I’m taking an improvisational film class right now. It’s a little bit of filming, a little bit of editing, a little bit of improv acting, and a little bit of sketch writing.

I’ve learned two things very quickly.

One: if I never see iMovie or CapCut again in my life, I’ll be perfectly fine!

And two: I’m suddenly obsessed with sketch comedy.

Most evenings lately you’ll find me rewatching old SNL clips, falling down a Whose Line Is It Anyway? rabbit hole, or studying Key & Peele sketches trying to understand what makes them work.

I’ve even started watching tutorials on sketch writing.

One thing I learned right away is that script writing is completely different from the kind of writing most of us learned in school. It has its own structure, rhythm, pacing, and formatting. I’m learning a new software tool just to help me write in this entirely different way.

The tool helps.

Another thing I learned is that sketches are often written collaboratively. People bring in observations, random thoughts, half-developed ideas, strange little moments they can’t stop thinking about and lay them on the table.

Then together, through brainstorming and experimenting, they slowly shape the story. They cut what isn’t working, expand on what is and take things up several notches as they go.

Sketch comedy is all about the escalation and the exaggeration.

It is stretching me in ways I have never stretched before.

It’s scary and lots of fun.

And it feels a bit like being at a career crossroads and trying to figure out where to take your career next.

You start with your interests, your instincts, your skills, your ideas. You put them out on the table.

Then over time, with tools, experimentation, and community collaboration, the vision becomes clearer.

But the biggest thing I’ve learned about sketch comedy that I think is a necessary ingredient when you are in a career pivot is this:

Comedy writers are always looking for “the funny.”

And the funny is the starting point that is also the ending point …

Something happens during the day. A funny comment. A strange interaction. A weird moment. And if it makes them laugh, that often becomes the ending of the sketch.

Then they work backward and build the story toward that funny moment.

This just feels like such a wonderful way to approach career reinvention.

What if, instead of focusing on “relevant” job titles, a perfectly crafted resume, holding on to your past title and influence or your practical five-year plans, you started paying closer attention to what makes you laugh?

What if we assumed that these moments weren’t random?

That there are clues that are here to help you discover the career story you actually want to write.

This week, try this:

Step 1: Start by finding the funny

Begin by paying attention to the things that bring you joy. Follow the fun every day. Track who you are with and what you are doing when you are having your most fun. It does not have to be at work.  Track all the moments. All the times, past and present, that you were filled with joy and laughter. List them out. This is data for your next career move and will become essential signposts pointing you to that ideal role you are moving towards.

Step 2: Craft a career vision that has funny as the punch line

Once you have found the funny in your days ask yourself, “How could I bring these things into my career? What would that look like?”

A few years ago, I already had the desire to bring more fun into my work, so I began noticing what I already did that was fun.

One of my favorite things to do is to play poker with my girlfriends. It is my favorite because I laugh so hard when we are together.

That was a signpost for me. It got me thinking about how much I love playing games.

If you have been a long-term follower of me and InspiHER Tech you know that every holiday season I create a game of some sort that I share in my blog and online. I have so much fun coming up with a game and then creating it with my team.

Take your funny moments and start to tap into your imagination about how this could become part of your next career move. Your left-brain logic will not get it. But your right brain comedienne has been waiting for this moment. Tap into your inner Tina Fey on this one.

Step 3: Build your tools and community of support

In sketch writing, I use a tool called CELTX. It helps me keep to the specific sketch writing formula. It makes sure that things stay fun.

I also am part of a Film Club that is working on writing and acting in our own short comedy sketch. We each bring different experiences and ideas to the project. We collaborate and brainstorm and … laugh a lot!

Careers, like sketches, rarely come together in the first draft. This can take time. We need to make sure we have laughter and fun all around us so we keep going.

What tools or support systems do you already have in place (or can you add) that will make this next career move feel like so much fun you can’t believe you’re getting paid for it?

And you want to know the worst part?

Your stomach is going to ache … from all the belly laughs!

I’ll take that sort of problem all day long, won’t you?