“Everyone seems to know what they are doing, but I don’t.”
“I think I know what I want to do, but I’m not sure.”
“I know exactly what I’m going to do both short term and for a career.”
As a teacher, careers lead, or careers adviser, you will have encountered a range of student responses when discussing the future.
The student who freezes when you ask them about their ideas, the one who frequently changes their mind, and the one who confidently presents a flawless five-year plan. It can be tempting to view the latter as the ideal. However, while certainty may be a result of a thoughtful process, other times, it may rest on shaky foundations – driven by the expectations of others, limited exploration, or fear of the unknown. Do they have the skills they need if their future doesn’t go to plan?
Although the rise of SMART goals and action plans from the 1980s onwards contributed to the myth that we can, and should, map out our short and long-term futures, this may not reflect the reality. Practitioners know that many young people will change their minds as they discover more about themselves and the ever-changing world. SMART goals work well for some students and not others, particularly in an educational context (check out the research into “fuzzy goals” and “do your best” action steps). An appreciation of mental health and neurodiversity has further enhanced our understanding that there are a range of effective alternatives to full on SMART.
At this point you may be asking “So should students have a clear plan or not?”. You know where this is heading! The classic career professional answer is “it depends”. It depends on the student – their personality, tolerance for uncertainty, stage of development, extent of exploration, and reflection on their self. It also of course, depends on their chosen subjects and field of interest. Those who wish to enter linear careers such as medicine will need to take certain subjects, but they should still be ones they enjoy and excel in. There are too many unhappy doctors, lawyers, and teachers who in hindsight, wish they’d explored more widely.
The clarity-curiosity balance
The key is finding the sweet spot between aimless wandering and rigid over-planning. Students need enough clarity to take meaningful next steps, with enough openness to notice opportunities and pivot when something resonates more deeply than expected.
What do they need clarity on?
Their interests, values, strengths – and the understanding that these things can change, appreciating that they are evolving and becoming.
The short-term options available, what they think/feel about these, and why.
Weighing up the value of sources (including family, friends, social media) and acknowledging potential agendas that may drive opinion and advice.
Any thinking traps and assumptions they hold that are impacting their choices.
Any external factors influencing their choices and the resources available to navigate these.
Broad occupational fields and labour market trends.
There will be more. I’ve deliberately omitted clarity around specific job titles and what’s involved in those roles. That sort of clarity will be more important for those making vocational choices and pursuing apprenticeships, but they still need to appreciate the breadth of opportunities before the specific (funnel rather than tunnel vision).
Short term clarity
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” – Lao Tzu
Many of you will be familiar with the Dominic Cadbury metaphor of career being crazy paving that you lay one step at a time. Whilst we may not know what the future holds, we are still active agents, laying the first step to see where it leads.
Hence, career conversations often begin by exploring the decision immediately ahead. Common questions include:
“How do you feel about coming to the end of year 11/12/13?”
“What are your thoughts about your next step?”
“Tell me about any options you have considered or researched?”
“Who have you talked to, and what have they said? What do you make of that?”
“Take me back. What career ideas have you already pushed aside?”
“How do you feel about doing something different to your fellow students?”
For the student who prefers to work in a multi-sensory way, the options may be written on different pieces of paper and folded so they can’t see which is which. One by one, they open it and notice how they feel if that were their chosen path, describing what they imagine it to be like, with the adviser filling in snippets of information to help them inhabit the reality of that option. Pictures of local options work well too.
Long term vision
“Vision is not the absence of planning, but the presence of possibility.” – Joel Arthur Barker
As mentioned, SMART goals can be limiting for complex, long-term aspirations. Fuzzy goals or "directional visions" allow for the serendipity, exploration, and adaptation that characterise many people’s career journeys. They provide enough structure to move forward without prematurely closing doors.
Here’s an example of a fuzzy goal – Instead of "I will study history at York University, followed by a PGCE, and then become a history teacher” it might be “At the moment, I’d like to pursue my interests in history and education – we don’t seem to learn from history so I would like a job that enables people to understand and analyse world events from different perspectives – particularly around conflict.”.
The second reflects a more curious mindset and captures a thread for the student to follow when exploring options. It reframes uncertainty as positive curiosity – students learn that not having everything figured out isn't a personal failing, it's a wise response to a complex, changing world, and their own journey of becoming.
To sum up – what’s our role?
As careers staff, our job isn't to eliminate uncertainty – it's to help students navigate it with confidence. We're not GPS systems providing turn-by-turn directions; we're teaching them to read the terrain, trust their compass, and enjoy the journey.
