Career GPS: How to Navigate Without a Map

Back in 2001, I was a fairly successful senior associate at a global law firm who had completely lost her way.

On paper, everything about my career looked just fine. I was progressing up the ladder toward partnership. I had great clients. While my work was demanding, I controlled my schedule – having negotiated a transaction-based flex-work schedule, I chose which deals I'd work on. Despite all that was "right" in my legal career, something was off. The destination everyone expected me to reach - the corner office perhaps? - it no longer felt like mine.

I had no idea what came next. No clear vision of what I actually wanted to do next. And certainly no five-year plan! Just a growing certainty that the path I was on was no longer the one for me.

What I discovered during that uncertain chapter changed everything I thought I knew about career navigation. The women who successfully pivot, evolve, and reinvent their careers aren't necessarily the ones with the clearest plans. They're the ones with the strongest relational compass.

The Myth of the Mapped-Out Career

Here's what no one tells you about career planning: even the most successful, intentional women hit moments where the path forward isn't clear.

Maybe you've outgrown your current role but can't articulate what comes next. Maybe your industry is shifting clumsily, and your motivation is to move on before it collapses. Maybe you lost out on a promotion and in the disappointment, you began to imagine other possibilities. Maybe your priorities have evolved, and the goals that once motivated you no longer feel like yours.

These moments of uncertainty aren't career failures—they're navigation challenges.

The numbers confirm what many of us are feeling: nearly half the workforce is worried about layoffs, we're expected to hold twice as many jobs as previous generations, and 20% of today's job titles didn't even exist in 2000. Perhaps planning for a linear career path isn't just outdated—it's a fantasy.

This is precisely where relationships become essential.

Traditional career advice assumes clarity: set goals, make plans, execute relentlessly. Ignore the job market shifts and economic disruptions for a moment, to recognize that there are seasons when we're feeling lost, stuck, or uncertain about how to move forward in our careers. It's in these moments that your network transforms from essential support into navigational necessity.

The most intentional women I know don't avoid uncertainty—they've built the relational infrastructure to navigate through it with confidence.

Your Network as Navigation System

Here's what I learned from my own zigzag career path and from studying other women who've successfully navigated uncertainty:

🗝️ Your network isn't just about getting ahead. It's about getting oriented when the path disappears.

🗝️ My Focus + Grit + Networks framework isn't a hustle formula—it's a navigation system whether your ambition zeros in on a direct, straight line or refuses to adhere to a set formula.

🗝️ Your Focus is your true north: What actually matters to you now? Your network helps you distinguish between what you think you should want and what you actually want.

🗝️ Your Grit is your fuel for the journey: Navigating uncertainty requires stamina. Your network provides both the encouragement to keep going and the reality checks that help you course-correct.

🗝️ Your Networks are your compass points: Different relationships serve different navigation functions during uncertain times.

The Three Types of Career Navigation Networks

As I see it, your career needs three distinct types of navigation support. Think of these as your navigation crew—each type serves a distinct purpose, and it is likely that you'll need all three to successfully chart unknown career territories.

🗝️ Scouts (your broad network): These are the people positioned to see opportunities and trends you can't spot from your current vantage point. They're plugged into different industries, roles, or levels. When you're feeling stuck or invisible, Scouts help you see what's possible beyond your current horizon.

🗝️ Guides (your deep network): These trusted advisors help you interpret the signals and make sense of your options. They know you well enough to spot patterns you might miss and brave enough to tell you hard truths. When multiple paths seem possible, Guides help you choose.

🗝️ Companions (your peer network): These are others navigating similar uncertainty. They provide solidarity, shared wisdom, and the reminder that you're not the only one figuring it out as you go. When fear threatens to keep you stuck, companions remind you that uncertainty is normal—not failure.

During my career transition out of the practice of law, I had Scouts who told me about emerging job openings and unlisted opportunities in professional development, the field I was hoping to enter. Some of my best Scouts were professionals at firms I'd interviewed with – for roles I'd lost out on! I had Guides who helped me translate my legal experiences into business skills language. My best Guides? Former work colleagues who had successfully transitioned into new careers, along with trusted mentors and new connections I met while up-skilling my resume. And I had Companions—other career pivoters—who normalized the discomfort of not having it all figured out. These Companions? They were mostly other women who I kept running into at industry events and yes, on the job interview circuit, gunning for the same roles I was pursuing. You know the expression "misery loves company"? Well, commiserating over wine, swapping interview frustrations and recruiter horror stories, became a regular part of our job search routine and guided us all towards landing the right roles.

Calibrate Your Internal GPS

The next time you find yourself in career uncertainty, ask these navigation questions:

• When you're lost: Who in your network helps you gain perspective on your situation?
• When you're stuck: Who shows you possibilities you can't see yourself?
• When you're scared: Who reminds you of capabilities you've forgotten you have?

Your Networking Move This Week:

💡 Identify one area of your career where you feel directionless right now.

Then ask: What type of navigation support do I need most? A Scout to show me what's out there? A Guide to help me interpret my options? A Companion to remind me I'm not alone in the uncertainty?

Reach out to one person who could serve as that compass point.

Career navigation isn't about having all the answers. It's about building the relationships that help you find your way when the path isn't clear.

Your network is your compass. The question is: are you using it to navigate toward what you actually want—or just following someone else's map?

Need more?

💡 The Power of Why in a Noisy World (The "Why Filter" helps clarify direction when goals are unclear)

💡 The Dual Power of Networks (A network with breadth and depth is essential for navigating transitions - and for long-term career success too)

💡 What High-Achieving Women Know About Their Networks (This post outlines my Focus + Grit + Networks = Success framework)

💡 How to Leverage Relationships to Power Your Next Move (My timely and timeless networking conversation with best-selling author, Kathryn Finney)

💡How To Turn Career Upheaval Into Breakthrough Momentum (Forbes)