Career Advice for Widows:
​Create a Career You Love After Loss

by Markell R. Morris, Futures in Motion, Inc.

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​The biggest challenge my widowed clients face is not knowing what to do next, where to get support and how to move forward.

 
​After losing your most significant relationship, you felt overwhelming sorrow and emotional pain. Grief affects so many areas of your life that you might also have been dealing with financial challenges, managing the household alone, changes in other relationships, parenting, or physical ailments. The last thing you had energy for was figuring out your next career move.

Overtime, the pain lessens yet like many widows you feel weighed down by fear and uncertainty that keeps you from wholeheartedly pursuing your hopes and dreams. The weight of grief sometimes makes it hard to muster the energy to get out of bed and put forth even minimal effort to exist. Focused on survival, you have little energy to put into fulfilling a greater life purpose.

Then, at some point on the journey, a switch clicks on, and you decide you want to fully live again.

You may have felt compelled to make the most of the precious moments left of your life and honor your spouse by living your best life. (read about my journey here)

Yet fear looms nearby, ever present. You have dreams for yourself and children, but you’re afraid to pursue your best life for fear that it will be taken away. You may feel insecure about having valuable knowledge, skills and abilities that anyone would pay for. You may feel that pursuing a meaningful career is a luxury when you’re simply trying to keep the household from collapsing.

If you can relate, you are not alone.

I’ve been there, too, and am here to guide and support you in reclaiming a sense of purpose, so you move from surviving to thriving.

While it can be hard to regain a sense of purpose and meaning, it's possible. You get to define who you want to be now and how you want to experience life moving forward. A career vision allows you to imagine a satisfying future that incorporates who you want to be, what you want to do, and what you want to accomplish. You brainstorm about your purpose, goals and aspirations, so that you can define elements of your ideal career and determine your career goals.

​I outline a career design framework in my guide, Create a Career You Love: 5 Steps to Define Your Next Career Move.  It's a roadmap with strategies and actions you can easily take to figure out what direction to take next. The first step is creating a career and life vision. 

Here’s the process I walk through with my clients to create a career and life vision.

STEP ONE: Set aside a block of time or small blocks of time away from distractions. You may choose to do this all at once or over a period of time.  How you allocate time to this activity doesn’t matter. Just write! 

STEP TWO: Describe who or what you want to be- write about how you feel every day, your purpose, your mission, your strongest personal and professional attributes, the kind of person and professional you want to be. Write them as if you are already that person. (Examples- “I am courageous” “ I am smart”). Include as much detail as you can.

STEP THREE: Describe what you want to do- write about anything related to the personal or professional interests. This could include anything from traveling, learning a new skill, starting a business, taking on a challenging project, teaching others something you’re passionate about. (Examples- “ I travel for fun and business.” “I create programs that guide and support people in career transition.” “I teach people how to stretch a limited budget.” Don’t limit yourself and be as descriptive as possible.

STEP FOUR: Describe what you want to have- write about what you desire to have. This can include anything from a certain type of house, a dream vacation, family, relationships. (Examples- “I have a career that is fun and meaningful.” “I have the time and finances to travel when and where I want to.” “I have fun, loving and supportive relationships.” Dream big- don’t hold back!

STEP FIVE: Review your notes and write about any themes you noticed. What goals would you like to pursue? What support do you need to take the next step?

I suggest committing to at least 5-7 days of writing whatever comes to mind about what you want to be, do and have.

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I use this process to help my clients imagine possibilities and build confidence. By following the steps you can overcome the challenge of not knowing what to do next, where to get support and how to move forward.​

YOUR ACTION STEP: Define your Career and Life Vision.​​​

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Are you ready to move beyond surviving to thriving in a career that is personally satisfying and positively impacts the lives of others?

Enroll in Career Visioning 101 (groups forming now) for help defining your career vision.

​Get my free guide, Create a Career You Love : 5 Steps to Define Your Next Career Move for more tips on pursuing a meaningful career after loss.

Get career coaching to design a career you love. Start with the Career Strategy Consultation to learn more.
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Career Visioning 101
​A guided career exploration program for career changers who are spinning in circles trying to figure out what direction to take. This program gives you a focused way to create your career vision by using daily prompts with a journal to capture your ideas. ENROLL IN THE NEXT GROUP

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​Markell R. Morris is an international speaker, career counselor and job search coach based in Long Beach, CA. Her mission is to help frustrated career changers get excited about their life and career after loss and personal challenges. She has created career programs and resources that help her clients gain a sense of direction and hope, so they can go after their goals with confidence. Download her free ebook, Create a Career You Love, for career advice to discover your meaningful career path. ​

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