How to Put More YOU in Your Job Search

Does your job search need more YOU in it?

I bet it does.

Part of making a career move that matters is that your search efforts must be grounded in and reflective of your qualifications, skills, experience and values.

When you’re too focused on “rules” like using as many keywords as possible (not necessary!) or getting your resume down to one page (please don’t worry about that!) we forget that we have to find ways to honestly express and share who we are to effectively navigate this process.

Let’s talk about how to put more YOU in your job search.

Get comfortable with your story

 My clients often worry that their career choices won’t make sense to potential employers – but I’ve yet to actually hear a client story that didn’t make sense to me once they were able to share their motivations and context for their decisions.

The bottom line is when you are clear about your story, goals, and choices and you can tell a concise story about your professional evolution, you become way more than a set of qualifications – you can be a very compelling candidate and potential teammate.

The key here to distill or edit the story down in a concise way that centers your relevant experience. 

Try writing it down first, acknowledge your truth and edit into something appropriate for your search!

Take advantage of job search tools

Obviously, LinkedIn is a great place to demonstrate your story, interests, and strengths because you can write a headline and summary and create and share the content of interest to you.

You can also do the same thing with your resume and cover letter. 

Effectively your story down and share the most relevant details so that you stand out as qualified and as an individual. 

No job search tool gives you the opportunity to write or talk endlessly so learning to curate the most relevant highlights is essential.

While your resume and LinkedIn profile may seem boring to you, I consider them powerful assets that can open doors for you. It’s worth it to start thinking and using them in this way.

Give yourself permission

It can feel uncomfortable to put your values and passions into your resume – so if your resume isn’t working for you, try giving yourself permission to experiment with a new iteration of your application that includes some of these pieces