I’m Not Rebuilding My Career, I’m Just Changing the Way I Talk About It
After spending over a year unemployed, I knew that I was doing something wrong.
As a perpetually job-hopper I had been down this road before.
I knew that getting a job in this economy would be tough but I was leaving my longest tenure to date.
I was at the peak of my career and I felt confident that my skills were market ready.
This wasn’t a far off assessment.
I started landing interviews but time after time I never received an offer.
I couldn’t understand why.
I’ve always had a passion for job seekers. As a former mentor, I knew that there was a right and wrong way to land a job.
Getting a job isn’t something you want to get comfortable doing but it is something you need to learn to do. I was, in my opinion, an expert at it.
I was getting through to the hardest part which was the phone screen but nothing more.
So I started to rethink my approach.
I spoke with a few coaches and I did some introspection.
This led me to better understand what I was doing wrong.
It wasn’t what I was saying or how I was saying it, it was the language I was using in my interview.
When I changed my language—the terms, words, phrases that I used to describe my career—everything shifted.
From Role-Specific to Category Evangelism
The way I described my work was working against me. I was using flat, outdated terms. I had been trained to define myself through titles, departments, and responsibilities. But that language didn’t reflect the scope of what I’ve actually done—or where I’m going.
I stopped describing my career as a sequence of roles and started articulating the real throughline: I drive clarity and visibility across industries. I don’t sit inside a department—I move ideas through markets.
That’s category evangelism. I’ve shaped conversations in sustainability, tech, and mission-driven sectors. I’ve introduced new frameworks. I’ve influenced adoption. I’ve created vocabulary where none existed.
My value doesn’t come from sitting inside a title—it comes from my ability to anchor strategy, elevate a narrative, and make things resonate at scale.
Speak in Terms of Now, Next, and Then
The way I told my story needed structure—and it wasn’t chronological. I began to position my work by what I’m focused on now, where I’m headed next, and what got me here. That shift forced me to stay in motion. It reframed my story with momentum instead of memory.
The traditional approach—walking someone through a résumé top to bottom—wasn’t working. I replaced it with a strategic narrative that emphasizes direction. Hiring managers don’t just want to know what you’ve done. They need to know what you’re prepared to lead into.
Lead with the Why
For a long time, I hid the reasons behind my choices. I stuck to generic phrases and “professional” talking points, afraid that being honest about my motivations might come off the wrong way. That was a mistake.
The “why” behind my work is the most valuable part of my story. Why I chose certain roles. Why I pivoted across industries. Why I care about specific problems. Those answers shape how I show up—and they define what kind of leader I am.
There’s no room for vague ambition. Every career move I’ve made has been intentional, even when it looked unconventional on paper. When I started leading with that truth, people listened differently.
What Changed For Me
With the support of ChatGPT and equally frustrated peers on Linkedin I rebranded myself. I decided to stop playing small and start playing smart. I used what I was passionate about (marketing and language) and applied that to my professional identity.
Oh yeah, I also created a professional identity.
I used langauge to help me walk and talk like the role I wanted to have and it worked.
This technique can work for you.