6 ways to define your career story

Your career story is more than just your resume or portfolio. It’s how you talk about yourself and how other people think about you. Here are five ways to craft your story so that you effectively present yourself when it’s time for landing the interview.

1. Do some deep thinking about where you are and where you want to be. The gap between your current reality and your dream is what you need to focus on, developing a ladder to get you to the top.

2. Follow people already doing what you want to do. LinkedIn is a great resource for this. If you want to do digital marketing, find some smart influencers and experts who are sharing good content. Comment on and like items in their feed. Examine their career paths to see if you can take away any lessons.

3. Google yourself. This is what hiring managers and recruiters are going to do, so get an early start. What comes up on the first page? Does it all reflect who you used to be, or what you want to be? Raise your profile and push some of the old material down to the second page.

4. Create and hone your elevator pitch – aka, your Thanksgiving explanation about what you do to your aunts and uncles. 

5. Ask for testimonials and references, not just from your bosses but from clients, colleagues, and coworkers. People are often very happy to say something complimentary – it’s a very easy thing they can do to help someone else.

6. Be human. Talk about your experience and big wins, but also about your small successes, life events, challenges and problems, kids, and occasional frustrations.