In 2011, when I was in the messy liminal space between roles, I wrote my criteria for what I wanted from the next stage of my working life.

I went back through my CV and thought about when I’d been happiest and at my best.

I thought about what I’d learned from realising I wanted and needed to change paths.

I gathered the threads from the journey I’d been on with my first ever coach - the wondrous Nicola Jones.

These 5 questions acted as my career compass - a set of filters that helped me land happily in the world of consultancy for the next 7 years.

Over a decade later it’s one of my favourite coaching tools.

It’s such a gift to go back through experiences and distil the core ingredients of what makes work feel good.

It’s super useful to know what brings out the best in us.

It’s not about identifying a particular role.

It is about knowing how to ask for what you want, search with a specific brief and filter choices effectively.

It is about knowing if something’s a good fit for you, rather than working out if you can shapeshift to fit in a box.

So often when we’re looking for a next step we look at whether we meet someone else’s brief.

What if you got to write your own?

What if you could filter your choices to find your happy place?

Wishing you all a wonderful week,