How to Stop Job Hopping and Start Building a Career You Actually Like
Your Job is Not a Trap—It’s a Vehicle
Let’s be real for a second. If you’re a young adult navigating the world with an ADHD brain, you’ve probably felt it: that suffocating "Sunday Scaries" feeling that starts on Saturday afternoon.
You’re not just tired. You’re existentially exhausted.
I see it every day in my counseling sessions. I see the 23-year-old college grad with ADHD and OCD who has burned through two jobs in a year, convinced that a 40-hour workweek is an impossible myth. I see the 51-year-old teacher who is terrified of retiring because they don’t know how their "classroom skills" translate to the "real world."
They all say the same thing: "Scott, I’m looking for a career, not just another soul-sucking job."
But here is the truth that might sting a little (I say this with love, as an expert): The reason you’re stuck is likely because of how you define those two words. We need to stop viewing jobs as "necessary evils" and start viewing them as strategic vehicles designed to get you to a destination. Let’s break down how to stop the "job-hopping" cycle and start creating a career that actually fits your brain.
The "Floating" Problem: Why We Get Stuck in the Grind
When you have ADHD, the "Job vs. Career" struggle looks different at every stage of life:
In your 20s: You’re drowning in a sea of "endless options." You take a job because you need the cash, but because it’s disconnected from your passions, your Executive Function (EF) takes a nosedive. You hit burnout in record time.
In your 30s: Regret starts to settle in. You look at your resume and see a "patchwork quilt" of random roles—zookeeper, insurance agent, barista—and you think, “I’ve wasted my time.”
In your 40s and 50s: It’s pure restlessness. You’re afraid of stagnation. You’re worried that if you leave what you know, you’ll realize you have no "marketable" skills (spoiler alert: you do).
Most people end up in this cycle because of societal pressure or family expectations. We are told to "find" our career, as if it’s a golden treasure hidden under a rock. When we can't find it, we grab a "job" to survive, dreading every Monday because we don't see how this "vehicle" is moving us anywhere.
Reframing the Definitions: Job vs. Career
Most of my clients come to me with a flawed map. They think:
A Job is a dead-end trap.
A Career is a magical 30-year path where work never feels like work.
Both of those are wrong.
A career isn’t a single job you do for 30 years. That doesn't exist anymore! A career is the sum total of your professional journey. It is a manifestation of your identity, your gifts, and your service to the world.
A job, then, is simply the vehicle you are driving right now to get closer to that career destination.
Think about it: You wouldn’t hate a beat-up 2005 Honda Civic if you knew it was the only way to get to a tropical vacation, right? You’d appreciate the car for what it does. Jobs are the same. They are strategic. They grow your expertise. They teach you what you don’t like (which is just as valuable as knowing what you do).
4 Mindset Shifts to ADHD-Proof Your Path
If you want to stop "shooting in the dark" and start building momentum, you need to shift your internal hardware. Here are the four shifts I walk my clients through:
1. Begin with the End in Mind (Backward Mapping)
ADHD brains struggle with "time blindness." We live in the Now or the Not Now. To fix this, you have to reverse-engineer your life.
Where do you want to be in 10 years? Not just "what title," but what impact are you making? Who are you helping? Once you have that "Career City" in your sights, you can ask: "What job vehicle will posture me for success there?"
My Story: Early in my journey, I took a low-paying counseling job. On paper, it looked like a "bad" job. But it paid for massive amounts of training and gave me high-level supervision. It was the perfect vehicle to get me to my destination: owning my own practice.
2. Careers Must Evolve (The Developmental Perspective)
One of the biggest ADHD traps is "Black and White Thinking." We think if we change occupations, we've failed.
Wrong. Your career should change as you change. My stepdad was a pastor until his family grew and he needed more income; he shifted to real estate. Did he stop his "calling"? No. He just changed the vehicle to fit his new life stage.
3. Use the Job Search as an Exploration Tool
Stop applying for jobs 40 hours a week. That is a recipe for ADHD burnout.
Instead, search on Mondays and Thursdays. Use the rest of the time for clarification. When you interview, don’t just try to get the job—use it as a research mission. Is this environment a good "fit"? Does it play to your strengths of creativity and personability, or will it crush your soul with repetitive data entry?
4. Ground Your Path in Service
Success and satisfaction are always based on value. Who can you help? What impact can you make? The more value you add, the more leverage you have to demand a better "vehicle" (better pay, remote work, flexibility).
From "Finding" to "Creating"
I recently worked with a client in his 30s who had a totally "eclectic" resume. He felt like a failure because he had jumped from museum work to insurance. He was paralyzed by the "randomness" of his life.
We reframed his story. We looked at the "red threads" connecting those jobs: problem-solving, personability, and adaptability. By treating his career like a business he was building, rather than a path he was "finding," the pressure evaporated. He stopped aimlessly hopping and started strategically driving.
Your Next Steps: Building Your Map
If you’re feeling stuck in that "Departure to Despair" vehicle we talked about, I want you to hear this: You are not broken, and you are not behind. You’ve just been driving without a GPS.
Stop looking for the "perfect" job. Start looking for the right vehicle for this specific leg of your journey.
Ready to start mapping?
Audit your "Vehicles": What has every past job taught you about your "fit"?
Identify your "Service": What is the one way you love to help people?
Download the Guide: I’ve put together a free ADHD Career Guide to help you narrate your resume and find your destination.
You’ve got the talent. You’ve got the God-given gifts. Now, let’s get you the right car.
See you on the road,