:

• What experiences do I need?
• What skills do I need?
• What relationships do I need to build?
• What knowledge do I need to gain?
• What opportunities should I actively seek?

Create four columns:

• Future goal
• Skills needed
• Experience needed
• What are the actions I need to take to achieve my goals

Focus on practical steps you can take now rather than your future destination. What experience do you need to gain to reach your future goal? What can you do to gain this experience? Every large ambition can be broken into smaller, achievable actions.

Resources to help with career mapping

• CEO shares the simple exercise that helped her land her dream job (article)
• Media boss shares path to CEO (LinkedIn article)
• Caroline Wanga on the career path no one tells you about (YouTube video)

Exploring Work Models

There are many ways to build a career. You may work as:

• A full time, part time or casual employee
• A freelancer
• A self-employed practitioner
• An entrepreneur
• A content creator
• A consultant
• A combination of several roles (also called a portfolio career)

There is no one size fits all. Many creatives work on commissions, residencies and freelance gigs in parallel to permanent and casual contracts. The best model is the one that supports your lifestyle, values and future ambitions.

Review and Adapt

A career map is a living document. Return to it regularly. Review:

• What has changed?
• What opportunities have emerged?
• What assumptions were wrong?
• What new interests have appeared?

Update your map as your career evolves. A good career map does not tell you exactly where you will end up. It is to help you make informed decisions, recognise opportunities and move toward a future that feels purposeful and meaningful.

Resource created by Sarah-Mace Dennis, September 2024.