The Technology Disrupting Your Industry Might Help You Define Your Next Act

Hi. Welcome to Bloom Anywhere. I'm Gwen Moran, a writer, editor, author, and problem-solver. My goal is to share information, ideas, and resources to help you overcome obstacles, reach your goals, and get more joy out of life, even when things are messy. Thanks for joining me. (If you got this from a friend, subscribe here: Bloom Anywhere.) I'd love your feedback and suggestions for future topics. Please send me an email: connect@bloomanywhere.com.

Maybe you’ve been climbing your own career ladder for years and decades. Or maybe you’ve had a big life change like a layoff or children leaving home, and you’re looking for something new in your career. Perhaps you’re burned out or simply desire more meaningful work.

Whatever the catalyst, the result is the same: the need for something new. But what?

It’s a question many of my colleagues are asking as the media world—and so many other industries—react to the perfect storm of technology advances and economic uncertainty. Once-thriving careers are now uncertain. And many don’t know what else they could do. It’s a tough question to answer. And since I’m often the go-to person when folks in my orbit want to talk about changing some part of their lives, I decided to give it some thought and time.

Mapping the Route to What's Next

I’ve written​about​career​transitions many times in the past, but recent conversations got me wondering about the tools that people could use to help map out a next act. And could the very technology that is disrupting so many jobs in different areas help people figure out what they could do next? I decided to do some research to find out. I discovered a few tools that won’t give you all of the answers, but they’ll give you some hints about where you might start looking.

​The O*Net Interest Profiler: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration developed this free online career exploration tool. It’s not AI-driven, but quiz-based and designed to help you discover your work-related interests and connect you with potential career ideas by assessing your preferences for various work activities. One tip in taking the assessment: Don’t think about whether you’re qualified to develop a new medicine or install cabinetry. Rather, let your mind wander and consider whether you’d like to do those things.

​Google’s Career Dreamer: This AI-powered tool is designed to help you explore potential career paths based on skills and interests, Career Dreamer uses an intuitive interface to guide you through questions about your experience, goals, and preferences. Then, Career Dreamer offers career suggestions, highlighting roles users might not have considered, along with relevant skills and potential upskilling options.

​Career Explorer Career Test: This robust, data-driven career assessment platform helps you discover career paths aligned with your personality, interests, and values. The comprehensive quiz takes about 20–30 minutes to complete and measures traits like openness, conscientiousness, and work preferences. Based on your responses, it generates a ranked list of potential careers with in-depth descriptions, salary data, required education, and day-to-day responsibilities. CareerExplorer is especially helpful for people considering a major shift or starting from scratch, as it blends self-reflection with practical labor market insights.

You could also use general tools like ChatGPT or Perplexity to offer general suggestions on career transitions. However, I always advise being cautious about the personal information you share with gen AI tools.

What Tools Do You Use?

Are you thinking about a career shift or a next act? Have you found helpful tools? Please share them with me at connect@bloomanywhere.com. I’d love to share them with our community.

Bloom Drops

Things I want to share with you.

Reverse engineering: What if the bot could look at your resume and map out some suggestions based on what’s there? That’s what Jobscan's career change tool does. Upload your resume and a few job titles that interest you. The app will suggest skills gaps so you can identify areas for reskilling, or more experience, or education to help you get there.

Interviewing: Google also offers an interview warm-up tool to help you prepare for interviews, anticipate questions, and feel more comfortable with the process.