The Career That Looks Scattered Is Telling You Something

"My career doesn't make sense, and I don't know what to do next."

I hear this a lot from the women I work with. And I think: good. We have a lot to work with.

The career that looks scattered is often the most interesting one. These women can't see that yet and nobody has helped them read it back to them.

My own career made no sense for a long time.

My first job was at a post office. I was 16. I delivered mail and pensions during summer holidays, physically, in cash, which is how it was done then. Someone in that office stole the money I was scheduled to deliver. My parents helped me cover it. I'm grateful for that lesson, even though I think it shaped my money mindset for a long time.

I had no career goals. My only goal was to live abroad. That one desire connected everything. And that was enough.

At 18, I went to London to work as an au pair, convinced I could get from there to Oxford University. It sounded so good to me. The problem was the actual work: changing nappies, singing to the kids, all that stuff. The experience ended up being a week's stay in the UK, which my dad totally anticipated. I didn't stay long enough to get to Oxford. I returned home, pretty ashamed but also feeling like, okay, you got your lesson, time to get serious.

What followed was a career across five countries, in international organizations and private sector companies: Secretary, Office Administrator, Senior Specialist, Team Lead, Manager, Director, Behavioural Health Coach, Life and Career Reinvention Coach.

When you are in the middle of a career like that, you don't always see where it's leading.

The Career That Wasn't Supposed to Make Sense

You see something, you go for it, you stay until something else calls. That's how I built mine. I had no idea where I was going. And I kept asking myself: what's next? Do I need to specialize like everyone around me seems to?

That question kept me up at night. I overanalyzed it to the point where my husband switched off whenever I brought it up. I tried to specialize several times. I trained as a massage therapist and loved it, until fear of failure showed up and I walked away. I read about someone completing a Master's degree in Pharmaceutical Medicine in The Economist and signed up, because why not. I completed it. Later, working in a privacy and compliance department, I added two professional certifications. Then moved on.

Sometimes I added new certifications and new experiences. Other times, I dropped some because they no longer served that immediate purpose.

What I now know is that I was never meant to specialize. I was meant to do it all, so I could help others make sense of theirs.

I didn't know then that the muddled-up career was becoming something important.

I had always thought of myself as a mentor and guide, informally, naturally. Then someone called me an old soul. Others said I had so much wisdom. And at some point, all of that connected. This is what it was always pointing to. That's how I became the Thread Finder, helping other women find the thread running through their own muddled-up careers.

What I See in the Women I Work With

I am in awe of these women. There is so much potential, so many strengths, so much talent that they simply cannot see in themselves. They arrive exhausted, certain they have tried everything, certain nothing is resonating. What they don't see yet is that everything they have done is already telling a story. They just haven't had anyone read it back to them.

They erase themselves before giving themselves a chance. "I could never build that business." "I can't become a yoga instructor, there are too many people doing it already." They want to be more palatable, more explainable. And so they adjust. And adjust. And in adjusting, they cut away exactly the parts that make them rare.

The Thread Was Always There

I think about my client Maria. When she described her career to me, she apologized. She thought there was something wrong with her. Art teacher, journalist, editor, PR professional, jewelry store owner, holistic therapist. She could write articles, edit books, run a business, handle the accounting, find new products for her store, speak publicly, build a loyal customer list. "You know what comes up for me?" I asked. "Versatility," I said. She had never once considered that it was a strength. She considered it a problem. I saw it as a thread that was always there. Imagine what she could create with all of that.

Another client, Kate, had left a large organization and couldn't stop thinking about the impact she had made there. Her career had taken her through modelling, real estate, non-profit work. But one thread kept returning: writing. A newsletter she kept starting. A book idea that wouldn't leave. When I reflected that back to her, tears came to her eyes. She had been receiving the signal for years. She just hadn't trusted it yet. After that, she got to work. Her book will be published soon.

What It Actually Costs to Keep Erasing Yourself

Your varied career makes sense. There is no reason to minimize it or apologize for it. When you believe your career is scattered, you spend energy overexplaining. You leave out the roles that don't fit the story you think you're supposed to tell. You try to make it look neater or more consistent. And by doing that, you erase the parts that make you interesting, unique, and entirely you.

I help women uncover that uniqueness and see the direction that was already there, but which they hadn't yet trusted. And when they do, it's not only that one thing that changes. Everything shifts. And it's irreversible.

The cost of erasing yourself is abandoning yourself. Telling yourself you have no value. Deciding you don't exist. And life is genuinely too short for that.

Your career is not scattered. It is telling you so much.

The question is: what is the thread running through your career that you haven't yet dared to name?

I work with women over 50 to find the thread running through their experience and turn it into one clear direction. If this is resonating, the first step is a 60-minute Clarity Session at createwithmarcela.com.