Forget the Five-Year Plan: How to Truly Succeed in Your Career

Are you feeling trapped by long-term career plans that don’t resonate with you anymore? Ditch the conventional wisdom of a five-year plan and discover a more fulfilling approach to career success.

Ever been stumped when someone asks, “Where do you want to be in 5 years?” Yep, me too. We’re all used to being grilled about our future roles, long-term goals, and what ‘success’ means to us in job interviews. If you’re a designer like me, fretting over your career choices, let’s pause for a moment. After a decade in the industry, I’ve decided that I’m ditching the traditional career-planning model as I step into the next chapter of my life. Here’s why you might want to as well.

You can plan yourself into a corner

If you don’t plan, you plan to fail. That’s what we’re told. But what if this isn’t always true?

Recently, I’ve had conversations with mentees who have been panicked and stressed about what to do next. Either they don’t know whether to pivot careers or whether to carry on and push through. There’s been a few who have had two job offers yet they just don’t know which one to pick because they’re conflicted about how both would impact their long-term goal.

Instead of plotting out your life like a chess game, trying to pick the right thing learn to adapt and improvise; it’s more like jazz than you think.

Stop focusing on the path others have taken

So often I hear people say, “Am I doing the right thing? What would you do? What was your career path like?”

Everyone is different; our previous experiences, education, and network all differ. What was right for me does not mean it will be right for you. If you’re dead set on copying someone else’s career, you’re most likely not going to enjoy it as much. And you’ll probably still have a different outcome to them.

Instead blaze your own trail; imitating someone else’s path might lead you to someone else’s destination, but not one that is truly yours.

How you feel trumps how your CV looks

What’s the priority — a prestigious brand name on your CV or daily job satisfaction?

It may seem obvious, but many folks are so focused on looking good on paper that they forget to ask themselves if they even enjoy what they’re doing. Your career is a long game, people. Don’t you want to look back without regrets?

When you shift your focus from impressing other designers or recruiters to finding what lights you up, incredible doors start to open. Passion, joy and happiness are incredibly infectious.

Stop obsessing over the ‘perfect’ five-year plan. Instead, lean into what sparks joy and excitement in your daily work life.

That’s what I’m doing now — chasing roles that genuinely excite me rather than fussing about brand names or prestige. I measure success by the quality of my day-to-day experiences. If I can close my laptop each evening and feel content, then that’s the career plan that works for me. And maybe, just maybe, it could work for you too.

Have you struggled with the 5 year plan? Or are you someone who goes with the flow? Let me know!

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