Crafting Your Press Release

When interviewing for your next role, ever wonder what the press release will say if you get the job? Visualizing your press release can be a great exercise to help you gain clarity into how a role fits into your career story, and how or why your specific experiences and skills will impact and elevate an organization. A press release should present the case for why you, the newly chosen leader, will be impactful to an organization and/or the community and mission it serves, and how an organization’s mission, values, and people correlate with your career trajectory. Your press release should answer the question why this role, and why now?

Consider the impact of your press release. Ideally, people reading about your addition to an organization  will say things like, “this leader is clearly a strong fit for the role and the hurdles this organization is facing” or “this leader will take the organization to the next level.”

If any of these elements don’t align, or leave you wondering if a role is in fact a fit, pause. Research and reflection are critical in making thoughtful and intentional decisions when it comes to career transitions. Continue your research on an organization by studying the leadership team, the staff, financials, annual reports, and while you’re at it, how are the reviews on sites like Glassdoor? Give yourself space and time to do a gut check: is the opportunity the right next step for you? Is it a left turn, and if so, how does it play into your path? Will it satisfy your personal purpose and mission? Or is it a role that doesn’t feel right for you for right now? The more clarity you gain, the more confident you will be in making your final decision to add this new opportunity to your press release.

What about the press release when you’re an outlier for a role?

Professionals make big dramatic career transitions all the time! Corporate executives transition to lead nonprofit organizations. Business development professionals take on fundraising roles. Attorneys move into finance roles, and so on. When it comes to your next career move, it’s about connecting the dots of where you’ve been and what you seek. Big dramatic shifts are often tied to purpose, values, and transferrable skills.

If you’re an outlier for a role that sparks your purpose and passion, don’t leave the hiring team to guess; instead, connect the dots for them. Share how and why your experiences, skills, and accomplishments align with the opportunity. If you have a personal connection to an organization or mission, let the hiring team know. Cover letters are a wonderful place to succinctly state your case and clarify your intentions prior to interviews, so that when questions come up, you’ve already positioned yourself appropriately.

Rewriting the past: how can you shift your press release to reflect you more accurately

For those with lots of career shifts, most search professionals understand that there’s often a story behind your job changes. Sometimes things don’t work out. Sometimes job seekers are deceived, and once on the job, discover a dream job isn’t in fact dreamy. Sometimes professionals are following a spouse on their career journey. Sometimes a sick family member sways your career path, and so on. The good news is that you get to control your career story and use tools such as your resume, bio, and cover letter to create an accurate narrative. Aim to be honest and specific in what you share in writing, and during interviews, too. While you cannot control the biases that may exist for multiple job moves, you can control the story line, so be sure there’s substance in what you share.

The long view of your press release

Remember that you do not need to have a linear career story to have a wow press release. Sometimes our meandering paths lead us on the greatest adventures and enable us to evolve in the most beneficial ways – both personally and professionally. Your press release is a snapshot of who you are, what you’ve accomplished, and should advocate why you are hands down the right fit for a new role. It should share a bit about your vision, your mission, and your values. If you get the story right, your trajectory should be clear.

In writing workshops, we often say that endings to stories are inevitable, and if they’re not, it’s because a step or chapter was missed along the way. I tend to see that as true for our career stories, too. If you don’t know where you’re going, perhaps the most beneficial thing you can do is to look where you’ve been. What roles felt most fulfilling? What type of companies made you feel alive? What type of teams or bosses did you work best with? What job got you excited to get out of bed each morning? Self-examination and reflection are critical as you examine and create your career path and the subsequent press releases that highlight your journey.