Crafting a compelling personal narrative that aligns with career goals and makes you stand out in the job market is critical these days. And many of my clients struggle with how to start.
Often, we’re too close to our own lives, the multitude of details, the seemingly glaring failures to be able to pull those scraps into a coherent and compelling story.
Here are three things to consider:
Knit together the past:
No matter how diverse your background and experience, there’s a common thread there. You need to find it.
What were some of the commonalities across jobs?
• Were there commonalities in the things I’ve produced? (Ex: 0 to 1 projects)
• Do you have an industry or speciality in common across roles? (Ex: FinTech)
• Do you have a pattern of results or conditions across projects? (Ex: projects that were extended or used as best practices)
Include your future:
Your story needs to include where you are going next. Defining what you want from your future helps you emphasize where your story is going as much as where you’ve been. Start with what you’re curious about. Not everything you’re curious about becomes a life mission, but your curiosity is a signal of your interests and offer clues of what could engage you.
What do I enjoy and what am I curious about learning next?
• List things I like about work and energize me
• List any repeated or patterns of good feedback
• Brainstorm areas of your job that you’re curious about
Make an offer:
What are you offering as a team member? Why should they be interested?
Sometimes we can crumble under this question because we don’t view our talent that way, but looking at your past, you’ve probably created a lot off value for a lot of people! Your work mattered and you were good in aspects of that work. What will you bring to your next opportunity that is going to excite someone?
Why do my skills and experience matter to a marketplace or employer?
• How does my story align to the needs of others? (“I thrive on lean teams where every day requires a different hat”)
• What value do you provide in the marketplace? (“My background in research means I know how to test early and often”)
• What can you promise to do for someone else? (“I pride myself in building trust and strong relationships for a great team culture. I’m positive”)
Refine your story in writing until you are truly excited about it or proud to stand behind it.
Get help from your writerly friends to edit or refine further. Rehearse it in the car. Or to your dog.
“I’m a senior designer with design systems experience in tech.”
Becomes
“I’m a natural team builder with deep experience in design systems that cross both product standards and marketing efforts in the healthcare space. Most of my roles required cross-functional relationship building. I learn new tools quickly and look forward to bringing design systems into play more quickly and more accessibly in my next role.”
It’s easy to only focus on one of these areas, but if you use them as three legs of a stool, you create a new platform that’s stable, clear and exciting when someone asks, “So, tell us about yourself.”
