3 Simple Steps for a September Career Reset
Inside: How moms can take simple steps to reset their career during back-to-school season this September.
January 1st is cool and all, but September is the real New Year for moms.
Every January, we hear all about resolutions, fresh starts, and becoming a brand-new version of ourselves. But if you’re a parent, September is when life actually changes.
The kids go back to school and into new classrooms. Schedules shift. Fall sports start. Lunches need to be packed again. Your calendar suddenly fills up with activities, school events, and appointments.
And somewhere in the middle of all that change, you might hear a little voice in your head saying:
Maybe this is the season for a change for me, too.
If you’ve been feeling that way about your career, you’re definitely not alone.
September can be a great time to think about what you want next professionally. But before you decide you need to completely reinvent yourself before the end of the year, I want to offer you a much simpler approach.
You don’t need a whole new life. You probably just need one or two intentional changes that help you start moving forward.
Here’s how to create a September career reset that feels energizing instead of exhausting.
🎧 Listen to Episode 134 of When Mommy Grows Up: “Happy Mom New Year! The September Reset and How to Get it Right for Your Career.”
Why September Feels Like a Fresh Start
Think back over your life. When did so many of your new chapters begin?
September.
New teachers. New classrooms.
New sports seasons. New routines.
College semesters. Moving day.
And even now as adults, September often brings a noticeable shift as people return from summer vacations and organizations ramp up for the final stretch of the year.
We’ve been conditioned for most of our lives to see this time of year as a beginning.
As a mom, you’re still experiencing all of those transitions through your family. And all that change naturally creates an opportunity to pause and ask:
Where am I headed next?
What do I want to be different?
What do I want for myself in this next season?
That can be a wonderful thing.
The problem comes when we mistake a fresh start for a mandate to completely reinvent ourselves.
Avoid the Career Reinvention Trap
The energy of a new season can make us ambitious.
By the end of the year, I’m finally going to find the perfect job.
I’m going to completely redo my resume and LinkedIn – tomorrow!
The kids are going back to school; I’m going back to school, too.
I’m starting a business and quitting my job by the new year.
It all sounds exciting…for about three days.
Then life happens.
Someone gets sick. A kid forgets their lunch. A project at work suddenly becomes urgent. The dog gets into something it shouldn’t. The laundry starts multiplying when no one is looking.
Before long, that giant career reinvention plan gets pushed aside, and we convince ourselves we’ve failed.
You haven’t failed. The plan simply didn’t fit with the season you’re living in.
That’s why, instead of throwing away the idea that you want to make a change, we need to embrace small steps to create momentum.
Step 1: Make a Stop-Doing List
We’re used to making to-do lists. For your September career reset, I want you to make a stop-doing list instead.
What is one thing you need to stop doing because it’s keeping you stuck?
Maybe you need to stop comparing your career to someone else’s LinkedIn highlight reel.
Maybe you need to stop waiting until you feel 100% confident before applying for a job.
Maybe you need to stop assuming that everyone else has their career figured out.
Or maybe you need to stop telling yourself:
I’ll focus on my career once things settle down.
Because here’s the problem with that plan:
Things are probably not going to settle down.
Not this season. Maybe not next season either.
Life has a way of filling every bit of space we give it. If you keep waiting for the perfect time to make a change, you may still be waiting a year from now.
Instead of waiting for life to get quieter, start learning how to move forward in the middle of the noise.
So ask yourself: What do I need to stop doing so I have room to move forward?
Step 2: Set a Career Intention, Not an Impossible Goal
There’s nothing wrong with career goals. But sometimes we create goals based on outcomes we can’t completely control.
For example:
I need to have a new job by Thanksgiving.
You can take plenty of actions toward that goal, but you can’t control hiring timelines, the job market, how many interviews you’ll need, or when the right opportunity will appear.
So try asking yourself a different question:
How do I want to feel about my career by the end of the year?
Maybe you want to feel:
More confident.
Less anxious.
More hopeful.
More prepared.
More curious about what’s possible.
Those intentions can give you direction.
If you want to feel more prepared, maybe you spend time researching a career path that interests you.
If you want to feel more confident, maybe you finally update your resume and LinkedIn profile so they reflect what you can actually do.
If you want to feel more connected, maybe you reach out to former colleagues or start having conversations with people doing work that interests you.
Your intention becomes the compass that helps you decide what to do next.
Step 3: Find Your Next Right Step
There’s a phrase I use with coaching clients all the time:
Let’s figure out the next right step.
Not the perfect step. Not the entire 27-step master plan. Just the next one.
Your next right step might be updating one section of your resume this week.
It might be sending one networking message every Friday.
It could be listening to a career podcast during your commute, researching a new career path, talking to your manager about a project you’d like to take on, or finally scheduling the career coaching session you’ve been putting off.
None of those actions sound particularly dramatic.
That’s the point.
Career momentum isn’t usually flashy. It’s consistency over time.
Six months from now, those small actions can add up to a very different career, and you don’t have to turn your life upside down to get there.
Your Simple September Career Reset
So as September approaches, resist the pressure to create a brand-new version of yourself.
Instead, ask yourself three questions:
1. What do I need to stop doing?
Identify one habit, belief, or expectation that is keeping you stuck.
2. How do I want to feel about my career by the end of the year?
Choose an intention that gives you direction without creating unnecessary pressure.
3. What is one simple next step I can take to get there?
Then take it.
That’s your reset.
September doesn’t require a brand-new you. It simply offers an opportunity to reconnect with the part of yourself that may have gotten buried underneath schedules, responsibilities, and everyone else’s needs.
You don’t have to reinvent your career.
You don’t have to have every answer.
And you definitely don’t have to make a giant leap.
You just have to take the next right step.
And if you’re wondering what that step should be, I created a free, six-question quiz to help you figure it out.
Head to beccacarnahan.com/quiz to answer a few quick questions about what you’re feeling and needing in your career right now. Based on your results, you’ll also get a free resource designed to help you start moving forward.
