Real Work.
Real Soon.

We help career advisors and their clients create personalized, deeply meaningful careers through self-discovery and strategic planning. As a result, clients get faster employment in the short term and sky-high levels of fulfillment in the long run.

Two people shaking hands with light green stars in the background
“Every client we have referred to Working On Purpose has returned to us motivated, focussed and ready to get to work!”

Chelsey Berner

Director, National Vocational Rehabilitation Services CBI Health

A bunch of balloons with hearts inside

Purposeful

Our programs are built on the belief that everyone has a unique contribution to offer and a deep, innate desire to deliver that contribution.

A cartoon map with an x and a destination

Practical

Whether you're job hunting, a career advisor, or a business leader, our proven methods—refined over decades—help you find purpose and launch meaningful careers quickly.

A cartoon trophy

Proven

Independent studies have shown our programs to be up to 2-3 times as effective as traditional career development programs in helping individuals attain and retain work

How it works

Six modules to help clients get from stuck to thriving

cartoon two hands holding energy bolt

MODULE 1: TAKE CHARGE

Develop clarity on why you are making the decisions you are currently making and how to make that process more effective for you. Replace the negative and unconscious payoffs you are getting for your choices with positive and conscious ones.

cartoon chain breaking

MODULE 2: GET UNSTUCK

Use your newly developed approach to decision making to identify the labels, rigidities and limiting beliefs you have placed on yourself in order to get unstuck. Get tools to increase your self-awareness, self-esteem and self-confidence every single day.

cartoon person looking in a mirror

MODULE 3: GET REAL

Now that you removed the rigidities and limiting beliefs you can re-connect with the essence of who you really are and describe that in a Personal Mission Statement. Decide upon the person you will be from this point forward. It is important to know who you are before deciding what you will do.

a lightbulb with leaves inside

MODULE 4: DEFINE YOUR WORK PURPOSE

Now that you have a senseof the person you want to be, it's time to decide upon the contribution you will make to improve your world. Declare the purpose of your work before deciding upon the career(s) that will deliver that purpose.

a compass with a checkmark

MODULE 5: PLANNING PART 1 - CAREER DEVELOPMENT

Now develop that Work Purpose into a career path by identifying jobs, training, schooling, etc, that will assist you in delivering your work purpose.

A cartoon game plan on a pull down chart

MODULE 6: PLANNING PART 2 - STRATEGIC PLANNING

Apply a strategical approach to the purpose you have developed. Write a business plan for yourself that will provide you with a fulfilling, impactful life.

"This course is a must for anyone in the career and personal development field. It does what no other approach manages to do and that is tap directly into a person’s core motivation for work, finding personal meaning and sense of purpose. Profound and creative!"

Bill Davies

Senior Consultant, JCA (Occupational Psychologists) Ltd., Cheltenham, United Kingdom

Why it works

A Modern Approach to A Modern Market

We incorporate the traditional tools that work, without the mindset that doesn’t

Traditional Career Planning
Working On Purpose
Philosophical Origin
Industrial Era
Designed around the industrial-era needs of large hierarchical organizations
Information Age
Designed around the modern reality of dynamic, interconnected, and rapidly changing work environments
Career Path
Linear Career
Assumes a predictable career progression (education → job → promotions)
Non-linear Career
Knows that careers are multifaceted and contain uncertainty. Embraces diverse trajectories, lateral moves, and career changes
Goal Setting
Rigid, Long-Term Goals
Emphasizes fixed, long-term milestones (like promotions or job titles) that in today’s landscape can result in missed opportunities
Adaptable Goal Setting
Promotes adaptable long-term goals that can be revised as circumstances change and self-knowledge increases
Job Market
Predictable Job Markets
Relies on stable, established industries and roles
Exploration of Emerging Fields
Embraces evolving markets and encourages discovery of new industries and future roles
Skills
Emphasis on Formal and Technical Skills
Prioritizes hard skills and formal qualifications, often creating barriers to entry and debt burdens
Emphasis on Applicable Skills
Focuses on building soft and technical skills that are directly relevant to the job at hand, at the right time
Personalization
One-Size-Fits-All
Applies generic advice and strategies to all individuals
Personalized Career Strategies
Guides individuals to identify the contribution they want to make in the world and helps them create highly personalized plans to deliver their contribution
Educational Approach
Neglects Continuous Learning
Assumes education ends after formal schooling or training
Embraces Lifelong Learning
Prepares individuals to embrace ongoing education and skill acquisition throughout their career
Inclusivity
Defines Narrow Set of Qualifications
Sets rigid definitions of who is able to perform what work, based on narrowly defined metrics
Defines Wider Range of Access
Embraces evolving markets and encourages discovery of new industries and future roles
Programs

Same Core Content, Unique Delivery Options That Work For You

For Individuals

Help empower clients through workshops and online learning

For Career Professionals

Learn to facilitate Working On Purpose in your own organization

For Business Leaders

Build a rock solid culture by aligning employee purpose with company goals

Don't take our word for it

Hear from some of our amazing program graduates who are working on purpose

"This program is very different than anything else I have ever done. At times it will be very difficult but it's absolutely worth it. By the end of it I feel like I have a completely different outlook all together[... ] It's freeing!"
Derek Wilson
Working On Purpose Participant
"This is a valuable workshop that artfully condenses self discovery, identifying one's purpose and values, and the energy of the group interaction and support. I highly recommend it!"
Sandra Rogoza
Working On Purpose Participant
"I went from a mature worker who nobody wants in a 25% unemployment market with no post-secondary education, in the middle of a pandemic to the job I'm in now. I identified my work purpose which gives me so much inner peace [...] it's absolutely transformative."
Cheryl Taylor
Career Hero Participant
"It has been an eye opener. Before starting the modules I was constantly trying to find my way as in what do I do [...] at first I was feeling so depressed, so out of place, so out of sorts because I have been out of the job for over 1 year and when I found this course I'm like... what the hell was I doing before? where was this course all the while?"
Roxanne Bravo
Career Hero Participant
"I appreciate how this workshop helped me *rapidly* engage in mindset and perspective shifts. It was empowering to be in a group working through these ideas."
Alix Schlecht
Working On Purpose Participant
"I am so glad I did this workshop. I now have a concrete plan on how to move forward with my career after years of being stuck, not knowing what to do, and working in low paying jobs that don't offer the challenge and fulfillment that I'm looking for. I'm excited for where my career journey will take me!"
Jennifer Reinhart
Working On Purpose Participant
A photo of Steve Miller smiling

Meet the guide

In 1987, Steve Miller was struggling with many of the same issues that career advisors are still struggling with today: low client engagement, pressure to meet rapid placement outcomes, huge caseloads, and a significant lack of long-term retention.

Fearing outcome-based funding cuts and feeling disappointed by the apparent lack of impact he was making in his client’s lives, Steve decided to figure out what was missing. Inspired by Joseph Cambell’s Hero Journey, Steve undertook his own 7 year odyssey of research and collaboration, and created a program that has now helped thousands of individuals launch meaningful careers.

Today, Steve continues to fulfill his own work purpose by guiding job seekers, career agencies, and diverse organizations through their own self-discovery and strategic planning journeys. He also works with his business partner Silviu (founder of The Aha! Moment) to expand their reach to more people who need it, most recently through the new self-paced version of Working On Purpose, Career Hero.

Free download

We Work!

We Work! is a short read describing the philosophy and approach behind Working on Purpose and Implicit Career Search. Enter your name and email to download a digital version!

Thank you! Please click the button below and your copy of We Work! will open in a new tab.
Button Text
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
We Work! book cover