How To Sell Yourself When You Don’t Have A Traditional Career Path

If you’re like most people today, you’ve had more than one job, you’ve thought about quitting your job and starting a new venture and you’ve probably had doubts while considering making this big change or career pivot. You might ask yourself questions like: “Who will hire me? Do I have enough of the right experience? What will my work history look like to my future employer?”

What I’ve seen in my work as a career coach is that people feel considerably more insecure about making a job change if they have a nonlinear work history. Maybe they got their degree in one field, then worked in another and then maybe even another. They’re looking at their own resume, shaking their heads and wondering, “What was I doing?” They spend a lot of time and energy worrying what their next potential employer or client will think about their work history. Instead, I recommend that they spend their time making their story make sense. The past is the past. The choices that we made in the past aren’t going to change, and our work history isn’t going to change. So here’s how to get over your insecurities and make a slam-bang sell of yourself.

1. Understand your work history by writing it down.

Print out your resume or write out your work history. Put everything on there, from the babysitting job you had when you were 11 to your chief financial officer position. Put down volunteer positions and even clubs, sports or hobbies that you’ve spent a lot of time doing. It helps to look at all of the “positions” we’ve held to open our minds to how we think of our work history. Most people tend to pigeonhole themselves in an attempt to simplify their story, and it can lead to limiting and selective memory of ourselves. Keeping your mind open and curious to hear your own story with new ears can help you pull out a new narrative.

2. Write down the skills that you relied on or developed to succeed in each position.

The skills and experience that you acquired in each position will always be a part of you. Write out these skills, both the soft skills and the technical ones. Circle the ones that you feel most competent in one color, and circle the ones that you want to use in your next position in another color. See the skills that are circled in two colors, and rely on those as you build your narrative.

3. Understand your why.

For each position you’ve held, jot down why you made the decision to take it. What were you looking for? What were you hoping to achieve or receive from taking that position? This can help you understand your why, and when we lead with our why, we have a very compelling narrative to share. Maybe you’ll find that you’re driven by a need to help people, or to explore, or to understand. When we talk about what drives us from a deeper level, people are often able to connect to us better.

4. Reframe your perception of yourself.

Try to look at your work history from the eyes of a trusted mentor or coach. What do you think they’d point out about your journey? What do you think they’d say you’ve done well? What strengths would they encourage you to highlight? When we’re worried about our job history, we’re often worried about others’ perceptions of us, and we imagine them thinking the worst things. When we can imagine another perception that’s supportive, we can get key points to help sell ourselves.

By understanding and communicating our nonlinear work history in a way that’s driven by our skills and our deeper motivations, we can confidently share a compelling narrative that draws interest from prospective employers and clients.