Dorie Clark‘s 2013 book, Reinventing You, has never been so timely. When she was interviewed recently for a few nuggety minutes about the Great Resignation essentials of self-reinvention, I noted some take-aways:
- Consider Capital R reinvention and/or lower case r reinvention,
2. Test the hypothesis of wanting to change to a new role and try it on for size, and
3. Then at about minute 4 in the interview…she said it, like I’ve been saying here all along:
Control the narrative around your reinvention.
Retell your pathway to the reader/listener/viewer. You have to.
Yes, folks, and from my own career experience, remaking myself from banker to corporate officer, to e-payments entrepreneur, to self-branding advocate, to book author, and soon to podcaster (the latter 4 all at once!) and let me tell you: it’s not what you say, but how well you say it.
Consider these essential steps:
- Plan your narrative. That means a few rewrites and tweaks.
- Practice your elevator pitch.
- Write a great website.
- Speak to the right audience on social media.
- Don’t get stuck in having to tell it chronologically, when it might be more effective to tell your story functionally, if that works best to make your points.
Why? Prospects need to learn what led you to question your path, how did you conceptualize your reinvention, when did you pull the trigger, then what happened, and how have you realigned your path in your evolving reinvention?
Yes, your past makes your present and indicates your future. This is a journey. And it’s a self-actualizing, gut-wrenching roller coaster ride, with elation and despair, and everything in between, adjustments along the way, so you’d better be in control of explaining your actions, with rich words around each step.
And where can you publish your career story? Yup, LinkedIn.
Not by merely filling in the blanks with bland factoids, but by stretching the space allowed you to encompass your whole story, logically presented, and vividly memorable.
You need to ace that story, one that a casual reader who drops by will absorb quickly and leave with the desired impression of a gutsy and self-driven person they should want to do business with. You are amazing-er than the next best competitor.
Because as I always say, if you don’t tell it well right off the bat, someone else will interpret it (perhaps incorrectly) or tell it for you (if you earn their referral) yet it will NEVER be as good as your telling it yourself, so control the narrative: give them access your career story on your customized LinkedIn profile page, as you want to tell it to them, so they will want to know more.
Give the decision-maker the easiest-access place to read, listen. view your words and media as you want them to stick and motivate them to contact you. LinkedIn.
Keep them enthralled by posting regular updates there with your thought leadership nuggets.
I’m getting that book!
