Are you unsure what to do next in your career? You’re not alone. A recent Gallup poll revealed that employee engagement in the U.S. has sunk, with a significant number of workers feeling emotionally disconnected from their jobs. The good news is, you’re not stuck. You don’t have to quit your job tomorrow to make a change. There’s a smarter, lower-stakes way to figure out what’s next: career experimentation.
Career experimentation is exactly what it sounds like—testing your way forward through small, intentional moves. It’s not just for recent graduates or those looking for a dramatic career pivot. The rapid pace of new technological advancements requires a learning mindset to stay ahead. Experimenting is one of the best ways to remain adaptable, relevant, and energized in your work.
How to Experiment When You’re Unsure What To Do Next In Your Career
The beauty of experimentation is that it doesn’t require a dramatic pivot or a new resume. Maybe it starts with a conversation, a side project after work, or shadowing someone in a role you’re curious about. It’s about collecting real-world data on what excites you and using that insight to guide your next step.
According to Al Dea, Facilitator and Founder of The Edge of Work, a leadership and talent development consultancy, career experimentation has four key steps. Follow them (in order!), and you’ll build a roadmap to explore new directions, build new skills, and discover what truly energizes you—all without starting over from scratch.
Step 1: Form a Hypothesis
Remember the scientific method from grade school? Just like any good experiment, a career experiment starts with a hypothesis: a belief, assumption, or hunch you want to test. In career terms, that might sound like:
- “I’ve always enjoyed helping early-career colleagues. Maybe it’s time to explore a mentorship role or program at my company.”
- “Would going back to school for an MBA open doors to more competitive roles—or speed up advancement where I am?”
- “I’ve seen my fellow managers lead 1:1s around recent DEI cuts in our company. Could I get trained to have those conversations, too?”
Your hypothesis doesn’t need to be perfect or fully fleshed out. As Dea explains, it just needs to spark curiosity and connect to something that genuinely interests you—whether that’s a new skill, a potential pivot, or a way to expand your current role.
Step 2: Design the Test
Once you’ve got your hypothesis, it’s time to put it to the test. Not a pop quiz—just a practical way to hold yourself accountable and act on your hunch. Here are a few ways to get started:
- Set up curiosity conversations. These informal chats are more powerful than they sound. Reach out to someone whose work you admire. Ask about their day-to-day, how they got started, and what surprised them most. You’re not pitching yourself—you’re gathering intel.
- Expand your role at work. Look for small ways to stretch beyond your job description. If your hunch is that you’d thrive in project management, volunteer to organize your team’s next cross-functional effort. You’ll learn fast if it’s a good fit—and your boss will thank you.
- Pursue a side hustle. Even an hour a week on a freelance project or passion initiative can give you data. What energizes you? What feels like a slog to get through? If something lights you up after a full workday, pay attention.
- Shadow someone. Ask to spend a day (or even an hour) with someone doing work you’re curious about. It’s the closest thing to test-driving a career move—without the paperwork.
When designing your experiment, Dea says to keep it practical and achievable. “It’s about gathering real-world data to inform your decisions,” he explains. That means small steps, not giant leaps.
Step 3: Take Action
You’ve got a hypothesis. You’ve got a test. Now comes the part that separates the curious from the committed: action. As Dea puts it, a career experiment stays theoretical until you actually do something. That means setting a clear, short-term timeline—long enough to learn something useful, short enough to stay nimble if it’s not the right fit.
Some ways that might look:
- Block out time before or after work every day for a week to explore a side hustle.
- Schedule one curiosity conversation per week for a month.
- Set up a job shadow within the next two weeks.
“Commit to the process and be open to surprises—career experiments thrive on real-world feedback,” Dea says. The key here is consistency. Set a timeline, stick to it, and don’t overthink the outcome. The goal isn’t perfection—it’s progress. You might just uncover a new direction you never saw coming.
Step 4: Reflect on the Results
This is the most essential part of any career experiment. Testing without reflection is like baking a cake and never tasting it. Once your experiment wraps up, carve out time to evaluate what you learned—not just what happened, but how it felt. Ask yourself these questions:
- Did the experiment align with your strengths and interests?
- What surprised you, in a good or bad way?
- Do you want to keep going down this path or try something new?
Don’t just think through your answers—write them down. “Documenting your reflections helps clarify what’s next: continuing down the tested path, exploring a related area, or pivoting to a new hypothesis,” Dea explains.
Career experiments aren’t a one-time tool—they’re a mindset that can serve you at every stage, Dea explains. Even senior leaders might explore new directions by shadowing a teammate in a different department. A new grad might dip their toes into consulting through a freelance project or part-time role. Wherever you are in your career, the formula is the same: test, learn, adapt.
And with the working world evolving faster than ever, that adaptability is crucial. “The skills and roles we rely on today might look very different tomorrow,” Dea says. “Use uncertainty as fuel for growth.” There’s no perfect moment to begin—just a first step. Follow your curiosity. Try something new. And let the results shape what comes next.
Credit: Forbes.com
