The Career Equation®: The Formula for Career Clarity

When Your Next Role Isn’t Clear Yet: Applying the Career Equation to Emerging Careers

When Your Next Role Isn't Clear Yet: Applying the Career Equation to Emerging Careers
It's careers Q&A day where we give you some personal attention by answering your questions.
Today's question comes from Nina: "How can you use the Career Equation for roles in the future that are not yet set in stone, they're still evolving?"
What we cover:
Sometimes you feel stuck because you've been a specialist - "I've only done this, where else could I be useful?" Other times there are too many choices and the decision making feels overwhelming. Either way, doing nothing is still a choice.
Your backstory is full of information you're probably overlooking. When have you loved stuff in the past? What have you been drawn to? When did you learn a skill you've not used for ages? Take time to harvest these insights from your story so far.
Stop trying to find the name of the perfect job - there are so many titles now it won't help. Instead, think about what kind of experiences you want next. Is it a simple flip? Indoors to outdoors? Screen time to people time? Regulated environment to something more free-flowing? Or something completely different - more impact, being part of a cohesive team, using particular skills?
These experiences become your anchor points. When you've got clarity, it's easy to take action. Careers are a series of choices about how what you're good at aligns with how you spend your time and make money.
Send your questions: Email or voicenote to pod@thecareerequation.com
Links: 
Career Conversations Guide: https://www.thecareerequation.com/career-conversations-guide 
Book an intro call: https://www.thecareerequation.com/book-intro-call 
Erica on LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/ericasosna 
Zoë on LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/zoeschofieldcoach

If You Don't Talk About Careers, Don't Be Surprised When People Leave

If You Don't Talk About Careers, Don't Be Surprised When People Leave
Your best people don't usually leave loudly. They leave quietly, gradually, and long before that resignation hits your inbox.
In this first episode of our new series, we're looking at why organisations lose talent, what's really happening beneath those 'surprise' resignations, and why the solutions most companies are trying might not be working.
What we cover:
The real problem isn't money or titles. People don't know what's reasonable to ask, where they could go next, or how to have career conversations inside their organisation. So they have it outside instead - with recruiters and competitors.
The warning signs: capable employees withdrawing from meetings, high performers who've lost their spark, managers who assume silence means satisfaction. In busy environments without a methodology for staying close, these cues are easy to miss.
The costs go beyond recruitment fees. Eroded team morale, vanished institutional knowledge, development investment walking out the door, sometimes clients following them. The whole team carries extra workload whilst you're trying to hire under pressure.
Most organisations are already trying things: engagement surveys, learning platforms, wellbeing initiatives, development days. HR are doing their best but working off raw data rather than real dialogue. The data shows 50-60% of people leave because of career development, yet there's a mismatch between effort and results.
Here's the thing: an engagement survey won't tell you what someone's afraid of about their career. A learning platform won't reveal real ambition. A wellbeing budget won't solve lack of meaning at work.
The missing piece is proper career conversations - structured, regular dialogue that helps people understand their strengths, map their options, and see a future with you. People don't know when to talk about careers with managers. Managers don't feel equipped to have these conversations. Without that, the conversation happens elsewhere.
We share examples: someone shut down when discussing a raise after doing two jobs for years. A senior person with a toxic manager dynamic raised to the board with no action. A client in her dream role who couldn't navigate the environment. Career discussions aren't just about progression - they're about meaningful dialogue on aspirations, challenges, and support.
Often people leave reluctantly. They'd have preferred to speak their mind. They lose the network and community they've built.
The solution: start proper career conversations. Keep them going. Open dialogue from curiosity rather than shutting it down from worry.
We talk about Dassault Systèmes - after five years they've seen three-fold increase in internal mobility at senior level and massive reduction in early career attrition. The equation becomes their career language. Simple enough you can't unknow it.
Coming up: what career conversations actually look like, lived examples, why structure matters, and stories from clients about good and bad career conversations.
Links:
Career Conversations Guide: https://www.thecareerequation.com/career-conversations-guide
Book an intro call: https://www.thecareerequation.com/book-intro-call
Erica on LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/ericasosna
Zoë on LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/zoeschofieldcoach

The Career Equation Season 2: Career Conversations That Actually Work

The Career Equation: Series Two Launch
Erica Sosna and Zoë Schofield are back with something new, a series that goes right to the heart of career conversations that actually work.
Let's be honest: most organisations say careers matter, but meaningful career conversations? Much rarer. Series two focuses on the conversation itself. How you move beyond vague chats and tick-box frameworks and use the Career Equation approach to uncover what truly matter: skills, motivations, impact, ideal environment.
You'll hear real-world case studies from organisations that have embedded this work and what changed when they did. Plus there's a weekly Q&A tackling the real challenges you're dealing with right now.
If you work in HR, coaching, or you're a business leader where careers matter, this series is for you.
Follow or subscribe. First episode coming soon.
Visit www.thecareerequation.com for more information.
And send us your career conversation questions to pod@thecareerequation.com

The Career Equation Next Steps: Season 1 Finale

As Series 1 wraps up, Erica and Zoë reflect on the evolution of The Career Equation and how the idea of “fit squared” has become a defining theme. They explore how the right environment can multiply talent, motivation, and impact — and why so many organisations still overlook it.
 
They also share what’s next for The Career Equation in 2026, with new episode formats, short practical sessions for leaders and coaches, and a renewed focus on real stories from the workplace.
 
Listeners can share their thoughts or send career dilemmas to pod@thecareerequation.com
 
This episode closes the year with insight, clarity, and a challenge to think differently about what helps people truly thrive at work.
 
In this conversation:
 
• What “fit squared” means in practice
• Why environment can make or break performance
• How great career conversations actually start
• What’s ahead for The Career Equation in 2026
 
Learn more:
Erica Sosna on LinkedIn
Zoë Schofield on LinkedIn
Visit thecareerequation.com
Subscribe to Erica’s Substack, Fireweed: ericasosna.substack.com

Your Career is a Hero’s Journey, with Erica Sosna and Zoë Schofield

Every great story follows a journey, and so does every fulfilling career.
 
In this episode, Erica and Zoë bring Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey framework into the world of work, showing how the same narrative pattern that drives epic adventures can also illuminate your own career path.
 
They trace each stage of the journey, from the initial call to change, through resistance, commitment, challenge, and return, revealing how it maps perfectly onto the twists and turns of modern working life. Along the way, they share examples from their coaching practice, including how leaders and returners alike can use this map to find direction, resilience, and meaning.
 
Erica reflects on her own experiences with recovery, reinvention, and redefining success after setback, while Zoë shares insights from navigating redundancy and creative renewal. Together they show that even when the road gets dark, you’re not lost, you’re simply in the middle of the story.
 
Whether you’re stepping into something new, facing uncertainty, or helping others through change, this episode is a reminder that your career isn’t just a sequence of jobs, it’s your own evolving adventure.
 
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In this conversation:
 
• Understanding the Hero’s Journey and how it applies to careers
• Recognising where you are on your personal map of change
• Moving from resistance to commitment when it’s time to grow
• Building confidence through the challenges and “belly of the whale” moments
• Using the Career Equation to guide your choices and next steps
• What personal and organisational change look like through a story lens
• Why reflection and celebration are essential parts of the return
 
Learn more:
 
Erica Sosna on LinkedIn
Zoë Schofield on LinkedIn
Visit thecareerequation.com

Back to Work, but Not Back to You? Reclaiming Confidence After a Career Break so You Can Bounce Back Stronger — Part 2: How to Use the Career Equation to Facilitate a Good Return to Work Discussion

Coming back to work after time away, whether for parenting, illness, or a life change, is a big transition. You’re not the same person you were before, and that’s the point. In this follow-up to Return & Thrive (Part One), Erica and Zoë move from mindset into action, exploring how to design your next chapter using the Career Equation framework.
 
They unpack the four elements: skills, passion, impact, and environment - and show how they can help you rebuild confidence, set new boundaries, and shape a working life that feels sustainable and energising. Erica shares her own story of returning too soon after a spinal injury, and the lessons it taught her about pacing, permission, and redefining success. Zoë reflects on her own pivot after maternity leave and the importance of using that pause to realign, not retreat.
 
You’ll hear practical, compassionate advice for anyone navigating a return, and insight for organisations on how to create supportive, flexible pathways for returners.
 
This is a conversation about change, courage, and coming back stronger, not by fitting into who you were, but by designing who you want to be next.
 
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In this conversation:
• How to design your next career chapter with intention
• Using the Career Equation to find clarity after time away
• The power of pausing before rushing back to work
• Erica’s personal story of returning too early after injury
• How career breaks can sharpen values and reveal new strengths
• Rebuilding confidence and self-belief after a break
• Setting healthy boundaries and redefining what ‘success’ means now
• How organisations can better support and retain returners
 
Learn more:
 
Erica Sosna on LinkedIn
Zoë Schofield on LinkedIn
Visit thecareerequation.com

Back to Work, but Not Back to You? Reclaiming Confidence After Time Away or a Career Break so You Can Bounce Back Stronger — Part 1: Why Returning Can Be Daunting and What to Do About It

Taking time away from work, whether for parenting, caring, redundancy, illness, or reflection, changes you. Coming back can stir up doubts: Am I still relevant? Will employers judge the gap? How do I explain it on my CV?
 
In this episode, Erica and Zoë reframe the experience of a career break. Rather than seeing it as a liability, they explore how it can sharpen your values, grow new skills, and even open the door to a midlife career restart. You’ll learn how to rebuild confidence after time off, recognise the fears that hold returners back, and discover strategies to make your comeback a chapter of growth.
 
With candid stories from clients and years of coaching insight, this conversation offers both reassurance and practical return to work support. Whether you’re restarting your career at 40 or 50, navigating imposter syndrome after a break, or simply wondering how to explain a career gap on your CV, you’ll come away with clarity and confidence.
 
For HR leaders and managers, this episode also highlights why supporting returnship programs and flexible careers after parenting isn’t just good practice — it’s a powerful way to unlock fresh talent and create inspiring role models.
 
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In this conversation:
 
• Why returning to work after a break can feel daunting
• The hidden skills you gain during time away
• How to reframe a career gap with pride and confidence
• Common fears returners face, and how to challenge them
• Career relaunch strategies to ease your transition
• Practical career comeback tips and low-risk ways to restart
• How to get back to work after a career gap without losing momentum
• The role of HR support, returnship programs, and flexible career paths
 
Learn more:
 
Erica Sosna on LinkedIn
Zoë Schofield on LinkedIn
Visit thecareerequation.com

Mentoring Over Managing: Designing Career Paths for Expert Contributors — with Ben Hart

Sometimes the most profound career conversations happen with old colleagues. Today, Zoë welcomes Ben Hart, someone she worked with years ago in local government who's since become a healthcare transformation consultant working with NHS trusts and independent hospitals across the country.
Ben's got an unusual background: he's led mountaineering expeditions in South America, guided groups canoeing down the Amazon, and somehow those experiences of moving people from where they are to where they want to be translated perfectly into healthcare transformation. His personal motto might sound a bit Disney, but it's surprisingly effective: "be nice, do good, and have fun."
The conversation includes about a challenge many senior professionals face. Ben's moved away from people leadership into individual contributor work, and he's wondering whether it's time to go back. He's brilliant at what he does (his team completely overhauled patient pathways and now treat over 1,200 additional patients per year), but something's missing. It's that classic tension between expertise and leadership, and how to know when you're ready to take on people again without burning out.
What makes this episode special is watching someone work through their Career Equation in real time, working out how to balance family life with the pull of meaningful work that genuinely saves lives.
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In this conversation:
Why moving from people leadership to individual contributor isn't always forward momentum
How natural storytelling abilities become superpowers in healthcare transformation
The reality of working in heavily regulated industries where change takes time
Creating mentoring relationships without formal authority structures
Why "leaving the shirt in a better place" drives everything Ben does
How to protect yourself when working on issues you care deeply about
The difference between analysing failure and celebrating success (and why we're rubbish at the latter)
Practical strategies for scaling impact through collaborative partnerships
When nostalgia for previous roles signals something important about your next move
 
Find out more:
• Ben Hart on Linkedin
• Zoë Schofield on LinkedIn 
• More at thecareerequation.com
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#IndividualContributorVsPeopleManager #HealthcareLeadershipDevelopment #NHSLeadershipDevelopment #TalentDevelopmentInPrivateHealthcare #MentoringInHealthcare #AlternativeLeadershipPaths #RetainingSeniorHealthcareTalent #CareerPathsForHealthcareProfessionals #HealthcareSuccessionPlanning #MentoringCultureInHealthcare #EngagingHighPerformersInHealthcare

Ep 6 – Struggling to Stay Motivated? This Is How You Keep Going

If you’re ready to keep the momentum going after finding career clarity, this episode is for you.
 
In episode six of the Career Clarity Mini Series, career coaches Erica Sosna and Zoë Schofield explore how to stay motivated and keep taking action once you’ve defined your Career Design Statement. If you’ve ever wondered how to get clear on my career, or how to figure out my next career step, this conversation gives you simple, practical tools to move forward.
 
You’ll learn why fear, everyday life, and working in isolation can drain your energy — and how to reframe them so they don’t hold you back. Erica and Zoë share fast career clarity tips, from scheduling a regular ‘career power hour,’ to using easy career coaching tools, to starting conversations that build accountability and momentum.
 
To access the workbook or book a 121 visit www.thecareerequation.com/clarity
 
This episode will help you:
 
Recognise fear and shrink it into manageable steps
Protect space for your career by scheduling regular focus time
Build momentum with short-term, achievable milestones
Share your Career Design Statement with others to avoid isolation
Use career coaching tools to set goals that are specific and trackable
 
By the end of the episode, you’ll know how to keep your clarity alive, set career goals that stick, and use the Career Equation® as a simple career formula to create lasting change.
 
Book your 1:1 Career Clarity Session here: thecareerequation.com/clarity
 
Try the free Career Equation® Builder: thecareerequation.com/tools-resources
 
 
Learn more:
 
Erica Sosna on LinkedIn
Zoë Schofield on LinkedIn
Visit thecareerequation.com
 

Ep 5 – Set a Career Goal You’ll Actually Stick To (Here’s How)

If you’re ready to move from career clarity into action, this episode is for you.
 
In episode five of the Career Clarity Mini Series, career experts Erica Sosna and Zoë Schofield guide you through how to set the right kind of career goal, one that actually matches your context, energy, and values right now.
 
You’ll discover three different types of career goals: progress, development, and learning, and how to choose the one that best supports your Career Design Statement. By the end of the episode, you’ll know how to set a goal that’s achievable, motivating, and aligned with where you want to grow next.
 
To access the workbook or book a 121 visit www.thecareerequation.com/clarity
 
This episode will help you:
Understand the three kinds of career goals (progress, development, learning)
Match your goal to your Career Design Statement
Avoid overthinking and get into action quickly
Use smart criteria to make your goals specific and trackable
Build momentum with short-term, achievable milestones
 
By the end of the episode, you’ll have a clear, practical goal in place to move your career forward.
 
Book your 1:1 Career Clarity Session here: thecareerequation.com/clarity
 
Try the free Career Equation® Builder: thecareerequation.com/tools-resources
 
Learn more:
Erica Sosna on LinkedIn
Zoë Schofield on LinkedIn
Visit thecareerequation.com