I’m Getting on My Soapbox Today!
Lend me your hand while I climb this ladder to the top rung.
One of the most mind-boggling parts of my work is how often people are told exactly what would help them… and still don’t do it.
🗣️ Update your résumé before you need it.
🗣️ Build your network before you’re burned out.
🗣️ Talk to people before you’re desperate.
🗣️ Prepare before the layoff.
🗣️ Strengthen your visibility before the market shifts.
People nod.
They agree!
Excellent advice… for that guy.
Life continues.
I think about this a lot because I do the exact same thing in other areas of my life. 🫣😩
I know walking consistently would help my body, my energy, my stress levels, my mental health, my sleep, probably even my memory long term.
I know strength training would benefit me tremendously. (Have you seen the stats?!)
And yet there are entire stretches of time where I simply… don’t do it.
I know it’s good for me. In fact, I know it’s the best thing I can do to keep myself balanced, especially since I’m nearing my mid-forties and I’m on drugs to keep my breast cancer at bay.
I am aware of all the things. And heaven knows I don’t need another Mel Robbins-type to tell me why it matters. (Have you seen the data?!)
Frankly, as smart as I am, I just delay it.
Then, eventually, I’ll have one of those moments, startled awake in the middle of the night, where I think:
“If I had started even six months ago, I’d be in such a different place today.”
You know the feeling! We’ve all sat in our chairs, on our couches, at our computers, scrolling our phones and watching our screen time creep toward four hours, thinking: “Why am I this way? I know better!”
Perhaps it’s after your third chocolate peanut butter cup from Trader Joe’s. What? Couldn’t be me!
That feeling is incredibly human.
Most people do not take action when something is theoretically beneficial.
They take action when the cost of avoiding it starts to feel bigger than the effort required to change.
Careers work this way constantly.
People wait to update their résumé until they’re miserable.
Wait to network until they’re laid off.
Wait to practice interviewing until the opportunity they really want appears.
Wait to ask for help until their confidence is already damaged.
It’s not me calling you lazy.
But humans are remarkably good at adapting to low-grade discomfort. We normalize situations while we’re inside them.
And I think that’s part of why career coaching can feel emotionally complicated for people.
On paper, investing in support makes perfect sense:
Getting clearer → More strategic → More confident → Better prepared.
But preparation is difficult to prioritize when the current discomfort still feels manageable.
Until suddenly it isn’t.
And then hindsight enters the chat. 😭
The frustrating part is that we can often see exactly what would help future-us while simultaneously struggling to become the person who actually starts.
I don’t think that’s failure.
I think it’s one of the most predictable parts of being human.
So maybe your first step is simply paying a little more attention to the small voice telling you something needs to change.
You do not have to wait until you’re miserable to start preparing for what’s next.
And if you’ve been sitting in that strange middle ground between “everything is technically fine” and “I know I can’t keep doing this forever,” come find me on LinkedIn.
A lot of my work right now lives exactly in that space. 👇🏽
Join the LinkedIn Convo
Rambling and blanking and filler words, oh my! Losing the plot in your interviews? Don’t worry, Jeff and I have you covered.
Apply. Customize. Network. Follow up. Interview. Repeat. It’s a lot. How about a few things to focus on instead?
If you have no idea what agentic AI is, I’d give this convo with Cheryl and me a listen—and then incorporate your notes—STAT.
On that AI note → We all saw the LinkedIn chatter at the end of last month: companies are cutting roles in favor of AI “efficiency gains,” and this means smaller teams, leaner companies, and fewer white-collar roles overall.
Here’s the good news: The people who thrive in moments like this aren’t always the ones with the fanciest résumés.
They’re the ones willing to adapt, learn new tools, and rethink what growth looks like moving forward.
If your résumé is unclear, generic, overly task-heavy, poorly positioned, or forces someone to connect the dots for you?
That alone can take you out of the running.
Gone. Bai.
Of course you’re qualified! But they don’t know that.
What they do know is that someone else made their value easier to understand in 10 seconds or less.
And in this economy? Clarity is competitive.
So for the next episode of If I Don’t Tell You, Who Will?, I’m sitting down with former Meta and Google recruiter June Caloroso to talk about one of the biggest mistakes job seekers make right now:
✨ Positioning themselves like task-doers instead of value-drivers ✨
Maybe this is your sign to stop waiting for career panic to become your motivator.
You do not need to be in crisis to start preparing for what’s next.
➚ Update the résumé.
➚ Reach out to the person.
➚ Start the conversation.
➚ Ask the question.
➚ Get the support.
➚ And for goodness sake: Take the walk.
Tiny actions compound long before we notice the results.
And if you’ve been feeling professionally stuck, uncertain, underconfident, or increasingly aware that something needs to shift, my Career Alignment Intensive was built for exactly this season.
No panic required.
Work with me 1:1 → Step into a focused alignment experience to clarify your direction and intentionally reposition your leadership. I’m currently scheduling for June and have 2 spots left!
Engage on LinkedIn → Jump in, comment, and engage in weekly insights and candid career conversations. This is where you practice! Hit the bell so you don’t miss a post.
Enroll in Own Your Search → Build clarity, strengthen your positioning, and land aligned roles inside a structured digital program, all in your own time.
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