Reading what your trial run showed you
A short guide to finding out what actually happened after you tried something, before you decide what it means.
Part of the Proa Nova free library: short guides for when something in your working life is changing, or asking to change.
One trial run doesn't decide anything. But it usually shows you more than you see at first.
For when, in the middle of a change in your working life, you've tried something (a conversation, an application, a message, a different kind of week) and you don't know what to do with what happened.
You tried it, and what you feel weighs more than what you know.
Reading it as a verdict: if it went well, you know; if it didn't, you're not cut out for this.
Three short notes and a better question than the one you had.
1. Write down the facts, the way a camera would record them
What was seen or heard, no adjectives. "They answered in two days." "The posting asked for three years of experience in something I haven't done." "Around minute ten, I ran out of things to say."
If you've already done the facts-versus-stories exercise from the 72-hour pause, this is the same move, applied to a trial run.
2. Compare what you expected with what happened
Two lines:
If someone else was involved, note what they said. If they didn't answer, note what you imagined they'd say, and don't treat that as a fact.
3. Mark the trial run with two signals
It gave me energy or it took energy from me. I could do it without much trouble or it cost more than I expected.
Each combination says something different, and none of them is a verdict:
| Without much trouble | Cost more than I expected | |
|---|---|---|
| It gave me energy | A promising sign. | The idea has life. Maybe what needs to change is how you do it. |
| It took energy | It could work, and the question is whether you want it. | A reason to set the option aside with respect, especially if it keeps happening. |
4. Write the question it left you with
Just one, and a better one than the one you started with. From "Should I take this role?" to "Which part of that workday gave me energy?"
One trial run doesn't settle anything. After two or three, patterns start to repeat, and that does count.
If you haven't done the trial run yet, "A 30-minute trial run before you decide" explains how to choose it. If it was a conversation with someone who already does what interests you, "Twenty minutes with someone who already does what interests you" explains how to ask for it and what to ask.
If the question is still alive, take the Quick Map.
If the question is still alive after you've read it, the Quick Map gives you a first, personal read on where you are.
It's free, it's four questions, and it doesn't decide for you or put a label on you.
Quick Map: /en/career-transition/quick-map