The best job candidates are usually not the most competent or experienced.
In fact, I’ve noticed in remote start ups, there’s really no base level of experience a person needs need to get a role…
And competence is typically gained “on the job”.
So what makes the biggest difference in getting the role you want?
Storytelling.
The story of your career, how it fits with the job and company you are applying for, and ultimately the way you tell it, can make or break your chances of getting a role.
If you're applying for remote jobs, creating and learning how to tell your “career story” can be the secret weapon that helps you connect to the hiring manager and get an offer.
When I say "creating" a career story, I don't mean, "making a story up."
I mean telling explaining your career in a clear and compelling story format that your hiring manager will appreciate.
Here are 5 simple steps I use to create my career story, my personal examples, and how I connect them.
Step 1: The Foundational Moments
To begin, it's important that you explain the origins of your current career. I say current because you may have done some other kind of work first, but now you want to change focus.
Having a clear foundation will help your hiring manager (and you) understand the growth you have experienced in your career.
Every part of your story that you tell hereafter will have the anchor of your foundation for you to reference.
My example: I decided to leave teaching and get into the tech space in 2017, so I went to a bootcamp to learn how to code. I knew I wanted to enter this space as it was more exciting and dynamic than education.
Step 2: The Stumbling Block
Usually when starting a career we tend to struggle a bit. Or a lot. Our mistakes often have useful lessons, and show we are also capable of growth.
Sharing your stumbling block will help the hiring manager understand you can handle failure and have the ability to learn from it.
My example: I tried to work a remote development job, and got an internship, but I really struggled to manage it when I moved to China. In the end, I had to quit it and go back to the office as a coding teacher, not a programmer.
Step 3: Growth
At this point, you need to highlight how you were able to grow professionally. If you are relatively new to your career, this part of the story will be harder, but not impossible. You’ll also want to customize this part of the story depending on the job you are applying for.
Follow a simple rule of 3 to highlight the key parts of your growth:
3 of your major achievements
3 skills your developed while working
3 things you learned about yourself
This should be something you can share quickly and efficiently. Maximum 12 sentences, ideally 9.
My example:
At my first job using coding, I learned I really liked building things, like building coding curriculums. I was able to build 6 courses in 5 months. I learned how to test a product by using the curriculum I had built to teach real children, and see how they and their parents reacted.
Simultaneously I was working on my start up, and while it failed, my second start up taught me a lot of lessons. I had to work as a marketer, writing over 50 articles and developing my writing and communication skills. In this time I learned I could excel at communicating value to users in addition to creating products.
Finally, when my second start-up failed, I started working in a game technology company. This job became remote, and I had to use my communication skills, especially in writing, to thrive. It was in this job that I found my passion for product, learning that I preferred to work on the process of matching a product to a market’s needs. I created the strategy that reduced the onboarding time for our product by 30%, built the teams that made this reduction in onboarding possible, and put my writing skills to use to develop the documentation for the product.
Step 4: The Apex
This is the part where you reached the height of your success. It’s the result of your growth, and it’s something you’ll want to highlight to the hiring manager for your next role.
This can be a position you earned, responsibility you took on, results you delivered, or some combination of the 3.
My example: I got promoted 3 times and became the leader of a team of operations and product specialists. I built a team of 9 and was named head of an entirely new department.
Step 5: The Transition
This is where you explain to the hiring manager why you are making the transition to a new role.
This explains why you are leaving your apex for a new opportunity.
Often, it could be that you have many reasons, some positive, and some negative. Focus on the positive, and make this part short, efficient, and clear.
My example: My role as head of department took me away from the day to day work of product management, which I had fallen in love with when I started working as a product manager. I was spending so much time working on helping my team that I didn’t have enough time to do product work myself.
Connecting the Story Together
Take time to write out your story. Then, practice telling just parts of it in response to common interview questions.
I rarely tell this whole story all at once. But I keep it with me always, and update it as I go to new jobs. You should do the same, helping you to be able to answer all the common questions you’ll get asked along the way.
Wrapping Up
I hope that you found this helpful. This was a fun one to remember all the progress I’ve personally made in my career, especially since joining a remote company.
I’d encourage you to do consider your story, write it down, and consider how you can use it for your remote job search. It will really help, whether you keep it to yourself, share it on LinkedIn and in job applications, or even share it in parts during interviews.
And that’s it! Want more help? Here’s 3 things I can do for you:
Paid career coaching. Schedule a discovery session here.
Join our paid community, $9 per month, where I’m doing daily resume reviews and other daily job coaching asynchronously. Once you join, I’ll DM you with information about how it works and details on payment. Here’s the link.
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Another really great article. I particularly like how you give examples of what the tips look like in your own career path. Makes it much more relatable.