Why Career Advice That Ignores Identity Will Always Fail You

Clarity without context isn’t clarity—it’s erasure.

I used to think I had a “clarity problem.”

But looking back, I realize I was never really confused. I was just being coached out of context. Every time I tried to explore a new path, I was met with the same advice:

• “Just follow your passion.”

• “Update your résumé.”

• “Network more.”

• “Pick a niche.”

None of it accounted for my real life.
My culture.
My caregiving.
My trauma.
My neurodivergence.
My faith.
None of it made room for the complexity of who I actually was.

Instead, I was told to be strategic.
To think like a brand.
To “put myself out there” even when I barely knew who I was anymore.

So I followed the steps.
Tried the templates.
Learned how to sound like someone people would hire—even if it wasn’t me.

And for a while, it worked.

Until it didn’t.
Because career advice that ignores your identity will always lead you back to misalignment.

It won’t ask the deeper questions.
It won’t help you reclaim what the world trained you to silence.
It won’t show you how to make choices that feel good on the inside—not just the outside.

Clarity without context isn’t clarity.
It’s erasure.

It’s the subtle violence of being told to shrink your story so someone else can feel comfortable offering you a seat at their table.

But you don’t have to contort yourself to be chosen. There’s a way to move forward that honors both your ambition and your truth.

But awareness isn’t the whole answer. The real shift comes when you start moving differently—and that’s what I’ll walk you through next.

How to Find Alignment Without Abandoning Yourself