The Career Equation®

Ever wondered what makes your talent tick? Make sure they own and drive their career. Harness the power of The Career Equation.


Erica Sosna's new book allows coaches and talent professionals to offer their clients and staff the clarity to enable them to take meaningful action.


There’s background on the book’s themes, resources for career development professionals, plus a FREE “The Environment Makes The Difference” mug (based on the book’s themes) for the first 20 who get the book.

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Erica Sosna

Erica Sosna is a careers expert, a TEDx Speaker, founder of Career Matters and bestselling author of Your Life Plan.


Erica’s work has transformed the career direction and aspirations of professionals all over the world.


Her company Career Matters, accredits professional coaches in her Career Equation method.


Get to know Erica âžž

The Career Equation® model


Many of us fall into, rather than choose, a career. Considering we spend up to 80,000 hours in work, ending up in the wrong role can cost us. Emotionally, physically and financially.


The Career Equation® is a simple word equation you can use to prevent this from happening to you, your business, and your coachees. It helps define the four components of a fulfilling career.


Take a look at what’s inside the book


  • 1. AND SO WE BEGIN …

    An estimated 70% are thinking about a new job, while 85% actively dislike their job. Find out why this is the case, and what you can do to make sure your organisation isn’t part of these worrying statistics. There’s analysis of the all-too-common split that happens on the road from childhood dreams to adult reality. Plus discussion of how we often ‘fall’ into our careers, landing with a bump rather than on our feet. 

  • 2. WHY THIS MATTERS NOW

    Erica opens with a story of how the history of a handkerchief gives insight into how we perceive potential. We move into the disruptive impact of new technologies on education – and on career advice. There’s discussion about the end of ‘job for life’, and the connection between more job mobility and more career decision-making. There’s also analysis of the gig economy, and changing societal attitudes to work. The chapter closes with a clear call-to-action with a plan of what needs to be in place to achieve career fulfilment.

  • 3. THE CAREER EQUATION®: DEFINING SUCCESS IN YOUR CAREER

    Introducing the model that’s at the heart of the book: The Career Equation®. First, get ready for some key questions around what we actually mean by career success. Find out why the many great tools for assessing drivers and aspirations can actually get in the way of career success. Discover the three top drivers for job satisfaction (hint: they’re not money, seniority or status). Once you’ve absorbed all this, you’ll be fully briefed and ready to explore The Career Equation®.

  • 4. THE CAREER EQUATION® MODEL

    Now it’s time for a deep-dive into four components: Skills, Passion, Impact, and Environmental Fit. Together, they make up The Career Equation®. Throughout the chapter you’ll learn how to apply each piece of the puzzle, to shape and define careers to be successful, rewarding and fulfilling. Among the insight you’ll find real-life use cases, questions to ask coachees, and how to help them articulate their true values. Erica also shares her personal epiphany of what happened to her when she realised she was missing one quarter of The Career Equation®.

  • 5. MAKING USE OF THE CAREER EQUATION®: YOUR CAREER DESIGN

    After the theory, the practice. Here’s where you get everything you need to successfully apply The Career Equation® in your career conversations. To help you get started, there’s a set of questions specifically designed to open up discussions, reflect on a deeper level, and help coachees on the path to self-knowledge. These questions are part of a massive set of exercises and activities included in this chapter. Be prepared for lots of insight, introspection, and a whole load of ideas and inspiration!

  • 6. MORE ON HOW IT WORKS

    We dive deeper into the Career Design Statement. Erica guides you on how to use this powerful tool to help your coachees identify the experience they’re looking for, and the values they can bring to your business. Erica then shows how you can use the insights to map a route to achieving their goals. As with previous chapters, you’ll find plenty of tried-and-tested resources to help you on your way. These include sample questions to improve decision-making, a scoring matrix, plus a gap analysis template. 

  • 7. THE PLACES THAT SCARE YOU

    The costs of staff turnover are well documented. This chapter examines how you can use The Career Equation® to get those costs down. We kick off by looking at the two main reasons employees move on, and how to take action by having the right career conversation at the right time. There are best practices for answering potential objections, along with plenty of myths, learnings and truths to set you on the way to having valuable career conversations.

  • 8. FOR MANAGERS: HOW TO PREPARE EFFECTIVELY FOR A CAREER CONVERSATION

    Find out how to deliver career conversations that leave employees energised and inspired. The chapter starts with discussion of mindset, purpose, plus four important tips around location and timing. We then move onto how to communicate ahead of the career conversation, with a template email you can use to set the scene. You’ll also find a “career conversation agenda”, with some suggested questions and a structure to help you facilitate the session.

  • 9. EIGHT REASONS YOUR COACHEES GET STUCK AND HOW TO GET THEM UNSTUCK

    The path towards having successful career conversations sometimes gets sticky. Erica gives you eight insights into how career conversations can get ‘stuck’ – and how you can avoid these moments to keep the energy flowing. Each example comes with a prescription for you to administer to your career conversations, plus learnings from each example. There are also some lessons and inspiration to be drawn from Picasso, Da Vinci, and Maxi Jazz of dance group Faithless.

  • 10. THE IDEAL SET-UP: MY ADVICE FOR INDEPENDENT CAREER COACHES

    Are you a new, aspiring, or experienced coach? Erica shares some valuable insights around accreditations, choosing your niche, and how to make sure your work has maximum impact. There’s some priceless advice on how to use your own career equation to establish, grow and perhaps even change your coaching direction. There’s also a section devoted to working out your promise to clients. This includes practical aspects (how many sessions and what happens when the journey is over?), and a special focus on chemistry and compatibility. 

  • 11. CASE STUDIES FROM CAREER COACHES

    It’s time to explore some real-life transformative impacts of The Career Equation® and many of the themes explored in this book. Get ready for some thought-provoking client case studies, who give their personal feedback on their personal journeys. You can also read about the experiences of several accredited Your Career Plan coaches who use The Career Equation®. Each one shares examples of working with clients, uncovering “A-ha” moments, finding new energy, and using powerful metaphors to change mindsets.

  • 12. HOW THE CAREER EQUATION® WORKS FOR ORGANIZATIONS

    Ok, so far you’ve explored how to use The Career Equation® at a 121 level. In this chapter, Erica now shares tools, tips and ways to work with large organisations. There are in-depth case studies featuring The Open University, Dassault Systèmes, plus international firms in financial services and property. It’s a chance to see how you can apply The Career Equation® to complex departments and structures, over months and years. Plus you get revealing insight into the many inspirational results achieved.

  • 13. SOME FINAL THOUGHTS ON THE FUTURE OF WORK

    The book closes with some timely future-focused reflections. Erica discusses the pandemic, generational shifts in attitudes to work, and culture in the workplace. There’s discussion around education and employment, and the potential of The Career Equation® to drive positive change in all these areas. With this book, you too can be part of that change. 

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Book Reviews

“This book is a great resource for career professionals, offering tools and ideas that get to the heart of what we mean by career success.


Navigating a career positively means finding a healthy balance between what you want to get out work and what work takes out of you.


The Career Equation concept here offers great framework for coaches and managers to help others work out much more fruitful career deal.”

“The Career Equation is exceptionally swift and effective, simple to learn, share and use with talent at all stages of their career.


If you want to ensure that your people and their career aspirations are front and centre of your succession, development and retention strategy you cannot be without it.”

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