Whether you are just starting out in your career or are a seasoned leader finding yourself reentering the job market for the first time after many years, a job transition can be the right moment to reflect on your work so far, examine your professional aspirations, and take a meaningful, concrete step into the next chapter of your career.
While exciting, embarking on the job search process can also be intimidating and filled with uncertainty.
To help you navigate this crucial phase of your journey, the experts at Lindauer have compiled their tips for narrating your career journey. You’ll learn how to take your accomplishments and experiences, your successes and disappointments, and turn them into the kind of clear, compelling story that communicates your value to hiring organizations.
Crafting Your Narrative
Your resume is more than a compilation of skills and achievements; it’s the story you tell about yourself to your potential employer. It’s a carefully crafted narrative that uses your unique strengths, accomplishments, and aspirations to make a compelling argument for your candidacy. It carefully frames your transferable skills and competencies in a way that is legible and meaningful to future employers.
Each section, from your professional summary to your work history, contributes to painting a vivid picture of who you are as a candidate. Every word and detail should be chosen to showcase your value proposition and suitability for the role.
Your resume is your opportunity to make a compelling first impression and to connect the dots between what you’ve done and what you could do for the hiring organization. It is the foundation of the story you’ll tell.
1. Prepare Your “Good List”
Before jumping into your application materials, take a moment to reflect.
While it is important to own your whole story (both the good and the bad) when you are on the job market, it can sometimes be too easy to focus on past failures or what you could have done better.
Your first task when preparing for a new opportunity should be to make a record of the good—your strengths, your accomplishments, and your growth. These are the plot points in the story you want to tell.
2. Leave FOR, Not FROM
Each position on your resume should tell a story of growth—a narrative of how you have moved forward with intention to each new position.
Too often, candidates describe moving to a new position in terms of why they left their previous organization as opposed to why they wanted to join their new one. As you put together your resume, keep in mind how each position you include has been valuable, deliberate, and served your larger goals and development. And be prepared to narrate that progression in an interview.
Pay close attention to the job description, but avoid simply copying and pasting it into your resume or cover letter. Instead, use tangible examples to demonstrate how your unique background and experience reflect the position responsibilities and requirements.
Be especially aware that short tenures at previous organizations signal to hiring teams that you might be uncomfortable with challenging workplaces or inexperienced with leadership transition. These are not dealbreakers, but you should be prepared to explain how they are part of your journey.
3. Use Data to Advance Your Narrative
You have very limited space to make your case to your audience of recruiters and hiring teams. Numbers, percentages, and metrics are the most succinct way to make your resume more compelling, legible, and memorable to potential employers.
Have you increased annual giving, expanded alumni networks, or managed large campaigns? This quantifiable data adds credibility to your accomplishments and helps recruiters understand the tangible value you bring to the table. At the same time, the numbers should serve the larger story you’re telling about your career journey.
4. Attention to Detail Matters
Do not underestimate the power of correct grammar and thorough proofreading. A well-proofed resume signals preparedness, seriousness, and professionalism, while careless mistakes can quickly eliminate you in a highly competitive job market. This holds true for all communication throughout the entire job search process.
Communicating Your Narrative
Interview advice can often contain seemingly bewildering contradictions. Learn everything about an organization, but come with insightful questions. Come across as professional, but also be relatable. Be confident, but also approachable.
In reality, what appear to be contradictions are two sides of the same coin.
5. Prepare, Prepare, Prepare
Research the organization, its culture, and the role you’re applying for. Anticipate potential interview questions and prepare thoughtful responses that demonstrate your knowledge and enthusiasm. Draw from your career narrative. Be able to answer three key questions: Why this position? Why now? Why you?
6. Questions Are as Important as Answers
The best questions are the result of good preparation rather than the lack of it, signaling to the search team that you have done your research. Asking insightful questions during the interview demonstrates your curiosity and interest in the role.
Prepare a list of questions beforehand to ask the interviewer to showcase your investment in and understanding of the organization. Ideally, you’ll want to come to interviews with a mix of questions related to both the role specifically and the organization more generally.
7. Style Serves Substance
Employers are looking for candidates who can deliver results and contribute meaningfully to the organization. Content—demonstrated experience, intelligent answers, deep knowledge of an industry—is critical. The more senior and specialized a position, the more important it becomes.
However, in an interview, effectively communicating this content is paramount. Organize your experiences as a narrative leading to this position. Practice presenting your story, and then practice again.
Interviewers can have biases and can make judgements on many things outside of your control, so lean into what you can control. Show them you are a confident, professional leader and expert in your field by knitting your previous work experience into a coherent progression that conveys clarity of purpose and intention.
8. Balance the “I” and the “We”
As you narrate your career accomplishments, interviewers will listen for your ability to differentiate between your individual contributions and those of your larger team.
You should show your understanding of the power of collaborative work, your ability to thrive on a team, and your big-picture thinking. At the same time, you need to be able to clearly articulate how your individual tasks and accomplishments contributed to these larger achievements.
9. Take It Seriously
Treat every step of the interview process with professionalism and every person with respect. Be punctual, courteous, and attentive, whether you’re interacting with recruiters, interviewers, or potential colleagues—from administrative support to top leaders. Don’t take anything for granted; even hand-picked candidates have struggled in interviews by taking the process too casually.
Evolving Your Narrative
10. Reframe Rejection
By reframing rejection as part of your journey and focusing on personal growth and resilience, you can navigate the job search process with greater confidence and self-assurance. Remember, your worth goes far beyond any single job opportunity, and the right role will value and appreciate all that you bring to the table.
Each interview experience is an opportunity for growth and learning. Reflect on what you gained from the process, whether it’s sharpening your interview skills, expanding your network, or gaining insights into different industries and organizations.