Latest / Career Coaching with Fexingo: Professional Coaches, Career Counselors, and Guidance for Workers / How a Career Assumption Map Reveals Hidden Blind Spots
Transcript
- Lucas: We all carry around a set of beliefs about our careers that we've never actually put on paper. Things like 'changing jobs every two years looks bad on a resume,' or 'I need to be in the office to get promoted.' And those beliefs quietly steer our decisions — sometimes in directions we don't actually want to go. Luna: So these are assumptions we treat as facts without ever testing them. Lucas: Exactly. And today I want to introduce something I call the Career Assumption Map. It's a simple exercise: you write down the beliefs you're operating on, then you stress-test each one. The goal is to see which assumptions are helping you and which are quietly boxing you in. Luna: If we've helped you think through a career move or decision, and you want to keep this show ad-free and independent, you can support us at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It's a small way to keep these conversations going. Lucas: Yeah, and we really appreciate it. So back to the map — I'll use my own career as an example. For years, I operated on the assumption that a promotion always means more responsibility and more pay, and that's the path to success. But when I actually mapped it, I realized my real need was autonomy, not hierarchy. I was chasing titles I didn't even want. Luna: That's interesting because a lot of people assume more responsibility equals more fulfillment. But the data from a 2023 McKinsey survey showed that only 38% of employees who got promoted felt more engaged afterward. Lucas: Right, so the assumption didn't hold up. The first step in the map is to just list out the beliefs you hold about your career. Write them down as statements. 'I need a five-year plan.' 'My industry rewards loyalty.' 'I should never say no to a new project.' Luna: Do you recommend a specific number? Like five? Ten? Lucas: I'd say start with five to seven — the ones that come to mind first. Those are usually the most powerful because they're so ingrained you don't even question them. Luna: Step two is stress-testing each one. So for my own example, I had an assumption that remote work is always better for productivity. But after a year, I noticed my creativity was dipping. The evidence contradicted that belief. Lucas: That's a great example. The stress test involves asking three questions per assumption: What evidence supports this? What evidence contradicts it? And what would I do if the opposite were true? Luna: I love that last question because it forces you to imagine an alternative path. Lucas: Exactly. And that leads to step three: redesign your strategy based on what you find. When I realized my assumption about promotions was wrong, I stopped pursuing management roles and started looking for senior individual contributor positions with more autonomy. It changed my entire career trajectory. Luna: I want to bring in a listener example. A listener named Priya wrote in saying she assumed her industry — marketing — valued generalists over specialists. So she avoided diving deep into any one area. But when she mapped it, she found that her company's top performers were all specialists in paid search or SEO. Lucas: So her assumption was steering her toward being a jack-of-all-trades when the market actually rewarded depth. That's exactly the kind of blind spot the map reveals. Luna: She switched to focusing on paid search, and within a year she got a promotion and a 20% raise. Lucas: That's the power of this exercise. And it doesn't have to be a huge time commitment. You can do the whole map in 30 minutes. The hard part is being honest with yourself. Luna: What's a common assumption you see people making? Lucas: One big one is 'my boss will notice if I do good work.' That's a dangerous assumption because in most organizations, visibility requires active communication, not just output. Another is 'I should stay at my current job at least two years.' That rule is completely arbitrary for many industries now. Luna: I think the two-year rule is a relic of the 1990s. The average tenure in tech is around 1.5 years now. Lucas: Exactly. And that assumption can keep people in roles that are stagnating their growth. So I'd encourage everyone listening to pick one assumption this week, write it down, and run it through the three questions. Then share what you find on social with the hashtag CareerAssumptionMap. Luna: I'll do it too. I think my assumption might be 'I need to be an expert before I speak up in meetings.' That one's probably holding me back. Lucas: That's a great one. And I bet when you test it, you'll find that people value your perspective even when you're still learning. That's often the case. Luna: Alright, challenge accepted. And for our listeners, if you try it, let us know how it goes. We might feature your story in a future episode. Lucas: Thanks for listening, and we'll talk to you next time.