How to Get Clear About What You Want, with Sara Stowe
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Knowing you want a change in your work life is one thing. Knowing what you want next is another. On this episode of Find Your Dream Job, guest expert Sara Stowe talks about how clarity can shape a stronger, more focused job search. Through her work at True Terpenes and Portland Workforce Alliance, Sara supports professionals and students as they explore what meaningful, satisfying work looks like for them.
Sara shares why rushing toward the next opportunity can lead to frustration, how to spot “bright and shiny” distractions and why values matter more than perks. She also explains how to build a list of priorities, sort your negotiables from your non-negotiables and use your skills to explore new paths. If you’re unsure about your next step, this conversation will help you make thoughtful choices about what comes next.
About Our Guest:
- Sara Stowe is the vice president of people and culture at True Terpenes.
Resources in This Episode:
Transcript
Find Your Dream Job, Episode 537:
How to Get Clear About What You Want, with Sara Stowe
Airdate: February 4, 2026
Mac Prichard:
This is Find Your Dream Job, the podcast that helps you get hired, have the career you want, and make a difference in life.
I’m your host, Mac Prichard. I’m also the founder of Mac’s List. It’s a job board in the Pacific Northwest that helps you find a fulfilling career.
Every Wednesday, I talk to a different expert about the tools you need to get the work you want.
You’re ready to move on. So what do you want to do next? If you don’t know, you’re making your next job search harder and longer.
Sara Stowe is here to talk about how to get clear about what you want. She’s the vice president of people and culture at True Terpenes.
Her company creates high-quality, thoroughly tested and trusted aromatics. And she joins us from Portland, Oregon.
Well, let’s jump right into it. Sara, when we talk about getting clear about what you want, what is this mean exactly in a job search?
Sara Stowe:
You know, when we talk about finding a dream job or following your passion, it’s sort of assuming that people already know what that is. And I work a lot with high school students doing workforce readiness and job prep and what’s next.
You know, most of them, and I think most of us, when we look back, it’s like, you know, we didn’t necessarily have a dream, or we maybe had a dream, but we didn’t have the talent, or maybe we had the dream, but we didn’t have the privilege to be able to pursue it.
But for most of us, we don’t know what that means. Several years ago, there was just really kind of like a big theme of that of like pursue your passion, pursue your dream, that’s why you’ll find happiness, and I don’t disagree with that.
But I think where it left people was feeling like, wel,l I don’t have that, so then does work and a job mean I’m not going to be happy? I’m not going to, there’s no happiness for me to find there. And that becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy because we’re responsible for our own happiness.
Mac Prichard:
Why do people struggle with this, not only when they’re coming out of high school or college, but later in their careers? What’s been your experience?
Sara Stowe:
There’s a certain aspect of knowing yourself and understanding, sort of where your values are. And if you’re in misalignment, sometimes it just, you can’t put your finger on it and it just feels dissatisfying.
You’re dissatisfied in the work and not knowing where to start. And I think sometimes there’s also just that ethos out there that you’re not supposed to enjoy work. Or maybe, you know,
dreams are meant for some people and not for me, or fulfilling work is meant for others and not for me.
So I think it’s first recognizing that no matter what job you have, even if you’re not feeling fulfilled in it, somebody is. If you’re on that journey of trying to figure out what is your dream job, also figure out why do some people feel connected to this.
Mac Prichard:
OK, and let’s talk about the job search. What happens if you’re not clear about what you want, what you want to do next? What do you see happen to candidates, whether it’s the recent graduates that you work with in the community or as an HR director working with professionals who might have years in the workplace? If people don’t know what’s the answer to that question, what does their job search look like?
Sara Stowe:
It’s going to feel a little bit more haphazard. It’s going to be driven more by what I call the bright and shiny objects. So as we take the time to think about kind of all the things that we want, there’s going to be things on there that if they’re in abundance could distract us from the things that are also important to us.
And if we haven’t done the work to figure that out, we might find ourselves in a situation where you know, the office is really beautiful, or they’ve got a brand that everybody’s really excited about, or their benefits package is so great.
But, you know, those are just some aspects of fulfilling work and working in an organization that aligns with you. So I think that’s a risk is kind of getting yourself into a situation where, you know, we’re not talking about people who are not thoughtful in their job search, who are not trying to assess the next opportunity they have.
But if they don’t have that full sort of brief, right, of what matters to me, again, they could get distracted by the bright and shiny objects. And there’s the other thing when we’re on the hiring side, of all the questions that we have and of all the prep we do for an interview, we’re essentially looking to answer three questions. Can the person do the job? Are we going to like working with them? And are they going to love it?
And that question for us, we can really only assess by the questions the candidate is asking us. So if you’re really clear on what you want and you’re asking the questions that are helping you make that assessment, we can start to read, okay, like it sounds like we’re the kind of organization this person is looking for.
I’m pretty confident that they’re going to love the job because the reason why the employer cares about why you love the job, that’s where engagement lives, and that’s where retention lives, that’s where that extra energy comes when you’ve got a problem that’s hard to solve.
So it’s important for us as individuals that we’re loving what we do. It’s important for your employer and your manager as well. So the clearer you can get on it, the clearer you’re going to be as a candidate that we’re going to want to hire.
Mac Prichard:
Okay, well, let’s talk about how to get that clarity, and you’ve touched on a number of points already, but one of the first steps I know you recommend people take is to give yourself time to figure this out. Tell us more about this. Why do you need to give yourself time to get clear about what you want to do next?
Sara Stowe:
Yeah, time and intention. Pursue it as a project. This is something that I’m going to be doing for myself. But yes, to give yourself time to be in the frame of mind of, know, we’re in open enrollment, right? So maybe your frame of mind is thinking about the health and welfare of your family and of yourself, of your benefits, of your compensation, of the life you want to build, the retirement that you want to have.
So those aspects are going to be important to you in employment. So maybe that’s one frame of mind. Maybe another frame of mind is that you just came back from a team offsite, and wow, you are feeling so connected with these people. Then you break down like, well, what is it about those things? What would that look like in an organization, right? Because you’re trying to translate a feeling into something that I can see and ask about, and we could speak to.
So what would that look like in an organization? Maybe you had one of those meetings that didn’t go so well and somebody showed up in a way that you’re like, it’s really going hard to walk into another meeting with this person. What qualities are you looking for in your coworkers? And really focus on the things that you want.
Don’t spend any time on the things that you don’t want because it’s sort of like playing a round of golf, right? Like you’re trying to get a ball in a hole that’s surrounded by the entire planet. So we could spend all the time in the world talking about the things we don’t want, but really focus on the things that you do want.
Mac Prichard:
All right, so think about the kinds of people you want to work with, reflect back on experiences you found particularly satisfying, and take time to consider those things. Let’s take a break, and when we come back, we’ll continue our conversation with Sara Stowe about how to get clear about what you want. Stay with us.
We’re back in the Mac’s List Studio. I’m talking with Sara Stowe.
She’s the Vice President of People and Culture at True Terpenes.
Her company creates high-quality, thoroughly tested, and trusted aromatics. And she joins us from Portland, Oregon.
Well, Sara, before the break, we were talking about how to get clear about what you want. And we talked in the first segment about why it’s important to do this, what can happen in a job search if you don’t have that clarity.
And you began to share practical steps people can take to get clear about what they want to do next. We talked about the importance of time and thinking, reflecting on positive experiences you’ve had and the co-workers you’ve worked with.
I know another tip that you have for getting clarity about what you want to do next is to figure out what you can compromise on and what you can’t compromise on. Tell us more about this. Why is that important?
Sara Stowe:
The bright and shiny objects are incredibly attractive. That’s why they have that name. And when it comes down to it, you know, they lose their sheen after a while. The office will just start to look like the office. And you start to see kind of the reality behind the brand. And you want to be with an organization where you feel aligned with the values, with the mission.
And so that list will really keep you honest as you go out, as you explore different organizations because, we know the big, big companies, but there’s like hundreds, I mean, just in this area, right, just in the Portland area, hundreds and hundreds of companies that are the same size as ours, that are doing cool things, that have great culture that you’ve never heard of.
And so you’re going to be coming across these organizations through your networking, through your job search. And as you meet them and as you’re learning about them and you’re sizing them up really against that list, make it a list.
And you don’t have to share the list with anybody, but do make it a list. And as you’re reflecting on that list and as you’re building that list and going back and looking at it as it’s coming together, you’ll know instinctively these are the things I can compromise on, and these are the things I cannot.
Mac Prichard:
Give us examples of things that should be on the list. You talked about bright, shiny objects, but give us some more specificity.
Sara Stowe:
Yeah, I mean, you could make your list as specific as what kind of quality of life you want to have outside of work when it comes to a commute that you’re willing to do.
You could, you know, from a values perspective, as you explore the company, are you looking for a growth company? Are you looking for companies that are ambitious? Are you looking for companies that are really about sustaining and creating a family kind of atmosphere in the workplace, and don’t necessarily have an ambition for growth?
No judgment either way, there’s a place for each of us. But those values, at the end of the day, are really going to be what is going to keep you at an organization and will keep you working through the challenges and the problems that you get to solve.
So values can be on there, the type of work that you want to be doing. Do you want to be working, really, kind of heads-down as an individual? Do you want to be working on a team? Do you want a mix of both? Do you want to be a manager? Are you good with being an individual contributor? A complete list will probably be 100 different attributes.
Mac Prichard:
It’s a long list. How do you separate the negotiables from the non-negotiables? What have you seen work?
Sara Stowe:
When it comes to the negotiables, also think where else you’re going to get that thing. So it was on the list for a reason. So if it’s on the list because maybe you’re okay with it being an individual contributor, but you’d rather have it be a mix, right?
Ideally, I’d like it to be a mix of team and individual contributor, but this role is really just an individual contributor. If being around a team is negotiable, think about where else you’re going to get that connection. Maybe you start volunteering. Maybe you’re making sure that you’re keeping those connections in your outside life.
Could the trade-off be found elsewhere outside of the work? And then also being really honest with yourself, if the trade-off is not negotiable.
It’s okay to withdraw yourself from an interview process as somebody who’s recruited for 30 years now. It happens. It’s okay. We understand.
Again, we are looking for someone who’s going to love the job. If you’re not going to love it, yes, know that because I am not going to be able to get you to love it. That’s what you bring to it.
Mac Prichard:
How about skills? Sara, I know that you’re a big fan of doing an inventory of skills, and you found that it can bring clarity. Say more about that. How can knowing the skills you offer help you get clear about what you want to do next?
Sara Stowe:
Yeah, and it’s important to do that, I think, not just for this kind of what’s the ideal job that maybe I could pivot from what I’m doing now to something else, but it really is how HR is starting to rethink talent strategy, talent acquisition.
Because of the rapid evolution of technology and where we are with things like AI and robotics, and jobs that we didn’t have, and how do we re-skill people, and the obligation that companies have to find people that they can re-skill into these new positions.
So some of that work may be happening in your organization; you can borrow from that. There are a lot of assessments out there that you can do at a relatively low cost that can give you, “you’ve got these skills.” So maybe if you’ve been a financial analyst, maybe you don’t know that you’re kind 80% there to be a cybersecurity analyst.
There are ways that you can pivot what you’re doing. You don’t just have to stay within the discipline that you’ve been working. So those types of things, particularly those skills that really energize you, have those be on the list.
Hopefully, companies are sharing things like job descriptions where they’re also listing out those competencies and skills. And then you’ll be able to speak to them in the interview. You’ll be able to connect those dots for the interview or your experience.
Mac Prichard:
And in your experience, what happens in an interview with a candidate who’s gotten clear about the skills that they’re most excited about and that actually match with the job description? What’s that conversation like when you’re on the recruiting side?
Sara Stowe:
There’s a level of confidence because while HR and talent strategy are moving towards skills, we still have a lot of managers out there who are focused on years of experience, and I’m all about, what is the quality of those years of experience?
And so if you can speak with confidence and help kind of connect the dots for the manager of, you know, I haven’t necessarily been in an accounting team or I have been in an accounting team, but the skills that I’ve built in the accounting team, when I think about the role of the cybersecurity analyst, by example, here are the ways that I see me being successful in that role.
There’s nothing quite like being able to walk into an interview where it is high stakes and have confidence, and part of that is competence.
Mac Prichard:
When you’re doing a search, it’s sometimes you can get stuck. What do you recommend to somebody who’s feeling overwhelmed or not sure how to get started and struggling to figure out that clarity?
Sara Stowe:
Keep going and do something. Maybe that frame of mind is I’m in a job that I didn’t really plan for, and I did take it haphazardly, right? So maybe I have found myself here. I wasn’t thoughtful about it, I wasn’t intentional about it, but here I am.
Who else does this job that I can connect with? Who else has been doing this job for a long time that it seems like they like it? And, you know, as much as I love my job, there aren’t very many people who want to talk to me about it.
And so I take that as I work with high school students, you know, I say like, “You know, find someone and ask for their advice.” You don’t know how infrequently that happens and what a touch of pride it is for us that somebody’s coming to us and asking for advice.
But the advice around how do you feel connected to the work that you do? What about your work is important not just to you but to the organization? Why does it matter? Because every single job that is filled by a person matters to that organization. Just practically as a business for economics.
We have to look at it and make sure that every job we have is important. So if you know that job matters, finding somebody who can maybe express to you how they feel connected to it, why they understand that it matters, the penny might drop in that conversation.
But it’s also great networking, and you also might learn something. And as we build that competence and we build our confidence and we find that connection, we might discover that we actually are in a job that we love.
Mac Prichard:
Well, it’s been a great conversation. Sara, now tell us what’s next for you.
Sara Stowe:
Well, what’s next for me is we have our jewel in the crown of the Portland Workforce Alliance Northwest Youth Career Expo. So I’ve been volunteering with the Northwest, excuse me, the Portland Workforce Alliance for about 15 years now.
They’re a wonderful nonprofit and we do youth workforce readiness and we have a wonderful career fair. So I’m in charge of recruiting all of the mock interviewers.
So if anybody is interested in having one of the best mock interviews you can ever do, we are always looking for volunteers.
Mac Prichard:
Terrific. We’ll be sure to include links to the Portland Workforce Alliance website in the show notes. And I know you also invite audience members to connect with you on LinkedIn. When you do reach out to Sara, please mention you saw and heard her on Find Your Dream Job. Now, Sara, given all the great advice you’ve shared today, what’s the one thing you want an audience member to remember about how to get clear about what you want?
Sara Stowe:
The advice I give is to keep going. The worst thing you can do is stop. So keep the momentum going as you step forward. Even if it’s into that kind of haphazard, didn’t really think about it job, other opportunities are going to open up that you didn’t even know were possible.
Just be encouraged to keep going. Connect with people in your network. But yeah, keep going.
Mac Prichard:
Next week, our guest will be Claire Martin.
She’s the director of employer engagement at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon.
Before joining higher education, Claire worked in human resources and helped recruit hundreds of people.
As an applicant, you may find the hiring process to be mysterious and opaque.
Join us next Wednesday when former recruiter Claire Martin pulls back the curtain and shares her hiring secrets.
Until next time, thanks for letting us help you find your dream job.
This show is produced by Mac’s List.
Susan Thornton-Hough schedules our guests and writes our newsletter. Lisa Kislingbury Anderson manages our social media and creates our transcripts.
Our sound engineer and editor is Anna McClain. And our music is by Freddy Trujillo.
This is Mac Prichard. See you next week.
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