Feeling invisible in your job search? Discover how to reclaim your value, refine your story, and rise with confidence in your next career move.
Are you in the middle of a mid-career job search and feeling frustrated by the process? Struggling to position yourself for visibility in a competitive market? Wondering how to stand out in a sea of resumes filtered by applicant tracking systems (ATS)? Yeah… same here.
I’m in that exact space right now—navigating a career transition after years of steady growth. Reworking my resume for today’s recruiting systems, trying to hit the right keywords without losing the story of who I really am, has been overwhelming to say the least.
If you’ve followed my journey, you know I was recently downsized—and that I used that moment to launch my own coaching practice. I also decided to invest in a career coach. Because yes, even coaches need coaches.
But during a recent session, something shifted.
From the beginning, I was clear: I’m not just looking for a job—I’m intentionally designing my next chapter. I want my coaching work to remain a core part of my professional life, even as I explore new opportunities. Yet in our most recent meeting, that clarity seemed to go ignored. The tone was curt. The suggestions felt dismissive. I left feeling unheard—and more importantly, undervalued.
When Career Advice Makes You Question Yourself
We were updating a resume that hadn’t been touched in years. I expected support. Instead, I was met with a condescending tone and advice that didn’t reflect my experience or career evolution. My coach pushed me to include hard skills I hadn’t used in over a decade—ignoring the fact that I’ve spent the last half of my career in leadership and strategy roles.
That stung. Because while my network knows my work ethic, integrity, and impact, I realized that potential opportunities beyond that network would rely on this document. And what was being suggested didn’t match who I am or what I bring to the table.
I felt the shift. Not just in the conversation—but in myself.
I had to step back and ask: Is this coach helping me elevate my value in this career transition—or asking me to dilute it for visibility?
Because here’s what I know for sure:
I’ve spent years building a career rooted in excellence, growth, and purpose. I’ve led teams, driven outcomes, mentored others, and earned trust across organizations. That’s not something I’m willing to shrink so a resume can pass an algorithm.
I am not a data point. I am not just another metric.
And neither are you.
Why the Mid-Career Job Search Feels So Unfair
Here’s the thing nobody really prepares you for: a mid-career job search doesn’t look—or feel—anything like the ones you did in your 20s or 30s.
At this stage, you’ve built a résumé full of results, relationships, and real-world experience. You’ve grown into leadership roles, sharpened your emotional intelligence, and probably mentored a few people along the way. You know your worth—but now you’re being asked to condense it into a one-page document filled with keywords and checkboxes that barely scratch the surface.
It’s not just frustrating—it’s disorienting.
Then the self-doubt creeps in.
Am I overqualified? Or underqualified? Are my salary expectations too high? Should I be reskilling or upskilling? Am I really ready for another job search? And yes… is age going to be a factor?
With all of that swirling in your head, you start to question everything. Not just your next move—but your timing, your confidence, and your ability to show up fully as the person you’ve become.
That internal dialogue shifted me from confident to cautious. From clear to confused. And if you’re not careful, that confusion can creep into your narrative—on paper, online, and eventually, in person.
This is where the cost shows up.
The cost of shrinking your worth is subtle at first. You edit down your brilliance to fit a mold. You say “yes” to roles that check the box but don’t light you up. You make decisions from fear of being overlooked instead of from faith in your unique contribution.
Mid-career job seekers are often told to “stay flexible” or “be realistic”—but what’s real is this: you can evolve without erasing yourself.
Your experience matters. Your leadership matters. Your perspective matters. The marketplace may be crowded, but no one brings exactly what you bring. And if you forget that—if you shrink that—you risk accepting roles, relationships, or rhythms that were never designed for the version of you that’s ready to rise.
Why the System Can’t See Your Full Value
What makes this even harder is that it’s not just about mindset—it’s the system.
The hiring landscape today often favors speed over substance. Applicant tracking systems prioritize keywords over nuance. Recruiters scan for checklists instead of character. And coaches? Even some of them focus more on formatting than fit.
In one of our sessions, my career coach said, “They want to see your hard skills. They assume you’re a leader.”
That statement stuck with me—for all the wrong reasons.
Because if leadership is simply assumed, and hard skills are the focus, is it any wonder so many poor leaders end up in positions of power? We’ve built systems that check boxes instead of cultivating people. That reward visibility over depth. That encourage candidates to emphasize doing over becoming.
But here’s the deeper issue: leadership assumptions often carry bias. White men are more likely to be seen as “natural leaders,” while women, people of color, and those who don’t follow traditional executive molds are expected to prove it—again and again. That’s not just frustrating. It’s exhausting. And it’s systemic.
And somewhere in that process, mid-career professionals—seasoned, strategic, and ready—get reduced to bullet points that don’t tell the whole story.
It’s no wonder you start questioning yourself. The structure itself wasn’t built to spotlight your value—it was built to sort, to filter, to move fast. And in that process, so many of us are asked to shrink.
But here’s the truth: your value was never meant to be compressed. It was meant to be lived, embodied, and recognized.
Reclaiming Your Value
Let’s be clear—your value didn’t disappear.
It didn’t get lost in a layoff, buried in an outdated resume, or tossed out by an algorithm. It’s been with you all along. What happened was this: the noise got louder than your knowing.
And now, it’s time to turn the volume back up.
When my coach told me, “They want to see your hard skills. Leadership is assumed,” I felt the frustration rise. Because here’s the thing: I’ve led. I’ve built. I’ve mentored. I’ve poured into teams, projects, and people for years. My leadership is not a footnote—it’s the throughline. And the fact that it gets brushed aside as “assumed” is exactly the problem.
That moment reminded me that no one can advocate for my value better than me.
So, I stopped trying to shrink into systems that weren’t designed for me. I stopped twisting my narrative to fit into someone else’s box. Instead, I got rooted again in who I am and how I want to show up in this next season.
Reclaiming your value isn’t about being louder—it’s about being clearer.
It’s knowing that your story doesn’t need to be over-edited to be powerful.
It’s remembering that the years you spent becoming who you are mean something.
It’s refusing to let fear of being “too much” or “not enough” erase what you’ve earned.
This process isn’t just about finding a new role—it’s about refining yourself.
Because you are not just a résumé. You are not a list of competencies. You are not a soft skill tacked onto a hard skill to fill a space. You are a whole, layered, capable human being who has weathered storms, delivered results, and grown in wisdom.
And yes, you’re still growing.
So reclaim it—your voice, your vision, your values. Your story. Reclaim the right to take up space, ask for what you need, and lead from exactly where you are.
Because this next chapter? It’s not about proving your value.
It’s about walking in it.
5 Steps to Reclaiming Your Value with the LIFE Method™
👂🏽Step 1 – Get Quiet to Get Clear
Listen to the Real You
Before you rewrite your résumé or refresh your LinkedIn, pause. Reflect. What do you want in this next chapter? What have you outgrown? What still lights you up? The first step in reclaiming your value is getting quiet enough to hear the honest voice beneath the noise—and honoring it.
PR4LIFE Bonus: Don’t move without listening first. Alignment starts with awareness.
🙌🏽 Step 2 – Celebrate the Intangible Wins
Identify Your True Wins
Your value isn’t just found in job titles or hard skills—it’s in the impact you’ve made, the people you’ve influenced, and the resilience you’ve built. In this step, we dig into your real receipts: career moments that matter, even if they never made it into a performance review.
PR4LIFE Bonus: Your brilliance isn’t always bullet-pointed. Celebrate the intangible wins.
✍🏽 Step 3 – Rewrite Your Story with Power
Frame a New Narrative
You don’t need to “fit” into someone else’s story. You’re writing your own. This step is about crafting a clear, authentic narrative that reflects where you’ve been, who you are, and where you’re headed. Whether you’re job searching or building something new, your story should feel like you.
PR4LIFE Bonus: You are not a title or a trend—you are a trajectory.
🧍🏽♂️ Step 4 – Embody the Shift
Move Like the Version That’s Alread Hired
You can’t just talk about your value—you have to walk in it. This step helps you show up with confidence and consistency across your life, from your resume to your routines, from networking calls to self-talk. Because when your actions align with your identity, momentum follows.
PR4LIFE Bonus: You attract what you embody. Move like the version of you that’s already hired.
🌱 Step 5 – Grow with Depth
Expand with Intention
This isn’t just about the next job—it’s about the life you’re building. This is the final step, map a path that honors your values, expands your influence, and leaves room for growth. This is where purpose meets strategy—and where the next chapter truly begins.
PR4LIFE Bonus: Growth doesn’t always mean more. Sometimes it means deeper.
final thought
You don’t need to chase roles that can’t hold the weight of who you’ve become. You’ve done the work. You’ve grown through challenges, led with integrity, and shown up in spaces that didn’t always see you clearly. The version of you that’s rising right now deserves room to lead, room to breathe, and room to be fully seen.
Reclaiming your value isn’t a luxury—it’s a necessity if you want to move forward with alignment, confidence, and purpose.
So as you step into this next chapter, know this: You’re not just looking for another job—you’re ready to step into the next, truest version of yourself. Build a career narrative that honors your journey and positions you for what’s next. And if you want some guidance and support Book a 1:1 Clarity Session and let’s align your vision with your value.
Because you’re not starting from scratch—you’re starting from strength.
