How to Know if You’re on the Right Career Path, with Kyle Kavas

It’s not unusual for someone to get a few years into their career and wonder if they’re headed in the right direction. Choosing a major in college doesn’t guarantee that you’ll be happy in that field for years to come. How do you know if you’re on the right path? According to Find Your Dream Job guest Kyle Kavas, you start by asking yourself 3 questions- do you like your job? Do you like your coworkers? Do you align with the company and its values? If the answers to those questions are yes, it’s likely you’ve chosen the right path, at least for now. 

About Our Guest:

Kyle Kavas the president of UPLIFT Leadership. It’s a nonprofit that helps people figure out who they are, what they want to do, and how to uplift others.

Resources in This Episode:

• Kyle and the team at UPLIFT Leadership have programs for young professionals and students who identify as underemployed.
• Learn more about the Career Summit, a 4-day workshop for young people ages 16-26, who are newer to the workforce and are ready to build their job search and readiness skills.

Transcript

Find Your Dream Job, Episode 453:

How to Know if You’re on the Right Career Path, with Kyle Kavas

Airdate: June 5, 2024

Mac Prichard:

This is Find Your Dream Job, the podcast that helps you get hired, have the career you want, and make a difference in life.

I’m your host, Mac Prichard. I’m also the founder of Mac’s List. It’s a job board in the Pacific Northwest that helps you find a fulfilling career.

Every Wednesday, I talk to a different expert about the tools you need to get the work you want.

Being clear about the career you want makes a big difference when you look for work.

And with many of us switching careers, the answer to what you want will likely change over time.

Kyle Kavas is here to talk about how to know if you’re on the right career path.

She’s the president of UPLIFT Leadership.

It’s a nonprofit that helps people figure out who they are, what they want to do, and how to uplift others.

She joins us from Portland, Oregon.

Well, let’s get going, Kyle.

Do most people know if they’re on the right career path?

Kyle Kavas:

It is fascinating thinking about this career journey, and we’re always asking ourselves, “Am I on the right career path?” And it’s a question that’s just going to come up repeatedly. Ultimately, we’re looking at a few different things.

Are you passionate about the work that you’re doing? Are you feeling motivated? Do you feel like your skills and strengths are being utilized? Do you feel like you’re performing well in your job? Are you financially comfortable? Is it a good work environment? Do you feel supported and encouraged? Do you like the company culture?

We really boil it down to job satisfaction in three different categories. One, do you like the job? Do you like the people you work with? And then, do you like the company itself, its culture, and its industry? And if all three of those things are in alignment, then that’s a great sign.

Mac Prichard:

Well, I want to dig into each of those three categories. Before we get there, Kyle, let’s talk about what can happen if you are uncertain about your career path. People might struggle with this.

If you’re doing a job search and you’re not clear about your job path, how can that affect your search, and what happens?

Kyle Kavas:

It can be really tough to search for a job when you’re not clear on your career path, and it’s really interesting because so many people start this process when they’re young, and they have limited self-awareness. They don’t know what they like, they don’t know what they want, and beyond that, they have limited experience. They don’t have a real introduction to different jobs and what it feels like to actually do those jobs.

There’s this missing piece of validation. One of the number one ways to validate whether a job makes sense is to actually do the job, and we go through this process of elimination where we do the job, and we either say, “Yes, I like this. This works for me.” Or, “No, it doesn’t.”

Ultimately, this, again, lack of self-awareness and limited experience can play into it, as well as a fear of failure. This overriding sense that you need to make the right choice and there’s pressures from people in our lives, from our partners, from our parents, from our peers, there’s societal and cultural expectations that can get in the way, but ultimately, if you are afraid of the consequence of making a bad choice, it’s very real.

So many people go into college, and they pick a major, and they get 2-3 years into it, and they realize it’s not what they want to do, or they get into that first real job, and it’s not what they expected. That dream job has to be able to evolve.

Mac Prichard:

If you’re unclear about what you want, and you laid out three categories that you encourage people to look at to get that clarity, is that something that’s going to happen only after college, Kyle? Or is this a question that’s going to come up again and again throughout your career?

Kyle Kavas:

It’s so common to feel uncertain, stressed, or anxious about your career choices, and it’s not just at the beginning, although that first real job sets the tone. Every job that you take, you’re either deciding to continue on that path and go deeper or go a completely different direction and ultimately, these negative experiences shape us just as much as positive ones do.

Struggles are heightened during times of change or transition, so not just that high school graduation and college time but also when you’re entering the workforce, once you get into what we call a “quarter-life crisis,” or your midlife crisis. Major life events, like moving or going through a divorce, might change your career circumstances, having burnout or bad experiences, as we mentioned, can really shift.

Then, layoffs or job loss; it’s not always our choice, right? We might get put onto a different career path by circumstances we didn’t choose. Or retirement planning, your priorities shift over time, and so this is going to be a lifelong journey. The full picture of your career takes 10-20 years before it starts to take form, and you start seeing these patterns and themes start to emerge that make your job search more clear as you go.

Mac Prichard:

For people who are dealing with these external events, there is some good news here, while much of life is out of your control, there are things that you can control. You mentioned these at the top of the interview, and I want to revisit them.

There are three questions that you encourage people to ask themselves to determine if you’re on the right career path, and let me restate those.

Do you enjoy your job? Do you feel confident doing the assignments that you’re given? And do you get along with your boss and your coworkers? I’d like to walk through each one, Kyle.

Let’s do that. That first question for figuring out if you’re on the right career path is, “Do you know your job?” And how does the answer to that let you know if you are, indeed, on the right career path?

Kyle Kavas:

With your job, there’s so many different ways that you can feel about it. Everything from your competence level to a sense of complacency, and sometimes you’re struggling in a job, it’s hard to get things done, you don’t know what you’re doing, and that’s an opportunity to really explore your options within.

Can you get more training? Can you get more coaching? Are there other educational opportunities that you can take on to try to learn that job?

However, there’s a turning point at about 90 days where if things aren’t improving, it’s an indication that that’s, perhaps, not the right job for you. Whether you come to that decision or your employer comes to that decision, that’s an indication that it’s time to switch versus this complacency that happens over time, where it’s the opposite scenario.

You’ve been in the job for a while, you feel like you’ve mastered it, you no longer feel challenged, you want to be promoted, you want to make more money, you want more of an opportunity to advance.

At that point, it’s a question of, does that opportunity exist within the current company or organization and how can you make it work. Is it the right time to move up? Use that background information you have to make the decision to stay or to go.

Mac Prichard:

I’m glad you brought up that example of someone who is in a position for several years, and now they find themselves doing the same thing for perhaps the third or fourth time. They enjoy their work, but that doesn’t mean that they need to, because they might be complacent or bored, they don’t need to change careers, does it, Kyle?

Kyle Kavas:

There are so many ways to kind of bring your job back to life, by taking on new responsibilities, asking for more opportunities, looking for professional development opportunities, workshops, things that you could do to level up.

Mac Prichard:

Look for opportunities to improve your skills, and you mentioned earlier, if you are not feeling challenged by your position but you enjoy the work, and you can’t find an opportunity inside the organization, it might be time to look elsewhere, but it is, indeed, not time to change careers, is that correct?

Kyle Kavas:

It depends on the situation. I think we hear the advice a lot that it’s worth it to move companies or move jobs every two years if you want to advance, and ultimately, that can be a myth for some people. There’s a lot of growth opportunity that can happen within a company, and there’s a ton of value in tenure and institutional knowledge and understanding how a company really works.

You can make bigger, better decisions, instead of just defaulting to, “Hey, it’s time to leave the company.” If your goal is to find a new job every year, that’s going to be exhausting for you and your employer.

Mac Prichard:

Well, terrific.

Let’s pause there and take a break.

Stay with us. When we come back, Kyle Kavas will continue to share her advice on how to know if you’re on the right career path.

We’re back in the Mac’s List studio. I’m talking with Kyle Kavas.

She’s the president of UPLIFT Leadership.

It’s a nonprofit that helps people figure out who they are, what they want to do, and how to uplift others.

She joins us from Portland, Oregon.

Now, Kyle, before the break, we were talking about how to know if you’re on the right career path, and there are three questions that you encourage listeners to ask themselves to get the answer.

Again, those three questions are: do you enjoy your job? Do you feel competent doing the assignments you’re given? And number three is do you get along with your boss and your coworkers?

We talked about number one. Let’s dive into question number two. Do you feel confident doing the assignments that you’re given? Tell us more about that and is answering, “No,” here a deal breaker? Can’t everybody learn new skills even if they’re uncomfortable with an assignment at the start?

Kyle Kavas:

Yes, we can always learn new skills, and it’s an ongoing process of trying your best until a point where you realize, is this working or is this not working? In many cases, in the job, that period of time is decided by the employer.

It’s ninety days, or it could be a performance plan over the course of a year. In the case where you’re not performing the job in the way that you want to perform the job, there’s a plan in place of additional training, or additional support, or additional coaching from within or looking for external professional development opportunities to improve your position or knowledge so that you can actually be effective at that job.

On the flip side of that competency piece, you know, we talked about feeling overly confident, to a point of, I guess, mastery in your job, and what should you do in that moment? There’s still opportunities to advance. There’s no true way to master a job, and really wondering if there’s always a way that we can be better, always wondering if there’s a way that we can maybe add new projects to our plate or take on extra responsibilities, or expand in a different direction.

Mac Prichard:

What does saying yes to this question tell you about whether or not you’re on the career path, if you feel competent doing these assignments? How should you interpret a yes here?

Kyle Kavas:

If you feel competent with your assignments, that’s a good indication that you’re in the right job. It means that it’s a chance to strengthen your skills and to kind of sharpen that sword, so to speak. Honestly, I would look at that as one of the primary motivations for job satisfaction, is feeling like you’re proud of the work that you’re doing, and that you’re really making an impact.

Mac Prichard:

If you do find yourself needing to learn new skills, or you find your employer giving you feedback or perhaps even putting you on a performance improvement plan, what’s your best advice, Kyle, for how to deal with that?

What should someone do in that situation? Does it mean that it’s time to change careers, or should you do something else?

Kyle Kavas:

A performance plan does not necessarily mean that it’s time to change careers. It sounds like the company is saying that they believe in you and that you have the potential to rise to the challenge. There’s this instinct, I think, especially when you’re younger, to take a no or a not good enough as negative feedback and be dejected by it and want to leave because of it.

When really the employer may be offering you the opportunity to rise to the occasion, and I would consider it a positive thing in some cases when you’re offered an opportunity and more time and energy and resources to build the skills that are going to help you not just there, but anywhere that you end up going in your career.

Mac Prichard:

What’s your best advice for how to deal with maybe some of the emotions in getting that message?

You might feel some embarrassment or unsupported, and again, you might even question whether you’re on the right career path. How do you see people deal successfully in that situation with those kinds of circumstances?

Kyle Kavas:

It’s an ongoing thing. We’re always battling how we feel about the feedback that we’re getting externally and internally, and it’s not just about how we feel about the job but how we feel others are perceiving us in that job. It’s hard not to take it as a rejection, and ultimately, you can use rejection in one of two ways. It can be defeating and deflating, or it can be motivating.

It can push you to try harder; it can have you inspired to maybe look in a different direction or conquer the thing that everyone says you can’t.

Mac Prichard:

Your third and final question for determining if you’re on the right career path is to ask yourself if you get along with your boss and your coworkers. Does a no here mean it’s time to change career paths? Or should you do something else?

Kyle Kavas:

This is one of the most common situations where you love your job and the company, but maybe you have a bad boss or maybe a tough coworker, and bad bosses are one of the primary reasons why people quit their jobs. It’s incredible.

Ultimately, though, it’s a question of how tolerable is the situation? How tenable is the situation? Because there’s a wide range of a bad boss and a bad coworker, from mildly annoying to downright abusive. So, again, it’s assessing the situation and seeing whether that particular person is strong enough to drive you out of a job or company that you love.

People come and go, and that boss or that difficult coworker might end up quitting, or they might get fired. You never really know what’s going to happen.

If you really love the job and you really love the company and it’s a situation, I really hate to use this word, worth “tolerating”, but yeah, tolerating.

Mac Prichard:

There’s a job, and there’s a career. You can leave a company and a job, and still pursue the same career. Is that an option that you should consider if you find yourself in a circumstance where you have a bad boss or maybe a toxic coworker who’s making your day unpleasant?

Kyle Kavas:

Absolutely. Never closing yourself off to an opportunity is probably smart, and you reach this point of, “Is it time to leave, or should I stay?” And one of the ways that we qualify this is if you’re dreading going to work or you’re dreading your job 3 out of 5 days a week, that’s an indication that it’s time to make a change.

Mac Prichard:

Again, you had three questions here to determine if you’re on the right career path. Do you enjoy your job? Do you feel competent doing the assignments that you’re given? Do you get along with your boss and coworkers?

Kyle, what should you do if you answer no to one or more of these three questions?

Kyle Kavas:

There is a ton of options for you. Even if you get a no on one of these questions, it may not mean that you need to leave the company, per se, but one reason you need to leave a company is if you feel like they’re operating unethically, or you don’t believe in the products or services that they offer.

If you find the culture to be unwelcoming or discriminatory, or if you’re being bullied, harassed, or maybe even worse. Those are all reasons why you might not stick it out at a specific company.

Mac Prichard:

What if you answer yes to all three questions, Kyle? What does this say about the career path that you’re on, and how can you use the information you get from answering or reflecting on these questions to make the most of your current career?

Kyle Kavas:

All of those “yeses” are a really good sign and an indication that you might have found your dream job. Ultimately, if you’re happy where you are, why change?

But if you’re trying to advance in that current career, don’t underestimate the growth opportunities that are there, the mentors that are around, the guidance that you can get. Not just from those role models that you see, the people that you want to emulate, but also career counselors.

People often think they need to go to career counselors when they’re transitioning from company to company or job to job, but career counselors can be helpful even if you’re just looking for some self-reflection time and need some support.

I’m a huge advocate for building relationships and trying to deepen your connections within a company while keeping things professional, but also asking for opportunities to grow, asking for ways to make it work where you are.

Unless it is an unworkable situation, in which case, you should leave.

Mac Prichard:

Well, it’s been a terrific conversation, Kyle.

Now, tell us, what’s next for you?

Kyle Kavas:

In the work that we do at Uplift Leadership, we have found that young people, between the ages of 16 and 26 years old, need a lot of guidance when it comes to career path planning and building job skills, so we’re excited about ways to connect with the community about ways to support young people coming into the workforce.

One of the ways that we do this is through the career summit and so we’re really excited to show our students this summer.

Mac Prichard:

Well, terrific.

I know listeners can learn about you and your work at Uplift Leadership by visiting the Uplift Leadership website. That URL is upliftleadership.org, and that you also invite listeners to connect with you on LinkedIn. As always, when listeners do reach out to you, I hope that they’ll mention that they heard you on Find Your Dream Job.

Now, Kyle, given all of the great advice that you’ve shared today, what’s the one thing you want a listener to remember about how to know if you’re on the right career path?

Kyle Kavas:

Keep in mind that career paths can change over time, and it’s natural, and it’s okay to make changes if needed. Ultimately, making decisions in alignment with your goals and values is the best course.

Mac Prichard:

Next week, our guest will be Toye Jones.

She’s the human resources and equity director at CASA for Children in Portland, Oregon.

Her organization advocates for the best interests of abused and neglected children in the custody of the state and under the protection of the court.

As Kyle has shared today, switching professions requires careful thought and planning.

So join us next Wednesday when we dig deeper into this topic and Toye Jones shares with us four things you need to change careers.

Until next time, thanks for letting us help you find your dream job.

This show is produced by Mac’s List.

Susan Thornton-Hough schedules our guests and writes our newsletter. Lisa Kislingbury Anderson manages our social media.

Our sound engineer and editor is Matt Fiorillo. Dawn Mole creates our transcripts. And our music is by Freddy Trujillo.

This is Mac Prichard. See you next week.