What we’ve come to understand is that one factor more than any other makes the difference: the ability to craft a good story.
But we’ve also seen a lot of people in the midst of significant transitions make effective use of contacts and successfully enlist supporters. Each of us has been to enough networking events to know that the one we’ve described here is not unusual. One of us, in the context of writing a book, has studied a wide variety of major career shifts the other has worked extensively with organizations and individuals on the use of narrative to bring about positive change. In our research and coaching on career reorientation, we’ve witnessed many people struggling to explain what they want to do next and why a change makes sense. Even worse, they didn’t feel compelled to try very hard. The people listening couldn’t readily understand how their knowledge and contacts might bear upon the teller’s situation. In the feedback sessions that followed each round of presentations, these “fact tellers” were hard to help. Those who did leave time to wrap up tended merely to list the four or five (disparate) things they might be interested in pursuing next. Most people spent their allotted two minutes (and lost the attention of those around them) before they even reached the punch line-the description of what they were seeking. Many felt compelled to begin with their first job, some even with their place of birth. Person after person stood up and recounted a laundry list of credentials and jobs, in chronological order. If you can make your story of transition cohere, you will have gone far in convincing the listener-and reassuring yourself-that the change makes sense for you and is likely to bring success.Īt a recent networking event, senior managers who’d been downsized out of high-paying corporate jobs took turns telling what they had done before and what they were looking for next. With all these twists and turns, how do you demonstrate stability and earn listeners’ trust? By emphasizing continuity and causality-in other words, by showing that your past is related to the present and, from that trajectory, conveying that a solid future is in sight. If these elements are missing from your career story, the tale will fall flat. Discontinuity and tension are part of the experience. It’s this kind of break with the past that will force you to discover and reveal who you really are. Perhaps you’ve come to an event or insight that represents a point of no return. The protagonist is you, of course, and what’s at stake is your career.
A transition story has inherent dramatic appeal. We present ourselves as safe-and dull and unremarkable.
THE STORY OF YOUR LIFE SHORT STORY HOW TO
Not knowing how to reconcile the built-in discontinuities in our work lives, we often relay just the facts. Tales of transition are especially challenging.
THE STORY OF YOUR LIFE SHORT STORY PROFESSIONAL
Unfortunately, the authors explain in this article, most of us fail to use the power of storytelling in pursuit of our professional goals, or we do it badly. A narrative thread will give meaning to your career history it will assure you that, in moving on to something new, you are not discarding everything you’ve worked so hard to accomplish. It also can help you believe in yourself.
When you’re in the midst of a major career change, telling stories about your professional self can inspire others’ belief in your character and in your capacity to take a leap and land on your feet.