How did I get here? Five steps toward godly career clarity.

‘Often there’s not a space for Christians to talk about their careers at work from a faith perspective’, Christian career coach Katie Conely shares on the Work + Go Podcast.

She continues: ‘People often say to me “This is so refreshing to be able to talk about my faith and my career in one place.”’ Because so often our work and our faith get separated. Not only that, but many people reach a certain point in their career and wonder what it’s all for.

Katie had a real desire for all her clients to discover their career purpose, but especially to help Christians look at their career from a biblical perspective. And Katie enjoyed helping Christians – as she puts it – ‘unpack’ God’s plan for them. To explore one-to-one the ways they have been uniquely shaped by God for his purpose. But looking at existing resources, Katie found there was a God-shaped hole. How could more Christians find God’s purpose in their career? 

So putting pen to paper, Katie wrote God’s Grace for Your Career: Rediscover Your Purpose at Work, drawing on her experiences in one-to-one coaching, learning and development and working as part of the ITV group.

Grace for work

On the Work + Go podcast Katie describes how the framework for the book came to her, built around the acronym GRACE as a tool to explore God’s calling at work:

G: Gifts – both natural and spiritual. These are unique to you – even if someone else is similar to you, the way you do a particular job will be unique.

R: Relationships – with God and other people. We are relational beings and good relationships are essential for our career wellbeing, especially our relationship with God. The more time we spend with Him, the more we learn to hear His voice and understand the plans He has for us.

A: Abilities – talents, skills and strengths. Significantly, Katie points out that some strengths ‘energise us’, while others are ‘learned behaviours’. They are things ‘we do well, but they actually drain us’ and it’s important to be able to tell the difference.

C: Curiosity – ‘the curiosity you have about the world really provides clues for your career’.

E: Experiences – God uses everything, the good and the bad to shape us

Katie explains in the podcast and in her book how exploring these areas can help followers of Jesus find something that’s more aligned to who God made them to be.

She reflects: ‘we live in a world where you go to school, you go to uni, you get a job and you follow that career ladder. And actually, quite often the people I work with have done that and 10 years in they go, oh, hang on a minute. I don't think this is fulfilling, I'm not sure this is what God has planned for me.’

So taking time to take stock can be a valuable process. Katie shares the story of one man who took a career break from a high flying job and discovered a love and gift for gardening, which in fact reflected his childhood passions. In starting his own gardening business he stepped away from other people’s expectations and found new fulfilment and opportunities to serve in his local church alongside his business.

Understanding God’s purpose doesn’t necessarily mean a drastic change in career, but Katie shares on the podcast how a growing understanding of our God-given gifts can help us make changes and flourish and find fresh vision to live for Jesus at work.

Listen to the full conversation with Katie to find top tips for crossing cultures at work and preparing to work overseas, and much more on the Work + Go Podcast.

Buy a copy of Katie’s book here.

Find out more about Katie’s work at conleycareercoaching.com