Hi Reader,

I finished a book this morning.

Not a business book.

There were no seven steps. No colour-coded wheel. No bloke in a linen shirt telling me to “unlock my potential” before breakfast.

It was a novel written by a dear friend of mine in the US.

It tells the story of Emily and Harry, a young couple building a life together in the early 1800s.

There is love. Loss. Faith. Hardship.

And enough childbirth without anaesthetic to make me want to send a thank-you card to modern medicine.

But it was the ending that stayed with me.

Emily is old now. She knows her time is short. Her children have asked her to speak at a family gathering, and she is thinking about what she wants to leave them with.

Not a list of achievements.

Not a rundown of everything she owned.

Not a final attempt to convince everyone, she had been terribly impressive.

She thinks about the kind of shadow she has left for others to walk in.

Which is a lovely thought.

And, because I am apparently incapable of reading a book without eventually dragging it back to work, it made me think about careers.

Because when people think about getting ahead, they usually think about the visible stuff.

The job title.

The promotion.

The extra $20,000.

The resume bullet points that prove they were doing something more useful than sitting in Teams meetings, nodding solemnly while someone shared a spreadsheet no one had asked for.

And look, I am not against any of that.

A good title is nice.

More money is excellent.

A resume that does not read like it was written by a malfunctioning toaster is also useful.

But none of those things are usually what people remember about you.

What they remember is whether you were any good to work with.

Did you do what you said you would do?

Did you stay when things went sideways?

Did you make other people’s jobs easier?

Or did your colleagues see your name pop up in their inbox and quietly mutter a word not suitable for a newsletter?

That bit matters more than people think.

Because we like to imagine the next job will arrive through a very official process.

You apply online.

Someone reads your application.

You are selected on merit.

Everyone behaves sensibly.

Lovely idea.

Sometimes it even happens.

But quite often, the best opportunities turn up because someone, somewhere, remembers you well.

A former manager calls.

A colleague passes on your name.

A client hears about a role and says, “You should talk to Kim. She’d be good for that.”

That is not luck.

That is not networking in the dreadful, name-tag-and-canapé sense.

That is the compound interest of being someone people were glad to have worked with.

Now, before I float off into a cloud of inspirational mist, let me be clear:

You do still have to be good at your job.

Deeply annoying people who “have great energy” but cannot actually do the work are not a career strategy. They are usually in management.

But if two people can both do the job, and one is known for being reliable, generous, and not turning every group project into a hostage negotiation, guess who gets remembered?

Your resume tells people what you have done.

Your reputation tells them what it was like to do it with you.

And long after the title changes, the salary is spent, and that very impressive project has been replaced by another equally urgent one, that is often the part still working on your behalf.

Happy Mother’s Day to the mothers, mother figures, and complicated-family survivors among us.

~Lisa

PS: If you’re interested in Carrie’s book, you can grab a copy here.

Your Q&A

I Was Shortlisted for a Job I Never Applied For

Hi Lisa,

I was contacted by a recruiter about a senior executive role I had not applied for. They said I had been shortlisted for interview, but needed to provide some supplementary documents within 72 hours. They also told me that successful candidates use a particular resume writer and sent me a fee schedule. It all looked legitimate, but something about it felt off. Is this normal?

Mark

Hi Mark,

No.

You were being scammed.

I know this because a well-known resume writer in the US was contacted this week by a senior executive who thought he had been dealing with her. He had been approached by someone impersonating a real recruiter (Amy Miller from Amazon), told he was shortlisted for a CTO role, and given 72 hours to have his documents updated by a recommended resume writer.

The scammer had stolen the real writer’s name, headshot, LinkedIn headline and branding, and was pretending to be her too.

He only realised something was wrong when his bank blocked the payment.

Here’s the rule:

If a recruiter tells you that you need to pay a particular resume writer to stay in contention for a job, it is a scam.

A real recruiter may tell you your resume needs work. They may even suggest you get help.

But they will not make your candidacy conditional on paying someone they have sent you to.

The 72-hour deadline is there to stop you thinking. So think.

Check the recruiter independently. Check the job on the company’s website. And if money is required before you have even had an interview, walk away.

Thanks for writing in.

~Lisa

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This information is for general purposes and doesn't consider your individual circumstances. It serves educational goals and isn't formal career advice. Always seek personalised guidance tailored to your needs.

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