Job Search, Promotion, and Career Clarity: The Mid-Career GPS Podcast

320: Asking This One Question to Your Colleagues May Redefine Your Career

Oct 28, 2025

Feeling stuck in your career? One powerful question might hold the key: 'Why do you come back to work every day?' This transformative inquiry sparks honest conversations with colleagues, helping you uncover motivations and align your career path. Explore the Four F Framework—Fit, Function, Finance, and Forward—to assess your insights and guide future decisions. Plus, learn how to use this question in interviews to gauge company culture and spark meaningful discussions with friends and loved ones for even greater clarity.

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ADVICE

Prepare An Intentional Conversation

Choose a trusted colleague and set an intention before you start the conversation.
Meet off-site or virtually if that helps create honest, reflective dialogue.

ADVICE

Ask The One Golden Question

Ask this single question: "Why do you come back to work every day?".
Listen closely to both their words and the energy behind them.

INSIGHT

Wording Reveals Deeper Motivation

The phrasing “come back” reveals motivation beyond simple liking or satisfaction.
It surfaces what makes people get up and actually show up each morning.

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Feeling stuck, tired, or unsure how long you can keep pushing through your role? In this episode of The Mid-Career GPS Podcast, John Neral shares one golden question that can help you rediscover purpose, evaluate fit, and make smarter decisions about your career: Why do you come back to work every day?

This simple yet powerful question uncovers what really drives you and what’s holding you back. John walks you through how to use it to gain clarity in your current role, prepare for a job change, or guide your next interview.

You’ll learn how to choose the right person for an honest conversation, set a clear intention, and listen deeply for what’s said and what’s not. Then, using John’s signature Four F Framework—Fit, Function, Finance, and Forward—you’ll translate those insights into action.

John also explores how this question can transform how you evaluate company culture during informational interviews or final-round panels. When the answers align, you gain confidence in your decision. When they don’t, you gain valuable insight about what’s missing.

This conversation helps you:

Name the weight you might be feeling in your career right now
Set up an intentional, trust-based conversation about work satisfaction
Ask and reflect on the golden question with curiosity and courage
Map your insights using Fit, Function, Finance, and Forward
Apply what you learn to your interviews, offers, or current role
Recognize how your motivations change—and that it’s okay

Whether you’re evaluating a new opportunity or trying to reignite momentum where you are, this question helps you create a clearer, more aligned career path.

🎯 Free Resource:
Download The Interview Confidence Roadmap for five make-or-break strategies to help you stand out in your next interview. Get your free copy at johnneral.com/resources.

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