The 4 Steps to Lasting Career Change (and What Most People Get Wrong)

By
Hannah Kissel
September 8, 2026
9
min
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About the episode

You've quit jobs before. You've been in therapy. You've read the books. And yet you're sitting here thinking: "Is this all there is?" Sound familiar? In this bonus episode of Hannah Hotline, we break down why most career change advice fails and the 4-step method that actually sticks. Here's the problem: traditional career coaching is all action, no self-awareness. So you jump into a new job, and the same problems show up again. Therapy and self-awareness alone? All reflection, no action — so you stay stuck where you are. The answer is doing both, in the right order.

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Why "just quit and follow your passion" keeps failing you

Step 1: Holistic career design — how your career fits into your life (not the other way around)
Step 2: Understand your sabotage archetype — why the same problems follow you job to job
Step 3: Values alignment — make decisions anchored to what you actually care about
Step 4: Prototype and stress test — research, network, and test a path before you leap


Timestamps:

00:30 — The listener's story: "I'm miserable, I'm just taking a paycheck"
00:45 — The question everyone's afraid to ask
01:57 — Why traditional career coaching misses the point
02:30 — Why you can't do action OR self-awareness alone
03:57 — Step 1: Holistic career design
05:15 — Step 2: Know your sabotage archetype
06:00 — Step 3: Values alignment
08:15 — Step 4: Prototype and stress test (do them together)

Hi there, I'm Hannah

Executive Coach, podcaster, speaker, writer, and builder of big f*cking Dreams. My mission? To help ambitious professionals build self-acceptance, self-trust in their careers.

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