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Ruth Sternberg | Confident Career Search

Ruth Sternberg, Confident Career Search

Specializing in interview-attracting resumes and LinkedIn profiles. Talk to a career search professional at 614-746-4587!

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Feel like your career’s offline?

Filed Under: Get an Interview, Job Search

I want to broach the topic of what makes us move out of our current job, and why it’s so hard to make this change.

You know what I’m saying: You start daydreaming, looking at job postings while you eat lunch (or lie in bed at night, scrolling). You are plagued by existential unease (like, who hasn’t been for the last two years??).

You’ve done what you needed to do. You followed the directions and the steps. Maybe you got some company or industry awards; solved big problems; became part of a great team.

(Yeah, you put up with some less-than-effective bosses, too, because it was just easier.)

And now, you’ve reached that intersection of professional success and professional purpose.

And your GPS is offline.

You aren’t ready to hang it up. You might be a long way from retirement. But you know more about yourself now and you know that the current situation just isn’t working.

Sure, there are lots of reasons why this might be the case. We don’t all think through it the same way.

Some of us are:

  • Driven by the salary, the financial security end of things. We need to make more money.
  • Motivated by great colleagues. That makes or breaks the whole experience. It just isn’t gelling right now.
  • Determined to make a difference in some way. Without that, it’s just busy work. And right now, it’s busy work.
  • Looking for recognition in that next great leadership role. You can’t seem to get that break.

And others are driven by geography, family priorities, health concerns—you name it.

But where the heck do you start?

Personally, I wanted alignment. I wanted to write; I wanted to make a difference; I wanted to stand on my own. (My fiercely independent streak has produced one or two good childhood stories. Maybe I’ll share them sometime.)

So, I majored in journalism. It seemed like a sure bet as far as employment—unlike an English degree, which (I reasoned at age 18) might have landed me in academic purgatory.

And though I adore theater, I knew I wasn’t a super-talent and I hate constant rejection, not to mention poverty. So, there’s that.

Bottom line, I got a job in my field. Actually, I got several consecutive jobs. I moved up to work at a regional daily newspaper. It was great.

Until it wasn’t.

I just got so tired of the relentless chase. I got so tired of the pace.

After about a year of consideration, I quit to find another path. I was 41.

Sometime, I’ll tell you the full story, including how I landed here. But for now, suffice it to say that I get where you are, and I want to be of service.  

So, I’m going to give you a couple of “get started” little exercises to help you.

I actually did these myself, and so have some of my clients. Remember as you write: There are no wrong answers. No one is grading it.

  • First, back through your job history and identify what it was you loved and hated about each role you’ve held. Write extensively if you want to. Get in there really tell yourself what you loved, and what you would have changed about those jobs if you had the power.
     

Great! Now you’re in the Zone.

  • Now describe the perfect job to yourself. Define your non-negotiables. What is the work culture like? How is the day structured? What kind of manager do you have? What kind of team? What are you working on? Let your mind travel wander freely. No one else will read this. You can write any pie-in-the-sky thing you want to. Your mom won’t read it. No one will judge you.

Now: Close the file or the notebook.
Wait one or two days. Or maybe even a week.
Then go back and read what you wrote.

  • Write down what you’re feeling now. Anything you’re wishing for? Anything you feel compelled to do? Anything you now understand better?

If you want to chat about it, let’s do it! Here’s my calendar link. I might be able to help you make plan.

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A Cure for Job-Search Paralysis

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Ruth is a gifted master of words. I hired Ruth because I needed someone who could clean up and reorganize my resume and LinkedIn profile. Ruth took in my career… Read more “Maria Blauvelt”

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I was really struggling during COVID after getting laid off. I just could not seem to break through and get noticed.  I had used Ruth’s services before and gotten a… Read more “Sam Lewis”

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I am truly honored to have the privilege of working with Ruth. She took the time to reach me on my level, and assist me in honing my interviewing skills… Read more “Randall Johnson”

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Ruth is passionate about her clients. She truly cares and loves to see us find our next “Big Step” on our career journey. She is engaging in conversation and she listens. She… Read more “Karen Diehl”

Karen Diehl

Ruth worked to help me understand my strengths, weaknesses, likes and dislikes. She not only built a great resume and LinkedIn profile for me, but also coached me to believe… Read more “Matthew Knouff”

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Ruth is a tremendous resource for help in overhauling a resume and building a LinkedIn profile. She is very knowledgeable about what it takes to get noticed by recruiters. Ruth… Read more “Dan Carson”

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I highly recommend Ruth as a career coach. She provides clients with concrete tools and advice to create a plan of action. Ruth truly understands the job search process, from… Read more “Francesca Fuerman”

Francesca Fuerman

Ruth became passionate about my professional experience immediately. She knew I was struggling to effectively portray my depth of experience in writing for effective recruitment by employers. Once I had… Read more “Anthony Bahr”

Anthony Bahr

I felt so confident in myself after working with Ruth, after I was able to take a step back and look at my résumé and see just how accomplished a person I… Read more “Logan Weissler”

Logan Weissler

When you said to me, ‘Okay, we got this. We are going to figure this all out and get you into these companies,’ I felt my whole body relax and… Read more “Cathy C.”

Cathy C.

Ruth took the time to get to know me and understand my strengths and abilities. She overhauled my résumé, which was essentially a list of job tasks, and created an attractive, compelling… Read more “Jillian O.”

Jillian O.

Ruth is an amazing, thorough, and professional résumé writer with an eye for bringing out your hidden story and value. Over the course of a month we were able to transform my résumé from zero… Read more “Craig M. Chavis, Jr.”

Craig M. Chavis, Jr.

Ruth has a gift for listening to her client’s needs with real empathy, and for translating their background into words that accurately reflect relevant talents. Moreover, Ruth is the kind… Read more “Cory Joyrich”

Cory Joyrich

Working with Ruth was an excellent experience. Coming out of the military, I spent several years working with resumes that never seemed to achieve the goal of interviews. After realizing… Read more “Calvin Jones”

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Alexandra Reynolds

My experience with Ruth was amazing, I would highly recommend her to anyone for that personal and professional touch. Ruth is great at listening and helping you find out what… Read more “Marcia Johnson”

Marcia Johnson

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  • Get an Interview
  • Job Search
  • How to Answer: “Tell Me About Yourself?”
  • Identifying Transferable Skills
  • Ghosted by Recruiters
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