When we recount our career journeys, we tend to describe the plot – the visible, external details: “I studied here. I worked there. I learned these skills, did these things, and achieved these outcomes.”
Yet a good story doesn’t end there. A good novel or movie involves some lasting internal change. Not just solving the problem, winning the championship, or even saving the world.
A compelling story includes some personal growth, self-discovery, or change of heart. It may look like acceptance or forgiveness, a new purpose or approach to life – changes in a character as a result of their critical decisions. Not merely what happened but how those challenges shaped them. We are drawn to these stories because they are believable. They mirror the stuff of real life.
Novelist Nigel Watts writes: “If the climax does not result in a reversal [i.e., personal change], a question is raised: Is there a purpose to the climax other than as spectacle? ‘Spectacle is action for the sake of action, effect for the sake of effect.’”
A thinking audience demands realistic character development. Readers and viewers want to see growth and transformation. But it must feel natural, even inevitable, given the circumstances. It must make sense to them. Good development makes a character more memorable, more credible, more likeable.
So it is when we tell our own stories.
What we’ve done and where we’ve been frame our trajectories. But a plot-driven career narrative – “I did this, and then, and then, and then…” – tends to feel flat. The truth is: Within a profession, the plots sound fairly similar from person to person.
The real differentiator lies in your personal revelations, lessons learned, and paradigm shifts. Through the peaks and valleys, successes and failures, how have your values and priorities changed? How have you grown not only in competence but in character?
These are deeper than any skill, more enduring than any achievement. They take more time to develop. They require greater self-awareness at critical junctures. Dr. Emily Rose, an emergency physician, says: “You don’t reap what you sow in the same season.”
When you have reaped such personal growth, talk about it. Incorporate it into your narrative. Like in a novel or a movie, it adds depth and relatability. It makes you more memorable, credible, and likeable.
It paves the path for the next chapter in your story.