This is the sixth part of a series of mini guides which aims to help you find a career you love. They include tips from me but also practical advice from some of the hundreds of individuals who I have coached over the last 10 years, the sort of things they may have shared with friends or family going through a career move.

Once you have clarity about what you would like you to do next, I would advise you to create a 20-30 second elevator pitch. This will be useful when talking to recruiters and your network and will help with writing your CV and LinkedIn profile. This is an example I would use:

First sentence = what I do and how experienced I am:

“I am a career coach who has worked with hundreds of individuals helping them find a career they love.”

Second sentence = a bit more detail but also what sets me apart:

“My background as a recruiter and executive coach gives me the skills to not only give practical advice (CV, LinkedIn, interviews) but also to dig deeper to help a person understand what drives and excites them and so identify the right career path.”

Be concise, don’t use any unnecessary words and tailor pitch to your audience. At the end of your pitch ask an open question relevant to the person you are talking to such as ‘have you had the opportunity to use career coaches before?’ Also, practice the pitch so it becomes clear as well as concise.

When you deliver your elevator pitch it needs to be done with confidence. Often confidence can be knocked, whatever the circumstances that led you to be looking for a new role. It can really help to accept this but look for ways of regaining your confidence.

“Never underestimate your worth! You may have had a knock to your confidence but don’t let it destroy it.” 

“Believe in yourself and your ability, experience and what is your value proposition. Stay positive all the time.”

"Be positive and confident and believe in yourself. Good skills are highly transferable.” 

“Your confidence can take a bash when you leave a company which can make job hunting more difficult. Talk to people- friends / partner / coach etc about how you are feeling, don't just sit and worry about things”

A great tip to help with confidence is to talk to people you have worked with and they will remind you how good you are:

“Get a pack of positive feedback from colleagues and friends - emails, make note of conversations, leaving cards etc. When you need a boost you can read them.  believe in yourself and believe in yourself some more”

I would also put together a leaving story, a very short explanation of why you left moving swiftly on to your positive elevator pitch. You will be asked why you left but people are not really interested they just want to check there is nothing negative behind the move. It helps to take the negative emotion out of the leaving story even if you feel resentment, vent to friends and family but make sure the message to market is positive.

“Don’t apologise for being laid off – employers are used to it and most people have been”

“It is easy to fall of the trap of almost “apologising” for being in the current position.  To avoid this be confident that people are not judging you in a negative way, but rather looking to judge you in a positive way.”

This series of mini guides will give you some practical tips and hints from people that have been through it and found what they are looking for. The next one is about preparing an effective CV.

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