The NextSeat Newsletter

Career Intelligence for Life Sciences and Manufacturing Leaders

The Executive Career Mistake That Can Cost You Opportunities☀️ Welcome to the second edition of The NextSeat Newsletter™.

I’m excited to continue sharing practical insights on career strategy, communication, and executive development for Directors, VPs, and C-suite leaders across Pharma, Med Device, Biotech and Manufacturing. Every other Thursday, I’ll bring you ideas you can use to think differently about your career, communicate your value more effectively, and prepare for what’s next. If there's a topic you would like me to cover, please feel free to email me: Lisa@newcareerdirections.com

Last time, I wrote about why you shouldn’t wait for the job posting to prepare for your next executive role. This time, I want to talk about what happens when your experience is broad, but you haven’t clearly defined what you want to be known for, especially when you’re interviewing for a new role or positioning yourself for a promotion.

It sounds like a good thing. You've built a diverse career. You’ve led different functions, worked across multiple areas of the business, solved complex problems, and taken on increasingly significant responsibilities.

You may be thinking: I can do a lot. Why would I want to narrow myself?

Because when you’re pursuing your next executive role, being broad and being clear are two different things.

And clarity matters.

A recruiter, hiring executive, or someone in your network should be able to quickly understand:

🔹 What are you known for? 🔹 What problems do you solve? 🔹 What kind of role are you positioned to step into next?

If you find yourself giving multifaceted answers because your broad experiences speak to two or three potential roles, your experience can actually work against you.

You may have an impressive background, but if your resume, LinkedIn profile, introduction, and conversations communicate everything you’ve done rather than the value you bring to your next role, people have to work too hard to figure out where you fit.

And they may not take the time.

This is especially important at the executive level. You're not trying to be considered for every possible opportunity. You're trying to be recognized for the right opportunities.

That requires making strategic choices about how you position yourself and when you say yes.

Your career may be broad, but your positioning shouldn't be.

If you're having a difficult time describing your role in meetings and interviews, look at the metrics. What is taking the majority of your time? That can help reveal where your real focus lies. Then lead with the specific business value you're known for creating. That's the best way to start. This doesn't mean eliminating important accomplishments or pretending you haven't had a diverse career. It means finding the thread that connects your experience and making it clear.

That gives people something they can remember. And when people can remember what you do, they can recognize where you belong.

This is one of the first things we work on in the Executive Career Accelerator™.

Before we start changing your resume or preparing for interviews, we need to get clear on the bigger picture:

What do you want next, and how should the market see you?

🔸Because your resume doesn't create your positioning.

🔸Your LinkedIn profile doesn't create your positioning.

🔸Your interview answers don't create your positioning.

They all need to reinforce it.

🔸When your positioning is clear, your career conversations become easier.

🔸Your networking becomes more focused.

🔸Your message becomes stronger.

And when the right opportunity appears, you're not trying to explain your entire career.

You're showing people why this next role makes sense.

If you’re an accomplished senior leader with a broad background, take a moment to ask yourself:

If someone had to describe what I’m known for in one sentence, what would they say?

If you’re not sure, that may be the first place to start. If you're ready to prepare for your next move, let's talk. Learn more about the Executive Career Accelerator™ 

Subscribe to The NextSeat. Get practical career, communication, and leadership insights delivered every other Thursday. Coming October 6 at noon ET: I’ll be hosting a free webinar where I’ll share more about Communicate with Impact, a small-group program for leaders who want to communicate with greater confidence, clarity and authority. Please contact me for more details: Lisa@newcareerdirections.com

To your success! Lisa

Lisa Chubinsky is the CEO and Founder of New Career Directions, a Career Development Company. She’s a Certified Career Coach and former Executive Recruiter with more than 25 years of experience in Life Sciences and Manufacturing. Drawing on her extensive executive recruiting experience, Lisa developed her proprietary approach to helping senior leaders position themselves for advancement, communicate their value, strengthen their leadership presence, create impact, and successfully navigate their next career move.