Honing Your Personal Story [WEBINAR]
When navigating career transition, your personal story is a critical component to making the leap. Whether you’re interviewing for a new job or making another kind of pivot, it’s not always easy to connect the story of who you are to the story of who you want to be.In today’s #FierceFall webinar, Life Design Coach Jessica Leigh Lyons unpacked how to do just that. Watch the entire replay below, but first – here are my top three take-aways:
1. Remember: you get to choose your own story
There are a million stories out there that could be told to explain who were are, but guess what? YOU get to decide which one(s) to tell. We don’t need permission to explain our lives to others – it’s your life, tell the story that you feel best highlights what you want to highlight, keeping in mind your goals and your audience.“Ask yourself what you’re waiting for permission to do,” says Jess, “and then guess what? I’m giving you permission. If that’s what you’re waiting for, go for it.”
2. Learn how to brag like a boss
Sometimes it can be hard to boil it down from the big “who am I?” question to specific strengths that you bring to the table. That’s where your SQUAD can help, says Jess. “Call up your best friends and ask them what they feel your top strengths are,” says Jess. From there you can brainstorm specific stories you can tell that demonstrate those strengths in action.
3. Use a story arc to connect who you are to who you want to be
A story arc can help you answer the question “why are you here today?” in a big way. It starts, says Jess, by broadly defining what you’re all about with a few key words. Like “I want to make it clear, I’m a driven, motivated learner.” Then, share 1-2 experiences, jobs, or choice moments that demonstrate what you just said, but in a narrative form, like “I started in retail, where I learned everything I could about customer service and meeting client needs, but I hit a ceiling on my growth there rather quickly. So I sought out new opportunities to grow outside of my 9-to-5 by volunteering with an organization I really want to see succeed, the Boys & Girls Club, where I took the lead on organizing our annual Thanksgiving food drive, doubling our number of families served in two years.” Then, tie it all together by connecting your past with this present opportunity you’re seeking, keeping in mind what you audience is looking for most. “I know that for this role you’re looking for a community organizer, and I want you to know that I am ready and able to step into that role and run with it, just like I have in the past. I am excited to apply my customer service skills, experience serving our community, and motivation to learn all that I can in this new environment. I will not let you down.”In this way you’re building your story arc to explain how it has led you to where you are today.Get more of what Jess has to offer over on www.JessicaLeighLyons.com, and watch the full webinar replay below..How can you put thes #bosstips to practice in your own life right now? Share your story in the comments below and be sure to sign up for our upcoming #FierceFall webinars, featuring other incredible women who will help you craft a happy, healthy, and sustainable career.