I draw on my background and writing skills to help other people turn their many and varied life experiences into a coherent story. And may be I can help you too.
Untangling your story
I am a fully paid up member of the Squiggly Career club. I hadn’t realised that until I watched a webinar this morning with Helen Tupper of The Squiggly Career & Amazing If fame (www.amazingif.com). In just one-hour, she made sense of a work / life situation I have lived for the past I don’t know how many years.
I found my head nodding in agreement and it prompted me to put pen to paper. I thought I’d explain how my experience and writing skills help other people turn their many and varied life experiences into a coherent story. And may be I can help you too.
Making sense of your story
Because, if I’m honest my career decisions all make perfect sense to me. I can see the thread that ties these different roles together – it’s communication. And crucially, I know the backdrop to each of those decisions. Whether it was a proactive choice to move in a new direction or a situation forced on me because, well life happens.
To give you a flavour, I’ve worked in big corporate communication teams, trained as a postnatal facilitator with NCT and worked as a Teaching Assistant for children with special educational needs. I’ve also moved from Bath to Bournemouth and now live in West Yorkshire where I’m a copywriter for independent business owners. (Read more on my About me page)
Writing the right words
But I realise that might not be quite so clear to anyone meeting me for the first time. Explaining how and why I ended up in West Yorkshire in my late 40s as a copywriter didn’t roll off the tongue particularly easily to begin with. It took me a while to get the right words in the right order. And I still play around with them now.
It means though, that I can truly empathise with people who need help untangling their work and life experiences and turning them into a coherent story. A personal story that feels authentic and reflects you and your values.
But why do you need a stand-out profile?
Because this is your opportunity to really show people why they should work with you. You could just stick to the basics – who you are, what you do and so on. But, if that’s all you do, you’re missing a trick. Think about your experience, values and strengths and why that makes you the perfect person for your clients to work with. Focus on that. Amplify those messages.
Your profile is where you really show your clients why they should choose to work with you.
Amplify your strengths
Just yesterday I sent off a draft personal profile for a superb communication professional. She’s making a slight career pivot, one that she is very well qualified to make. Think niching down rather than complete change. But even with communication know-how, knowing which skills and experience to include and amplify is hard. Even harder is to talk up the personality traits that will help make the case for someone employing or working with you. But that’s why I love it.
And it’s not just me or my client that have made the change. There are so many more people switching careers, turning the side hustle into a full-time job or going freelance. And without stating the obvious, the pandemic has led to even more people looking for new roles. The stories are out there. You just might just need help writing yours.
I’ll write the words that will untangle your story, give it meaning and give you the confidence to not only tell it, but be proud of it too.
Finding the right words
So, what do I bring to the party? Asides from a large cup of Yorkshire tea, I’ll listen, provide perspective and the all-important writing skills. I’ll find and write the words that will untangle your story, give it meaning and give you the confidence to not only tell it, but be proud of it too.
Writing with sensitivity
I also understand the sensitivities involved. When I sat down to write my About Me page I thought hard about how much to share. Given that some of my career changes have come as a result of major life experiences that involve other people, I had to be careful about what I included. Yet I still wanted to be honest and authentic, because all these experiences contribute to who I am today and why I do what I do – write. It means I get it. I understand the complexities and conflicting emotions involved in making a big change.
Time for a fresh personal profile?
The good news though is that I can help. If any of the scenarios below ring a bell and you need help finding the right words and putting them in the right order, please Contact me I’d love to help. May be:
- You need a fresh personal or LinkedIn profile because you’re job hunting
- You need a fresh About me page on your website to really showcase your strengths
- Your marketing materials need rewriting to reflect a business change
- You want to make a career shift (could be a new direction, life change – anything) and you need a coherent and compelling personal brand story
Above all, I love hearing about the different life and work events that have brought a person to who and where they are now. And crucially, I also love hearing where they want to go next and knowing that I can help them on that path.
Thanks for reading, I hope you’ve had a great week so far!
Harriet
