Mentoring Young Adults with Career & Purpose:
Finding Work That Feels Like Theirs
By Ken Rabow
Some of the young adults I work with are not stuck because they cannot work. They are stuck because they cannot find a reason that feels like theirs. They have been handed other people’s definitions of success for so long that their own has gone quiet.
Purpose is not a lightning bolt. It is built, one honest step at a time, and my work is to help a young adult find the thread that is genuinely theirs and follow it into real, meaningful work.
Here is how we do it:
1) We separate their voice from everyone else’s. Parents, teachers, and the culture all have opinions about what this young adult should do. Before any career plan, we find out what they actually care about, underneath all of that.
2) We test purpose through action, not just talk. Real direction comes from doing small, concrete things and noticing what lights them up and what drains them. We build a routine of small experiments rather than waiting for certainty.
3) We connect meaning to momentum. A young adult who sees how today’s small effort ladders toward something they care about will do the work. Purpose and progress feed each other.
This is not about pushing a young adult into any available job. It is about helping them build a life and a livelihood that feel like their own, so the motivation comes from inside and lasts.
You have watched your child search for their footing, and you have not given up on their potential. How do I know you will be a great parent partner? You are still reading.
Thank you for taking the time to understand how I can help your child.