How Do I Figure Out What I Actually Want to Do Next in My Career?

“How do I figure out what I actually want to do next?”

It’s one of the most common career questions I hear—and increasingly, it’s a question some people are asking AI.

AI can be an incredibly useful tool for exploring what’s possible. It can suggest career options, help you identify patterns, research industries and roles, and introduce possibilities you may not have considered.

But before asking AI to tell you what career you should pursue, there’s some important work only you can do.

You need to understand what you actually want.

Sometimes people know what they don’t want.

They don’t want another job exactly like the one they just left. They don’t want the same stress, politics, lack of meaning or lack of balance.

But knowing what you don’t want isn’t the same as knowing what you do.

And that’s where people can get stuck.

The temptation—especially if you’ve been laid off—is to immediately start searching job boards, updating your resume and applying for positions that look like the job you had before.

But before you Job Search, I believe it’s important to Soul Search and Research.

Start with yourself, not the job market—or AI

Your first question doesn’t need to be, “What jobs are available?” or even “What does AI think I should do?”

Instead, ask:

What would I love to do?

Think about your strengths, interests, values, personality, priorities and the kind of life you want your career to support.

What comes naturally to you?

What do people consistently seek your help with?

What kind of work leaves you feeling energized rather than depleted?

What have you always been curious about—even if it doesn’t seem to have anything to do with your current career?

And perhaps most importantly:

What do I feel inspired to do?

Don’t dismiss the answers because they don’t immediately translate into a job title.

You’re gathering clues.

Don’t assume your future has to look like your past

This is particularly important right now.

Industries are changing. AI is changing the way work gets done. Roles are evolving, and some are disappearing while new opportunities are being created.

Your experience matters, but it doesn’t have to dictate where you go next.

Sometimes your experience has been preparing you for something you couldn’t have named five years ago.

Pay attention to where things are moving

Once you have some ideas, get out of your own head and Research.

This is also where AI can become a powerful partner. Use it to research industries, identify emerging roles, find ways your skills might transfer and generate questions for informational interviews.

But don’t stop with AI.

Talk to people.

Explore industries, roles and organizations that interest you. Have conversations with people doing work you’re curious about.

Then pay attention to what happens.

Where are you getting traction?

Which conversations leave you energized?

What opportunities keep catching your attention?

What are people telling you that you’d be good at?

Where is the market moving?

Sometimes the path becomes clearer not because you sat down and figured it all out, but because you started exploring and noticed where momentum was building.

Test your ideas before making a leap

You don’t have to quit your job, go back to school or completely reinvent yourself because something sounds interesting.

Research first.

Talk to someone doing the job. Take a class. Attend an industry event. Volunteer. Join a board. Try a project.

Find out what the work is actually like—not what you imagine it to be.

Your goal is to turn an idea into information.

You may discover, Yes, this is something I want to pursue.

Or you may discover, Interesting—but not for me.

Both answers are progress.

Give yourself permission not to know yet

We like certainty, particularly when our income or identity is involved. If you’ve had a successful career, not knowing what’s next can feel especially uncomfortable.

But “I don’t know yet” isn’t the same as “I’m lost.”

It can simply mean you’re exploring.

You don’t need to have your entire next chapter figured out today. You need enough clarity to take the next useful step.

Try this exercise

Take out a blank piece of paper and create three columns:

I KNOW

What do you know you want in your next chapter? What do you know you don’t want?

I’M CURIOUS ABOUT

What roles, industries, people, ideas or possibilities keep getting your attention?

I’M GOING TO EXPLORE

Choose three things from your curiosity list and identify one concrete action you can take for each—ideally a conversation, experience or piece of research.

Then give yourself a deadline to do them.

You can even bring those three lists to AI and ask it to help you identify patterns, possibilities or questions you haven’t considered.

But then take those ideas back into the real world and explore them.

Clarity often comes through action, not before it.

You don’t have to recreate what you lost

If you’re in a career transition, particularly after a layoff, your instinct may be to get back to where you were as quickly as possible.

But before you do, ask whether that’s actually where you want to go.

Your next chapter might involve the same profession in a healthier organization. It might mean using your skills in a different industry. It could mean a different kind of role, entrepreneurship, portfolio work or something you haven’t discovered yet.

So instead of asking AI—or yourself—only:

“What’s my next job?”

Try asking:

“Given who I am now, what do I want my work—and my life—to look like next?”

Then use all the resources available to you—including AI—to help you explore the possibilities.

Soul Search. Research. Then Job Search.

You don’t have to see the entire path before you start walking.