The Career Equation®: The Formula for Career Clarity

Erica Sosna & Zoë Schofield
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  • CAREERS
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The world’s best organisations know how to attract and keep the world’s best employees.  However, even those firms struggle with employee retention. Why? Because their employees can’t see their future there.  The problem with careers in great firms is that employees know what they want but don’t who to talk about it, and their organisations don’t know what they want and so don’t help them get it ( even though they want to!) The result? Great employees leave all too soon, missing out on all the exciting opportunities in their existing firm.  The tragedy is, this brain drain could be arrested with a simple, powerful career conversation that anyone can master.  Welcome to The Career Equation®, a practical formula for career conversations that helps organisations engage, retain and grow their talent.  Hear how firms like Microsoft, Amazon, and Capital One make use of the formula to enhance career conversations, reduce attrition and unlock internal mobility.  With anonymous Q&A on the juicy career questions talent are afraid to ask, real world case studies from learning professionals, and expert advice from over 20 years of careers consulting, we bring the Equation and all its benefits live and direct to your workplace.  If keeping great people is your biggest challenge, this podcast shows you how The Career Equation® can be the solution. For more information, to book your career conversation assessment or download our free guides on all things career, www.thecareerequation.com/contact

  1. When success isn’t enough and burnout looms: How to know when to jump and plan your next step

    13H AGO

    When success isn’t enough and burnout looms: How to know when to jump and plan your next step

    It's careers Q&A day where we give you some personal attention by answering your questions. Today's question comes from a listener in the media world: "I've climbed the ladder and I'm doing pretty well, but I feel really burned out. When is it time to jump and leave? And how do I make a plan to do that in a thoughtful and stable way?" What we cover: If you've reached a point where you're not functioning, your first priority is to take care of yourself. That might mean getting signed off before you make any big decisions. None of us do our best thinking when we're exhausted, and a rushed exit rarely leads to a good next step. If you're managing the burnout but can see the cliff face coming, consider making a measured plan: squirrel away what you can, plan a thoughtful exit, and give yourself at least three months to recover and reflect before deciding what's next. Plan from a place of rest, not depletion. Before you conclude it's time to leave entirely, get specific about what you've fallen out of love with. Is it the work itself? The people? A shift in the organisation's leadership or direction? Pinpointing the source helps you identify what's within your gift to change, and sometimes a conversation or a different type of project is enough to realign things. Most employers genuinely want their people to be well at work. If it feels safe to do so, wave the flag, support may be available that you don't yet know about. Use discernment, but don't assume the answer is silence. Send your questions: Email or voicenote to pod@thecareerequation.com Links: Career Conversations Guide: https://www.thecareerequation.com/career-conversations-guide Book an intro call: https://www.thecareerequation.com/book-intro-call Erica on LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/ericasosna Zoë on LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/zoeschofieldcoach

    5 min

  2. 3D AGO

    Listen to a Real Career Conversation (And Steal Our Method)

    How to Have Real Career Conversations Using the Career Equation Most managers think a career conversation is about rebuffing awkward questions and requests for more money. It's so much more than that, and in this episode, we share the exact agenda our clients like Microsoft use to run conversations that grow performance, mobility, and retention. What we cover: The Career Equation in brief. Four components: skills and strengths, passions and interests, impact and legacy, and environmental fit. Simple enough that once you've heard it, you can't unknow it, and structured enough to replace vague "what do you want to do next?" conversations with something that actually goes somewhere. Why the model was built. After 22 years of career coaching across industries, the same problem kept coming up: too much choice is paralysing. The equation narrows the frame to four buckets, the maximum most brains can hold, so that both parties can think clearly and honestly. The three outputs that make career conversations trackable. A career design statement, a career goal, and a career plan. These tell you something actually happened, unlike ticking a box that says a meeting took place. The agenda itself. Set the purpose, explore their story, map their equation, identify a goal, design an action plan, agree next steps. You don't have to do it all in one session. We then run a live practice session, with Erica in the hot seat, so you can see exactly how the conversation flows, how goals get sharpened from woolly to specific, and how the planning phase helps people visualise success before working backwards to their very first action. Links: Career Conversations Guide: https://www.thecareerequation.com/career-conversations-guide Free Equation Builder: https://www.thecareerequation.com Book an intro call: https://www.thecareerequation.com/book-intro-call Erica on LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/ericasosna Zoë on LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/zoeschofieldcoach

    42 min
  3. When Your Next Role Isn’t Clear Yet: Applying the Career Equation to Emerging Careers

    FEB 19

    When Your Next Role Isn’t Clear Yet: Applying the Career Equation to Emerging Careers

    When Your Next Role Isn't Clear Yet: Applying the Career Equation to Emerging Careers It's careers Q&A day where we give you some personal attention by answering your questions. Today's question comes from Nina: "How can you use the Career Equation for roles in the future that are not yet set in stone, they're still evolving?" What we cover: Sometimes you feel stuck because you've been a specialist - "I've only done this, where else could I be useful?" Other times there are too many choices and the decision making feels overwhelming. Either way, doing nothing is still a choice. Your backstory is full of information you're probably overlooking. When have you loved stuff in the past? What have you been drawn to? When did you learn a skill you've not used for ages? Take time to harvest these insights from your story so far. Stop trying to find the name of the perfect job - there are so many titles now it won't help. Instead, think about what kind of experiences you want next. Is it a simple flip? Indoors to outdoors? Screen time to people time? Regulated environment to something more free-flowing? Or something completely different - more impact, being part of a cohesive team, using particular skills? These experiences become your anchor points. When you've got clarity, it's easy to take action. Careers are a series of choices about how what you're good at aligns with how you spend your time and make money. Send your questions: Email or voicenote to pod@thecareerequation.com Links:  Career Conversations Guide: https://www.thecareerequation.com/career-conversations-guide  Book an intro call: https://www.thecareerequation.com/book-intro-call  Erica on LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/ericasosna  Zoë on LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/zoeschofieldcoach

    5 min

  4. FEB 16

    If You Don't Talk About Careers, Don't Be Surprised When People Leave

    If You Don't Talk About Careers, Don't Be Surprised When People Leave Your best people don't usually leave loudly. They leave quietly, gradually, and long before that resignation hits your inbox. In this first episode of our new series, we're looking at why organisations lose talent, what's really happening beneath those 'surprise' resignations, and why the solutions most companies are trying might not be working. What we cover: The real problem isn't money or titles. People don't know what's reasonable to ask, where they could go next, or how to have career conversations inside their organisation. So they have it outside instead - with recruiters and competitors. The warning signs: capable employees withdrawing from meetings, high performers who've lost their spark, managers who assume silence means satisfaction. In busy environments without a methodology for staying close, these cues are easy to miss. The costs go beyond recruitment fees. Eroded team morale, vanished institutional knowledge, development investment walking out the door, sometimes clients following them. The whole team carries extra workload whilst you're trying to hire under pressure. Most organisations are already trying things: engagement surveys, learning platforms, wellbeing initiatives, development days. HR are doing their best but working off raw data rather than real dialogue. The data shows 50-60% of people leave because of career development, yet there's a mismatch between effort and results. Here's the thing: an engagement survey won't tell you what someone's afraid of about their career. A learning platform won't reveal real ambition. A wellbeing budget won't solve lack of meaning at work. The missing piece is proper career conversations - structured, regular dialogue that helps people understand their strengths, map their options, and see a future with you. People don't know when to talk about careers with managers. Managers don't feel equipped to have these conversations. Without that, the conversation happens elsewhere. We share examples: someone shut down when discussing a raise after doing two jobs for years. A senior person with a toxic manager dynamic raised to the board with no action. A client in her dream role who couldn't navigate the environment. Career discussions aren't just about progression - they're about meaningful dialogue on aspirations, challenges, and support. Often people leave reluctantly. They'd have preferred to speak their mind. They lose the network and community they've built. The solution: start proper career conversations. Keep them going. Open dialogue from curiosity rather than shutting it down from worry. We talk about Dassault Systèmes - after five years they've seen three-fold increase in internal mobility at senior level and massive reduction in early career attrition. The equation becomes their career language. Simple enough you can't unknow it. Coming up: what career conversations actually look like, lived examples, why structure matters, and stories from clients about good and bad career conversations. Links: Career Conversations Guide: https://www.thecareerequation.com/career-conversations-guide Book an intro call: https://www.thecareerequation.com/book-intro-call Erica on LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/ericasosna Zoë on LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/zoeschofieldcoach

    43 min

  5. JAN 30

    The Career Equation Season 2: Career Conversations That Actually Work

    The Career Equation: Series Two Launch Erica Sosna and Zoë Schofield are back with something new, a series that goes right to the heart of career conversations that actually work. Let's be honest: most organisations say careers matter, but meaningful career conversations? Much rarer. Series two focuses on the conversation itself. How you move beyond vague chats and tick-box frameworks and use the Career Equation approach to uncover what truly matter: skills, motivations, impact, ideal environment. You'll hear real-world case studies from organisations that have embedded this work and what changed when they did. Plus there's a weekly Q&A tackling the real challenges you're dealing with right now. If you work in HR, coaching, or you're a business leader where careers matter, this series is for you. Follow or subscribe. First episode coming soon. Visit www.thecareerequation.com for more information. And send us your career conversation questions to pod@thecareerequation.com

    1 min

  6. 11/10/2025

    The Career Equation Next Steps: Season 1 Finale

    As Series 1 wraps up, Erica and Zoë reflect on the evolution of The Career Equation and how the idea of “fit squared” has become a defining theme. They explore how the right environment can multiply talent, motivation, and impact — and why so many organisations still overlook it.   They also share what’s next for The Career Equation in 2026, with new episode formats, short practical sessions for leaders and coaches, and a renewed focus on real stories from the workplace.   Listeners can share their thoughts or send career dilemmas to pod@thecareerequation.com   This episode closes the year with insight, clarity, and a challenge to think differently about what helps people truly thrive at work.   In this conversation:   • What “fit squared” means in practice • Why environment can make or break performance • How great career conversations actually start • What’s ahead for The Career Equation in 2026   Learn more: Erica Sosna on LinkedIn Zoë Schofield on LinkedIn Visit thecareerequation.com Subscribe to Erica’s Substack, Fireweed: ericasosna.substack.com

    21 min

  7. 10/27/2025

    Your Career is a Hero’s Journey, with Erica Sosna and Zoë Schofield

    Every great story follows a journey, and so does every fulfilling career.   In this episode, Erica and Zoë bring Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey framework into the world of work, showing how the same narrative pattern that drives epic adventures can also illuminate your own career path.   They trace each stage of the journey, from the initial call to change, through resistance, commitment, challenge, and return, revealing how it maps perfectly onto the twists and turns of modern working life. Along the way, they share examples from their coaching practice, including how leaders and returners alike can use this map to find direction, resilience, and meaning.   Erica reflects on her own experiences with recovery, reinvention, and redefining success after setback, while Zoë shares insights from navigating redundancy and creative renewal. Together they show that even when the road gets dark, you’re not lost, you’re simply in the middle of the story.   Whether you’re stepping into something new, facing uncertainty, or helping others through change, this episode is a reminder that your career isn’t just a sequence of jobs, it’s your own evolving adventure.   ⸻   In this conversation:   • Understanding the Hero’s Journey and how it applies to careers • Recognising where you are on your personal map of change • Moving from resistance to commitment when it’s time to grow • Building confidence through the challenges and “belly of the whale” moments • Using the Career Equation to guide your choices and next steps • What personal and organisational change look like through a story lens • Why reflection and celebration are essential parts of the return   Learn more:   Erica Sosna on LinkedIn Zoë Schofield on LinkedIn Visit thecareerequation.com

    52 min

  8. 10/13/2025

    Back to Work, but Not Back to You? Reclaiming Confidence After a Career Break so You Can Bounce Back Stronger — Part 2: How to Use the Career Equation to Facilitate a Good Return to Work Discussion

    Coming back to work after time away, whether for parenting, illness, or a life change, is a big transition. You’re not the same person you were before, and that’s the point. In this follow-up to Return & Thrive (Part One), Erica and Zoë move from mindset into action, exploring how to design your next chapter using the Career Equation framework.   They unpack the four elements: skills, passion, impact, and environment - and show how they can help you rebuild confidence, set new boundaries, and shape a working life that feels sustainable and energising. Erica shares her own story of returning too soon after a spinal injury, and the lessons it taught her about pacing, permission, and redefining success. Zoë reflects on her own pivot after maternity leave and the importance of using that pause to realign, not retreat.   You’ll hear practical, compassionate advice for anyone navigating a return, and insight for organisations on how to create supportive, flexible pathways for returners.   This is a conversation about change, courage, and coming back stronger, not by fitting into who you were, but by designing who you want to be next.   ⸻   In this conversation: • How to design your next career chapter with intention • Using the Career Equation to find clarity after time away • The power of pausing before rushing back to work • Erica’s personal story of returning too early after injury • How career breaks can sharpen values and reveal new strengths • Rebuilding confidence and self-belief after a break • Setting healthy boundaries and redefining what ‘success’ means now • How organisations can better support and retain returners   Learn more:   Erica Sosna on LinkedIn Zoë Schofield on LinkedIn Visit thecareerequation.com

    29 min
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The world’s best organisations know how to attract and keep the world’s best employees.  However, even those firms struggle with employee retention. Why? Because their employees can’t see their future there.  The problem with careers in great firms is that employees know what they want but don’t who to talk about it, and their organisations don’t know what they want and so don’t help them get it ( even though they want to!) The result? Great employees leave all too soon, missing out on all the exciting opportunities in their existing firm.  The tragedy is, this brain drain could be arrested with a simple, powerful career conversation that anyone can master.  Welcome to The Career Equation®, a practical formula for career conversations that helps organisations engage, retain and grow their talent.  Hear how firms like Microsoft, Amazon, and Capital One make use of the formula to enhance career conversations, reduce attrition and unlock internal mobility.  With anonymous Q&A on the juicy career questions talent are afraid to ask, real world case studies from learning professionals, and expert advice from over 20 years of careers consulting, we bring the Equation and all its benefits live and direct to your workplace.  If keeping great people is your biggest challenge, this podcast shows you how The Career Equation® can be the solution. For more information, to book your career conversation assessment or download our free guides on all things career, www.thecareerequation.com/contact

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