Expert Interview: Why People Get Stuck at Career Crossroads

Alison Cardy

Alison Cardy, author of “Career Grease: How to Get Unstuck and Pivot Your Career,” is a career coach who has guided hundreds of people to innovative and functional career solutions. She is a practical advocate for achieving your heart’s desires, improving your work week, and making a difference, all while keeping an eye on your financial success. Alison’s work has been featured on Monster, Forbes, LearnVest, the Huffington Post, and the Chicago Tribune. She is a certified coach and a graduate of the University of Maryland’s Smith School of Business.

Why People Get Stuck at Career Crossroads

“Many people who are stuck at a career crossroads are hesitant to ask for help. I think this is just a function of being an adult, with Google. In most areas of your life, you can successfully get through the day just by doing the things you already know as an adult, or by Googling it. It’s almost a lost skill to be able to reach out and ask for help. Another reason you might stay stuck is that you are only reaching out to people who have an agenda of their own, which is often quite different from yours.”

Why Is This Important?

“People at a crossroads need a safe, objective, nonjudgmental space where they can talk things through. As a coach, I always say we care about our clients, but we don’t really care what they do, which is very different from how a spouse or parent or a friend might approach the situation. Often, without realizing it, a person in your life has some other agenda for you. So, the first thing we do is create a safe space.”

What Are the Key Lessons Learned Here?

With such an abundance of online self-assessment tools, it’s easy to fall into analysis paralysis. “I see that quite a bit, where people are thinking a lot, taking a lot of assessments. Self-analysis is a great thing. But sometimes people get lost in those questions. They think the answer will be found by digging deeply within themselves. In actuality, the answer is found both by digging into yourself to get a starter idea, then taking that idea into the real world and actually testing it, and getting more clarity by taking action. That action could be talking to somebody about what you are thinking, trying out something on the side, volunteering, or learning a little bit more about your idea. But it’s really that interaction between yourself and the real world where the magic happens.”