Exploration is pivotal in the continuous development of our careers. Whether you are committed to your current career path, happy at your current employer, or searching for a new career altogether, exploration helps inform us as to "What's next?" Exploration is the process of checking out new things - be they new roles, new activities, new industries, or even new professional identities. We sometimes engage in exploration without knowing it, and at other times engage in it quite intentionally, as when exploring a potential career change.
 
Exploration also can take many forms - you explore when you read a book, go to a conference, volunteer, do an informational interview, take a continuing education course, and so on. When exploring, you are, in essence, "trying on" something new - it's like trying on new clothes. When exploring something new, you can ask yourself, "Does this fit well? Look good? Feel right? Reflect who I am? Is this something I'll want to wear one year from now? Three years from now?"
 
Inherent in the activity of exploration is the belief that "all information is good information." Going to a conference on investing in emerging markets, only to discover that it's actually not your cup of tea, is still useful and worthwhile. It allows you to refocus on other potential avenues and redirect your efforts on more promising activities. Likewise, you can explore new areas while in your current job - you may take on a new project, join a company task force, or just have lunch with someone in a different department.
 
Each of these experiences provides more information about what you like and don't like, which you can then use to shape your career goals and crystallize your vision of what you want to create for yourself. As you collect even more information, you can think of your career development in terms of "tightening the cap on a bottle" - with each successive turn, there is a tighter fit between what you do and who you are.
 
The following are some tips to keep in mind when exploring:
 
Get multiple data points. Too often, I've seen people give up on a potential career path they are considering based on one person's opinion or experience. While valid to that person, a sample size of one is not "statistically significant" - at least when I was in business school. Pay attention to what that person is saying and check it out further by asking other people to share their experiences with you. Is the experience unique to that person, that company, or does it apply universally within the industry? The more people you talk to, the more you will notice trends and common factors across these experiences that you can then use to decide whether to probe further, hold off for now, or move on.
 
Start small. Like the old phrase, “A little dab'll do ya” suggests, you need not dive in completely with both feet to explore something. If you are toying with the idea of doing something entrepreneurial, you might talk with other entrepreneurs or go to a conference or a trade show before writing a complete business plan. Change happens incrementally, so take small tastes to see if you want to keep going back for more.
 
Be creative. Exploration can take many forms. Being creative about how or where you do your exploration can yield information (not to mention new contacts) that you previously might not have come across. Think about trying out things that normally would not occur to you or are outside what others (or you, for that matter) would expect of you. For example, if you have always worked in a conservative, corporate environment, try something new or untraditional like taking an improv class. This type of exploration can help you to uncover strengths that you may always have had but have never had a chance to let shine before.
 
Never stop exploring. Continuous exploration keeps you looking forward. Careers stagnate when exploration stops. Just as technology companies constantly invest in looking at "What's next?" - so should you. Continuous exploration also prepares you to seize opportunities more quickly as they arise, since you've most likely already processed much of the information that you've gathered and have formed an opinion about what opportunities are exciting to you.
 
Go public. Let others know that you are exploring and how they can help you. Careers do not happen in a vacuum. People cannot help you if they don't know what you are looking for or what they can do for you. For example, letting people know that you are exploring what it would be like to work in China allows them to put you in touch with resources, information, people, and opportunities. Even if you are not yet committed to working in China, letting other people know that you are investigating it helps build momentum around that possibility, which in turn creates choice - a good thing to have in your career.

Rebecca Zucker is an executive coach specializing in executive and leadership development as well as career transition, and has coached individuals from the manager level to CEOs throughout the United States and Europe. Rebecca was previously an Associate at Goldman, Sachs & Co. and later worked as a Vice President at Robertson Stephens, where she ran training and development for over 300 investment banking professionals. Rebecca graduated from New York University’s Leonard Stern School of Business and holds an MBA from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. Rebecca can be reached via email at rebecca@nextsteppartners.com.