Struggling To Tell Your Story Clearly and Authentically?
Struggling to tell your story? You already know that "telling your story" is an important piece of clearly articulating where you’ve been and where you want to go next in your career.
Whether you're looking for a wholesale career change, positioning yourself for promotion, or planting the seed for an overseas assignment, how you talk about yourself connects the dots between what you want and what the other person is looking for.
But if your confidence has taken a hit, you struggle with which of your strengths are truly meaningful to share, or you're unsure of your direction, telling a clear and concise story can feel impossible.
Which leads to procrastinating these conversations. Or dragging yourself through them. Which ultimately leads back to procrastinating. 😉
Sure, you could revamp your resumé or "optimize" your LinkedIn profile.
But that's one piece of the puzzle. And a surface one at that.
Telling your story isn't just about the words. It's about telling it in a way that feels authentic and energizing and believable to you.
So let's take stock.
What’s The Story You Want To Tell?
Which of these apply to your situation:
You want to make the case for a career pivot,
You need help explaining a detour in your career or finding the through line in your work history,
You have a new idea or direction that's not fully baked yet,
You're exploring a few disparate career options,
Your career interests defy categorization—there's no snappy job title or clear name for what you're looking for.
Any of these resonate?
Especially if you're following my advice to use your networking conversations to fill in the gaps, it can be hard to sound like you're not all over the place.
And who wants to go into a conversation feeling like that?!
The good news: I have a formula for this!
Several, in fact.
And it's not just a script you recite ad nauseum.
I help you OWN your story, so you can flow in the moment, speak extemporaneously about who you are at your best, talk about what you want, answer unanticipated questions, and—you know I'm going to say it—ENJOY these conversations.
So if you're feeling shaky on how to talk about yourself and articulate what you want clearly and concisely, know that it's normal.
But the worst thing you can do is let that delay talking to people about what you want.
If you’re struggling to tell your story, I want to share a career success story to challenge the belief that you're not ready to have these conversations...
...And prove that you can create a beautiful, powerful story exactly where you are right now, regardless or what's happened or where you've been...
...And get you really excited about the doors that open when you do.
Career Success Story: From Vague To Laser-focused
Let me introduce "Jim," someone who, 6 months ago, probably would have ticked every single one of those boxes above.
He was exploring several disparate areas: breweries, sports, outdoors, and music—all of which were a pivot from his current career.
Jim didn't have a snappy job title that summed up what he was looking for.
In fact, he knew he was looking for opportunities where he could be a utility player and have ownership of a large area.
He knew he wanted to target companies that had an impact beyond the product or service they offered, but he didn't have a concrete list of target organizations.
So we came up with a way to tie together all these elements so he could talk about them in a really CLEAR and POWERFUL way.
Which gave him confidence to be authentic and transparent in his reach-outs.
Which led to better, targeted conversations.
Which gave him serious clarity about the direction he wanted to pursue.
Which is allowing him to laser focus on a company that's really exciting.
Not to mention, he ended up on a call where the hiring manager began voluntarily brainstorming with him about where he could fit in to the company (but that's a whole separate story).
You Have a Unique, Compelling Story To Tell. Ready To Write It?
"But, Caroline...My situation is different. This won't work for me because..."
My friend, there are so. many. success. stories. like. the. one. above.
So before you start in with the all the reasons why this WON'T work for your situation, I invite you consider how it can.
With just a little time and attention—and the right guidance—you can come up with a story that feels authentic and energizing that you actually look forward to sharing.
And I want to help you do it.
Check out my 6-week career change course: Design a Career You Love.
Here's a Sneak Peek Of What We'll Cover Each Week:
You'll see it's the right mix of mindset, strategy, and action you need to uncover your next career opportunity.
You’ll walk away with renewed confidence and clarity so you can find the opportunities that fit YOU—perhaps some options you hadn’t considered or even dismissed as “unrealistic.”
Not to mention building a team of people who inspire, energize, and support you.
Meantime, if you’re struggling to tell your story, comment below to share what's getting in the way.
This post is part of a series on how to network your way to a career you love. In case you missed it, take this quick quiz: How Strong Is Your Networking Game? and read The #1 Networking Mistake People Make.
Author Bio:
Before becoming a coach, Caroline had a successful career in management consulting and financial services. She's made it her mission to help people grow, contribute, and get wherever they want to go in their careers.
Caroline wants people to recognize how much power they truly have to define their careers. The life and career you want is truly possible once you have the roadmap. Take the first step by downloading her free 4-step career roadmap.
