This last summer, when I was interviewing, I was really clear on what type of company I wanted to join. I wanted a growth story, something that I could look back on after a few years and tell a story about how I helped to impact that growth. At this point in my career, I have learned I love the growth story, and I want to be where a company is willing to invest in it.
I haven't always been this clear about what story I want to tell in my career. In fact, it probably wasn't until I lived through incredible growth at Zillow and then worked abroad in Dubai that I realized how much I live for the growth story.
I feel really fortunate to know so clearly what my career position is. So many people are wondering today what their position is, what story they want to tell, and why they want to take the next gig. My challenge to you is to work to figure this out, because the sooner you know your story, the easier you are to sell to someone as to why they should hire you.
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The mistake a lot of people make is thinking their career story is just a list of jobs they've held. It's not. Your story is the thread that connects those jobs together. It's the type of problem you like to solve, the kind of environment you thrive in, the people you want to work with, and the impact you want to have when you walk away.
Your story is the thread that connects those jobs together.
Once you understand that, your decisions get a lot easier. You stop chasing every title that sounds impressive. You stop getting distracted by every recruiter who reaches out. You stop convincing yourself that more money automatically means a better opportunity. You start asking a different question: does this role actually fit the story I'm trying to build?
That clarity also makes you much better in an interview. When someone asks why you want the job, you don't have to manufacture some generic answer about loving the mission or being excited about the opportunity. You can explain exactly why the company, the role, and the stage of the business fit the work you know you want to do. That kind of answer feels different because it is different.
Hiring managers can tell when someone is simply looking for a job, and they can also tell when someone has a reason for wanting their job. Those are two very different candidates. One is hoping to get picked. The other can articulate why this opportunity makes sense as part of a much larger career narrative.
Your story doesn't have to be perfectly defined, either. It may change. Mine certainly has. The things I cared about at 25 are not the same things I care about today, and the opportunities that excited me early in my career would probably do very little for me now. That's part of the process. Clarity doesn't mean locking yourself into one path forever. It means knowing what matters to you right now.
If you're struggling to figure it out, start by looking backward. Think about the moments in your career when you were most engaged, most successful, and most energized. What were you doing? What kind of company were you in? What kind of problems were you solving? There are usually patterns there, even if you've never stopped long enough to notice them.
The sooner you understand those patterns, the easier it becomes to make better career decisions going forward. You don't need to know exactly where you'll be in ten years, but you should know what kind of story you're trying to write next. Once you know that, it becomes a lot easier to recognize the right opportunity when it shows up.