New Jobs + The Mid-Life Career Check-In

Hi there,

In today’s issue, I’m sharing a perspective on the millennial urge to set fire to your career. Plus a fresh set of remote social impact roles.

-Navid
Do good work. Get paid well.

The millennial urge to set fire to your career and start working as a yoga instructor is so real. Do you sometimes catch yourself on Sunday evenings thinking about what it would be like if you could just quit your 9-5 and pursue something else — a passion project, whether that's fitness, making jewelry, brewing your own beer, or baking cookies? You get the drift. It might also be time for a colonoscopy.

All jokes aside, I'm noticing this a lot with my clients right now. Most of them are people doing a genuine mid-life check-in. They've spent 15-20 years working and now they're asking themselves: what do I do for the rest of my working career? Does it have to look like this?

This fantasy could be about a few things.

It could be about autonomy and control. Your 9-5 tells you where to work, when to work, and which meetings to sit in. The yoga instructor fantasy is really about being the boss of your own day. Psychologists call this "autonomy need frustration" and it's a big driver of burnout and disengagement. Burnout isn't just being frustrated and drained by the work itself. It's how, where, and who you're doing that work with.

Layer on top of that a mid-life reckoning, a genuine re-examination of whether your life choices still reflect who you are. How do you feel like yourself again without letting your paid work be the whole story of your identity?

So what do you actually do with this fantasy?

Ina Garten would tell you to run with it. She went from working as a nuclear energy policy analyst to becoming one of the most beloved food personalities of our time. Should you pursue that dream side project? Absolutely.

Be realistic though. Our brains romanticize the barista life without factoring in the 5am alarms, the difficult customers, or the paycheck. Psychologists call this "rosy prospection," picturing the best version of an alternative life, completely free of fine print. Before you hand in your resignation, make sure you actually know what you're getting into. The fantasy version and the real version of that life are usually pretty different.

More importantly, use this feeling as data. Take some time to sit with who you are right now. What are your frustrations? What's working? What isn't? What does that tell you about what actually needs to change?

Sometimes the answer really is a full pivot. Other times, the fantasy is pointing to something specific that's broken in your current situation, and that's a much easier fix than becoming a yoga instructor.

If you're feeling this way and want to explore what it means for you, I'd love to help. I use specific assessments and exercises to get you to a place where you have a clear canvas, a map of who you are, what you want, and where you're headed next.

If this is you:

-Navid

Scroll down to see the full list of new, remote, high paying, social impact roles!

Trends: Education and workforce and health organizations are tied at the top this week, with climate and environment making a consistent showing. Strategy and operations and executive leadership remain the most in-demand role types, with program management climbing to a strong third place this week..

Our paid supporters get first access to the full list today. Get your applications in before these go on our public job board!

-Navid
Do good work. Get paid well.