320: Asking This One Question to Your Colleagues May Redefine Your Career

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Feeling stuck, tired, or unsure how long you can keep pushing through your role? In this episode of The Mid-Career GPS Podcast, John Neral shares one golden question that can help you rediscover purpose, evaluate fit, and make smarter decisions about your career: Why do you come back to work every day?

This simple yet powerful question uncovers what really drives you and what’s holding you back. John walks you through how to use it to gain clarity in your current role, prepare for a job change, or guide your next interview.

You’ll learn how to choose the right person for an honest conversation, set a clear intention, and listen deeply for what’s said and what’s not. Then, using John’s signature Four F Framework—Fit, Function, Finance, and Forward—you’ll translate those insights into action.

John also explores how this question can transform how you evaluate company culture during informational interviews or final-round panels. When the answers align, you gain confidence in your decision. When they don’t, you gain valuable insight about what’s missing.

This conversation helps you:

• Name the weight you might be feeling in your career right now
• Set up an intentional, trust-based conversation about work satisfaction
• Ask and reflect on the golden question with curiosity and courage
• Map your insights using Fit, Function, Finance, and Forward
• Apply what you learn to your interviews, offers, or current role
• Recognize how your motivations change—and that it’s okay

Whether you’re evaluating a new opportunity or trying to reignite momentum where you are, this question helps you create a clearer, more aligned career path.

🎯 Free Resource:
Download The Interview Confidence Roadmap for five make-or-break strategies to help you stand out in your next interview. Get your free copy at johnneral.com/resources.

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Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Hey there.
Before we get into today'sepisode, I'm curious.
Are you currently interviewingfor or planning to interview for
a new job?
If so, I know you want to showup at your best.
And that means being confidentand telling a clear and
compelling story that ultimatelyleads to explaining why you're

(00:23):
the best person for the job thathopefully leads to that job
offer.
If you're struggling with yourinterview preparation right now,
I want you to go over and get myfree guide.
It is called the InterviewConfidence Roadmap.
And in this free guide, you willlearn the five areas I know that

(00:44):
will make or break success atyour next job interview.
Now to get the guide, simplyvisit my website, johnnarr.com
forward slash resources, orcheck the show notes and let me
help you crush your nextinterview.
When you're struggling in yourjob, and I'm not talking about

(01:06):
being able to do it.
Look, we've talked on thepodcast before that right now
things feel a little heavy.
And in that, some of you may beadmittedly struggling with
getting through your job orwondering how you're going to be

(01:27):
able to get to the end of theyear or how long you can stick
it out in your current job.
And see, that's understandable.
And I also think it is theperfect time to engage your
colleagues in an intentionalconversation.
But what do you say?

(01:48):
What do you ask them?
So in this episode, I will sharewith you one of my favorite
questions to ask colleagues youtrust to help you get that
little extra boost or motivationyou need to build your
mid-career GPS.
Let's get started.

(02:19):
I help mid-career professionalslike you find a career they love
or love the one they have usingmy proven four-step formula.
If you did not get a chance tolisten to last week's episode
with Lindsay Mastis, I hopeyou'll go back and listen to it.
It is episode 319.
Lindsay and I had a wonderfulconversation about AI and

(02:43):
technology and how it'simpacting the way we work and
live.
So if you're looking to get alittle more background or
information about AI, this is agreat place to start, especially
in terms of questions you mightbe facing on your job or
questions you might be gettingasked in an interview.
But one thing Lindsay and Idiscussed was how important that

(03:06):
human connection is.
Despite everything happeningwith AI, I want you to think
about the power of sitting downwith someone and having a
conversation.
And better yet, showing up tohave an intentional
conversation.
But you're probably wonderingwhat that actually looks like.

(03:27):
Well, here goes.
Before you even have thatconversation, you have to
identify who you want to talkto.
And I want to offer you that itneeds to be someone you trust.
This conversation isn'tnecessarily one you may have
with your supervisor or manageror leader.

(03:50):
It might be your work bestie ora colleague you've known that
works at a different company.
And then you have to decide whenyou're going to have that
conversation.
Are you doing it on-site if it'sa if it's a colleague you're
currently working with?
Are you going off-site?
Is it virtual?
Are you meeting someone forlunch, dinner, drinks after
work?

(04:10):
But then I want you to identifythe goal.
What is it you want to learn?
What is that thing you're goingto get from that conversation
that you will walk away withthat may very well help change
the way you are showing up towork every day?

(04:33):
If you're job hugging right now,I want you to listen really
closely to this because you maynot be entirely thrilled or
loving your job, but you alsorecognize the market might be a
little tricky.
Maybe you're just going througha difficult time at work.
And while that is stressful, itis understandable, it may not be

(04:55):
making you happy.
Maybe you feel like you've beenin this job long enough that
you've you've kind of lost someof your mojo or your motivation,
and you're simply wondering, amI ever going to get it back?
So here is the question you'regoing to ask this person.
Are you ready?

(05:16):
All right, here we go.
Here's the question.
Why do you come back to workevery day?
Let me say that again.
Why do you come back to workevery day?
Now, the thing I like about thisquestion is it's not a question

(05:42):
such as why do you like your jobor why do you like working here?
It's why do you come back?
In other words, what is it thatmakes you get up in the morning
and go, oh yeah, I get to go towork.

(06:02):
Think about it.
Think about some of the reasonswhy you come back to work every
day.
And if you're not currentlyemployed, think about why you
came back to work every day inyour last position.
As I was preparing for thisepisode, it got me thinking

(06:25):
about my own career path.
When I was teaching middleschool mathematics, I came back
to work every day because of thestudents.
I knew there was aresponsibility that I had that I
was there to teach them.
And I looked forward to that.
Doesn't mean that every day wasgreat and wonderful, because it
wasn't.

(06:46):
Right?
But it was it was the thingabout I came back because of
them.
When I got out of the classroomand I started moving into more
supervisory or administrativeroles, why did I come back to
work every day?
Some days it was because Ibelieved in the work we were
doing.
And other days, quite honestly,it was because I needed the

(07:06):
paycheck.
That's fine.
We ride this wave in our careersand especially at mid-career,
where we go through the motionsbecause we got bills to pay.
It's as simple as that.
But when you take a moment andyou ask a trusted colleague, why

(07:29):
do you come back to work eachday?
I want you to listen to whatthey say.
I want you to listen to theenergy they bring to the
conversation.
And I want you to be verycurious and ask them a follow-up
question about either what theysaid or what they didn't say.

(07:54):
It's why this question is gold.
This question opens up so manyconversations where you have an
opportunity, again, with someoneyou trust, to have this
intentional conversation to knowwhat's making them tick in their

(08:16):
job.
If you're currently doinginformational interviews as
you're exploring a career pivotor you are talking with people,
maybe at a different company ora different industry, it's a
great question to ask on theinformational interview to see
what they're saying about whatthey like about their job or

(08:37):
their industry or the companywhere they work.
And after you have had thatconversation, I want you to take
a few moments and capture somethoughts.
What did you learn?
What surprised you?
And think about if any of thosethings that they mentioned

(08:58):
resonate for you.
Are those reasons why they comeback to work every day, are they
important for you?
In my masterclass, themid-career promotion blueprint,
and promotion is either ifyou're looking to level up in
your job, or promotion is evenif you're simply trying to find
that next job because you'vebeen out of work for a while.

(09:21):
I walk through four F's.
And that masterclass is like youand I are sitting down and
having a coaching session, butwe're not doing it face to face,
right?
It is recorded.
But that mid-career promotionblueprint is there for you to
really assess those things thatare important for you in your

(09:42):
current future or next position.
So when you ask somebody, why doyou come back to work every day?
You're going to take thatinformation and you're going to
process it.
As I was preparing to recordthis episode, I thought to
myself, well, why do I come backto work each day?

(10:06):
And it actually brought me backto the same moment I had when I
was in the classroom.
It's not my students now, it'smy clients.
The clients that I've workedwith, the clients I'm currently
working with, and the clients Iwill work with.
It's the people who may neverhire me, but perhaps you listen

(10:27):
to this podcast and you're like,you know what?
This is what I need to get thatboost in my career.
And I like listening to John andI like what he's saying.
And so I'm glad that he's therefor me every week.
Trust me, there have been times,320 episodes in where I've
thought, I don't know if I cando another podcast episode or

(10:50):
not.
But I do it.
And I do it because of you.
I do it because this issomething I truly enjoy in my
business, because it's how Iserve people.
Right?
Why I come back to work everyday is exactly that.
However, you come into my orbit,the podcast, my newsletter, the

(11:12):
masterclass, you hire meone-on-one, whatever that is,
you're the reason why I comeback to work every day.
Now, look, let's just be honest,okay?
If if we happen to hit thelottery and we hit the mega
millions, um, there will be anexit strategy that will roll
out.

(11:33):
I probably will not say to youthat I hit the lottery, but you
will probably hear somethinglike, um, the podcast is going
to come to an end, or we'regoing to go to every other week.
Um, you know, who knows?
Maybe I'll still do it.
I don't know, right?
But it's that thing.
The thing is, there arecircumstances as to why we come

(11:56):
back to work every day.
What are those circumstancesthat light you up that are
important for you, that areimportant for people you're
talking with?
What does all that really mean?
When you look at those four F's,the fit, the function, the
finance, and forward, how dowhat people say about why they

(12:21):
come back to work every day,where does that align with the
things that are important foryou?
And look, I want to offer youone last tip here before I
close.
When you're having thisconversation with people, don't
think that you only can talk topeople who absolutely love their

(12:44):
job right now.
You may get a ton of value bytalking to people who are
frustrated, are disgruntled, ormaybe even burned out on their
job.
You may find something in all ofthat that may help inform your

(13:04):
decisions as you figure outwhat's next and as you build
your mid-career GPS.
There are no right or wronganswers here.
This is an opportunity to havethat intentional conversation
and engage and explore withpeople.
And look, if you're interviewingfor a job right now, if you're

(13:25):
actively interviewing and you'rein that second, third, or final
round of an interview, and theysay to you, What questions do
you have for us?
Wow.
Imagine asking them, Why do youcome back to work every day?
I guarantee you there's a prettygood chance they've not been

(13:47):
asked that question in that way.
And then you get to listen.
You get to listen to theiranswer.
And if or when they make you ajob offer, you get to take all
the information you've gatheredin that interview process and
you get to choose.
You get to choose whether or notyou accept that job offer or

(14:11):
not, because of what you learnedand the questions you asked.
All right.

So again, that golden question: why do you come back to work (14:18):
undefined
each day?
And if you are, if you havesomeone in your life, be it a
spouse, partner, boyfriend,girlfriend, ask them that
question.
See what they say.
See what they say, see whatlights them up in terms of their
answer.
It's just another way you keepbuilding your mid-career GPS.

(14:43):
So until next time, my friends,remember this.
You will build your mid-careerGPS one mile or one step at a
time, and how you show upmatters.
Make it a great rest of yourday.
Thank you for listening to theMidCareer GPS Podcast.
Make sure to follow on yourfavorite listening platform.

(15:04):
And if you have a moment, I'dlove to hear your comments on
Apple Podcasts.
Visit johnnarrell.com for moreinformation about how I can help
you build your mid-career GPS,or how I can help you and your
organization with your nextworkshop or public speaking
event.
Don't forget to connect with meon LinkedIn and follow me on
social at John Daryl Coaching.

(15:26):
I look forward to being backwith you next week.
Until then, take care.
And remember, how we show upmatters.