Five questions for your next step

Most people who come to me have already started searching. They scroll through vacancies, talk to recruiters and wonder why nothing feels right. The answer is usually simple: they're looking for a solution before they know what the problem is.

That's why I start with questions. Set aside a quiet evening and write your answers down. Not in your head: on paper.

1. When did you last lose track of time?

Think of a moment at work when you looked up and saw it was already dark. What were you doing? With whom? That moment says more about what drives you than any test.

2. What do you absolutely not want any more?

This seems negative, but it's often the easiest way in. Write everything down: the commute, the meetings, that one colleague. Then see which points are about the content and which about the circumstances. Those two call for very different solutions.

3. What do others say you're good at?

We're bad at seeing our own talents, precisely because they come so naturally. Ask five people for three words. You'll be surprised how often the same ones come back.

4. What is the price of staying?

We often calculate the risks of a change down to the cent. We forget the price of doing nothing. How will you feel in two years if nothing changes?

5. What is the smallest step you can take this week?

Not handing in your notice. Rather: email one person who does work you find interesting and ask if you can buy them a coffee. Direction comes from moving, not from thinking.

You don't have to know where you'll end up. You only need to know which way you want to look.

Can't work it out on your own? That's perfectly normal. Feel free to plan an intro call, and we'll look at your answers together.