Navigating Career Transitions

Whether you chose the transition or it chose you, career changes shake your sense of identity and security. A new job, a layoff, a promotion, a pivot to something different, all of these require you to let go of what was and step into uncertainty. For men whose identity is tied to their work, transitions can feel like an existential crisis, not just a job change.

Transitions are both endings and beginnings. How you handle the space between determines what you bring into the next chapter.

Types of Career Transitions

• Voluntary: You chose to leave for something better
• Involuntary: Layoff, firing, company closure
• Promotional: Moving up within your organization
• Lateral: Same level, different role or company
• Pivot: Changing industries or functions entirely
• Exit: Leaving the workforce (retirement, sabbatical)

Every ending makes space for something new. But there's a gap between the ending and the new beginning. That gap is uncomfortable, but it's also where growth happens. Don't rush through it.

Navigating the Transition

Acknowledge what you're leaving: Even good transitions involve loss.

Process the emotions: Fear, grief, excitement, anxiety are all normal.

Stay grounded: Your identity isn't your job title.

Get support: Don't navigate major transitions alone.

Take stock: What do you want the next chapter to look like?

Move forward: At some point, stop looking back and commit to what's ahead.

Your Action Steps

This week: If you're in transition, name what you're feeling about it.

This month: Clarify what you want from the next chapter of your career.

This quarter: Build connections and support for whatever transition you're facing.