9 Questions To Ask Your Network To Help You Find Your Path

In my mid 20s, I felt pretty lost. While many of my friends who were settled into careers seemed to whiz past me, I stood in their dust. I felt pretty low and uncertain how to figure out what was next.

Fortunately, I befriended a woman who did employee development work, and she guided me through some powerful exercises she learned from Susan Conrad (I admittedly couldn’t find any of her work on this subject online to credit her) to help me see myself through the lens of my network, and to use those insights to help guide my path.

This was in 2010 and I still reflect back on the replies I got. Some are motivating, others painful. But they are all useful.

If you’re looking for some guidance on next steps in your life, consider sending these questions to select people in your network. I asked my family, a couple of people with whom I had a professional relationship, and friends from different stages of life.

I found there to be value in both verbal and written communications, so it’s up to you how you do it. No matter which way, be sure to make it clear that you need their candor, that you won’t provide any reply or feedback other than a thank you, and that you won’t be doing it in return, as the answers need to be unfiltered by the idea of reciprocity or any ongoing…