What's next
Walk the roles next to yours
A quick exercise to look at the steps up and sideways from your job, and find one you'd be excited to do
On Truest's role page for your job, read the related roles, and ask which you'd be excited to do and what it would need that you don't have yet.
- About 20 minutes
- Just you
- Once a year
- Go find it
Why this can work
Plenty of people know the obvious next title and little else about where their job could lead. Looking at the roles around yours, both up and sideways, often turns up one you hadn't considered. Naming the gap between you and it turns curiosity into something you can start on.
Read moreHow to find your next career step
You’ll come away with one role you'd be excited to do and one gap between you and it.
- Find the role page for your job on truest.me.
Look up your job, or the closest match. If your title is unusual, pick the role that best describes what you actually spend your time on.
- Read the related roles, up and sideways.
Look at both the steps up and the sideways moves. Sideways is where the surprises often are: a role that uses what you're good at in a way you hadn't pictured.
- Ask one question of each.
Would I be excited to do this? Not would I be good at it, or would it impress people. Excited. Move past any that get a quick no.
- Write down one role and one gap.
The role that got the clearest yes, and the one thing it would need that you don't have yet: a skill, an experience, a relationship. One line each.
Tip: If none of them excited you, write that down. It's a real answer, and it may mean the next move isn't a nearby role.
Good times to repeat it: once a yearwhen your job starts to feel smallbefore a career conversation with your manager
Making it work for you
Every workplace is different. Here’s what to think about before you start, and what might get in the way.
Things to think about
If they share a thread, like more time with customers, that thread may matter more than any one title.
What might make this harder
Pick the role that describes what you actually spend your time on, or read two close ones.
Questions people ask
What jobs can I move into from my current role?
Look at the steps up and the sideways moves from your job, and ask which you'd be excited to do. Sideways moves are often where the surprises are.
Is a lateral move bad for my career?
Often not. A sideways move can build range and keep more of the work you enjoy, and it can make a later step up easier.
How do I figure out my next career step?
Pick the nearby roles you'd be excited to do, then name one gap between you and the best of them. That gap is where your next few months of growth can go.
Why this works, and where it comes from
Ask most people what's next for them and they'll name one path: the next title up. It's the path everyone can see. But most jobs sit in a web of related roles, and the one that fits you best may be a step sideways, into work that uses what you're good at in a different setting. You can't be excited about a role you've never looked at.
The question to hold is excitement, not ability. People tend to scan career options for what they could plausibly get, which quietly filters out the interesting ones. Asking which you'd be excited to do reverses that. Then the gap does the practical work: it takes a role you like and turns it into one thing to start on.
It helps to have thought about what you love in your current job, what you'd happily lose, and what you wish were part of it. Reading the roles around yours is where that meets real jobs. The roles that excite you tend to be the ones with more of what you love and less of what you don't.
Skip this if you're sure you want out of your field entirely; nearby roles will mostly look like more of the same, and reading about other industries will tell you more. And if your worry right now is keeping the job you have, settle that first. Looking around is best done from steady ground.
Other simple things to consider
What to do next
More in What's next
Know what you actually want
Do it with Truest and it goes on your permanent record, in a Career Vault your employer doesn’t own.
See how Truest worksAlready a member? Log in- The longer sessionCareer Compass is the guided session for working out what you want next.
- A reminder beforePut it on your calendar and Truest reminds you before it starts.
- On your recordWhen it's done, it goes on your record with your priorities and progress.
Read this alongside your role page
Tell Truest what you’re dealing with
We read every one, and we write guides for the things that come up most. Leave your email if you’d like to hear when we do.
An exercise written by Truest, based on our experience. Last updated September 25, 2026. We sell a career membership; where that’s relevant above, we say so.