In the months I’ve spent feeling out the market, I’ve arrived at three conclusions:
1. Some things haven’t changed at all. Even the most capable people—including many professionals who are strong writers—are hungry for help on this front. They get that their personal brand may be nonexistent, out of date, or ill suited to their current goals (e.g. securing a new role, winning new clients, landing a board position, attracting talent, or raising funds).
2. The tools have changed completely—and will continue to do so at light speed. This is one of those good news/bad news things: on the one hand, it’s never been easier to distill and distribute your story. On the other hand, figuring out the best ways to do that—and to maintain meaningful momentum—requires investigating and leveraging both proven platforms and emerging technologies.
3. I’ve changed. I used to ghostwrite all the time: for decades, I took briefs from Fortune 500 clients in a wide range of industries and produced (pitch-perfect, apparently!) speeches, annual report letters, crisis management messaging, etc. (Slight detour: I was such a prolific ghostwriter that, at the dawn of online dating, I created profiles not just for myself but for many of my friends—and much to our enduring amusement, my husband-to-be responded not just to mine but to another one I wrote.) These days though, two things are different: first, I want to be careful not to instantly fill my oh-so-recently liberated time with new commitments. Second: I want to keep doing more of my own writing—something that to date has been confined largely to Facebook posts and the wee hours of insomniac nights.
This is all to say: I’m hiring! If you have an Exec Comms background, please email your resume directly to me at kwalton@steyer.net. I am particularly interested in partnering with people who are tools fiends, so please highlight that if it’s a strength of yours.
Please also reach out if you’re a potential client. The most common ask I’ve received is for help updating a LinkedIn profile—what one of our pilot clients adorably called a “Linked-In Glow-Up”—and we’re devising a way to make that process fast, painless, and super affordable. Also, don’t get too hung up on the word executive. “Exec Comms” is useful shorthand in many circles, but every person, no matter where they are in their career, needs to have a story and to tell it well. If you think we can help you, send me a note (again: kwalton@steyer.net) or sign up for a free, 30-minute consult. I reserve every Thursday morning for agenda-free chats with potential hires, clients, and other kindred spirits.
Thanks,
Kate
Photo: Walton family pic of our place in Hong Kong, shortly after the prehistoric version of a dating app brought us together.