Navigating Uncertainty: Strategies for Building a Resilient Career
During my very first job interview, I was asked where I saw myself in 10 years. My perhaps naïve response was, “I don’t know. Do you?” The bemused look on the interviewer’s face told me I had made a grave career mistake. Needless to say, I didn’t get the job.
This question perhaps ranks among the worst in the realm of terrible interview questions, right alongside “What’s your greatest weakness?” But it made me think. Why couldn’t I have said something like leading a team, managing a significant portfolio, or becoming a CEO? Wouldn’t that have sounded smart, ambitious, and made me look like a go-getter? Instead, I had committed career hara-kiri in my very first job interview.
Why Your Future Self Feels Like a Stranger
There is scientific evidence that humans struggle to visualize their future and often prioritize immediate gains over long-term ones. This phenomenon is known as temporal discounting—the tendency to value rewards less when they are delayed rather than when they are immediate. The immediate career move might seem more valuable than potential progression in five years. Consequently, we often play the career game to achieve smaller, sooner wins rather than long-term fulfillment.
Hal Hershfield, a professor at UCLA Anderson School of Management, conducted a remarkable study comparing neural patterns in subjects’ brains (using an fMRI machine) when they described their current selves, their future selves 10 years hence, and other people. The study found that the neural patterns evoked when thinking about the future self were most similar to those when thinking about another person. Essentially, when we think of our distant future selves, it feels like we are thinking about a stranger.
If you can’t recognize yourself in 10 years, how can you imagine yourself in a career in 10 years?
As you think about the growing unpredictability of work, careers, and life in general, what are some ways in which you can start building a career that can truly provide you with a sense of fulfillment? Here are three approaches to consider:
1. Center Your Career Around Your Strengths
A frequently quoted pearl of Confucian wisdom is, “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” It's uncertain whether Confucius actually made that statement, but while the sentiment is uplifting, it doesn't always reflect reality. You don't always have the opportunity to choose your career, job, or the future path you take; sometimes, life has other plans.
Research from the Burning Glass Institute and the Strada Institute for the Future of Work reveals that over half of Americans with college degrees end up in jobs that don’t require their bachelor’s degree or utilize the skills they acquired. Many remain in these roles throughout their careers. This is sometimes also referred to as underemployment—being employed in less than full-time or regular jobs or insufficient jobs for one’s training or economic needs.
However, you gain much more fulfillment when you build your job around what you love—or your strengths. According to Gallup, this approach results in about six times higher engagement at work and three times better quality of life.
How to align your career with your strengths:
Research roles or industries where your strengths are in high demand.
Let go of what doesn’t serve you; limit distractions.
Focus on activities that amplify your unique abilities and passions.
Seek feedback from friends, colleagues, mentors, and coaches on where your strengths shine.
Set purposeful career goals that build on your natural strengths.
Learn adjacent skills that complement your strengths (e.g., enhancing public speaking if you're a natural communicator).
By centering your work around your strengths, you not only improve job satisfaction but also position yourself for long-term success.
2. Visualize Your Why
Visualization is a powerful tool, but it’s often misunderstood. Typically, visualization involves imagining the form your future might take: the job you’ll have, the salary you’ll earn, or the lifestyle you’ll lead. While this can be motivating, it’s also limiting. Instead of visualizing what you’ll be doing, focus on why you’ll be doing it.
Your "why" is your purpose—the driving force behind your actions and decisions. By grounding your career planning in your "why," you can align your future learning and growth with what truly matters to you. Ask yourself these questions:
What drives your passion for your chosen field, and how do you envision that passion influencing your future career decisions?
How does your work contribute to a larger purpose or mission that resonates with you? What impact do you hope to make?
What legacy do you wish to leave behind, and how does that shape your daily actions and decisions?
How does your work align with your life goals and aspirations outside of your career?
What moments of inspiration or pivotal experiences have shaped your understanding of your "why," and how can you carry those insights forward?
By anchoring your career journey in your "why," you create a roadmap that’s resilient to external changes and uncertainties. It’s not about predicting the future but about preparing for it with purpose.
3. Prioritize Experiences, Not Career Rungs
For many, career paths often diverge from their original intentions. You might take sideways steps into different industries or roles, or find yourself in a job radically different from your education. What often proves most valuable isn’t the titles you’ve held but the experiences you’ve gained along the way.
Why prioritize experiences?
Experiences provide exposure to new ideas, skills, and perspectives.
They prepare you for leadership roles by broadening your understanding of different areas.
They make your career more adaptable to changes in the job market.
Ask yourself these questions:
What meaningful experiences can you prioritize over conventional career moves?
Where can you acquire these experiences?
What specific lessons or skills do you hope to gain?
How will these experiences enhance your performance and perspective?
Roads Less Traveled
Taking the road less traveled isn’t always easy, but it’s often worth considering. The dynamic nature of today’s job market rewards those who are curious, adaptable, and open to unconventional paths. While 80% of people may not be in their dream jobs, steps can be taken today to create a career that offers personal and professional fulfillment.
Choose curiosity, prioritize experiences, and align your strengths and purpose. Over time, you’ll discover a career path uniquely yours, shaped not by rigid goals (or terrible interview questions) but by meaningful milestones along the way.