I’ve been putting off a project I set for myself a few years ago where I really work on my personal narrative about my professional work. I struggle to describe my role and it’s the source of a lot of anxiety. I just realize I should just work with my executive coach to write a new résumé.

I’m not looking for a change, but I’ve been terrified that when that time comes, I will have no ability to describe what I do. I often find myself leaving huge chunks of my job out. It’s challenging because as an early employee and officer/executive, a lot of my job feels informal or at least easy to forget about. It would be a mistake to not talk about the fact that I play a role in sales and support or representing the company externally at industry conferences as a subject matter expert. I’ve also never really talked about management or leadership in prior job searches because this is my first role where I have managed people and had a formal leadership role.

After 9+ years it’s strange to think that some day I’ll do something else. At the same time, my own anxiety has me preoccupied with being worried about what will happen when that time comes. A fresh résumé with some outside help from someone who knows what I do feels like it could be an easy relief valve to crack open.