The One Sentence That Can Change Everything
By Scott Rabinowitz, Partner
Herd Freed Hartz – Retained Executive Search
When accomplished people hit a career transition—when the job is over, when they decide it’s time to move on, when they’ve spent years excelling at what they do and suddenly have to figure out what comes next—the question that stops them cold isn’t a strategic one. It’s the simplest one: “What is your ideal job?”
What I’ve found in my 30-plus years in executive search and coaching is that, almost without exception, I get some version of the same answer: “I want to make a difference. I want a strong culture. I want work-life balance and two weeks of vacation somewhere I like.”
All of it may be true. None of it is a job.
That’s when I ask them to do an exercise with me. Write one sentence—specific, with four elements: a title, an industry or vertical, a company size, and one given circumstance where their experience makes a difference.
A succinct version of that sentence might be: “CFO of a $20 million community-facing foundation that needs to build a donor base.” Or: “CEO of a $10 million dental products company launching new products.”
The first time they write it, the sentence is usually a paragraph. The problem isn’t that they can’t edit—it’s fear. They’ve done so many things throughout their career that they’re afraid they might miss something. They’re afraid they might shut themselves off from a job that could potentially be a fit. They’re afraid they might have to take a step down from the level of status they’ve achieved.
And, chances are, they haven’t been “on the market” in a long time, which brings its own anxieties about the new rules—and tools—of a job search.
But I’ve found that coaching them through the one-sentence exercise defuses their fear by moving their attention outward. Instead of focusing on “here’s my resume, hire me,” it identifies a business problem that exists in the world and positions them as the person who can solve it: “You’re a non-profit that needs to build its donor base? I can help you do that.”
When the leader I’m coaching names a specific problem that a specific kind of company has, they’re thinking about that organization’s stage of growth, needs and challenges—and not about their résumé disappearing in a black hole of job listings.
What Problem Can You Solve?
Over 30 years of executive search, I’ve come to believe there are really only two interview questions: “What do you know about me?” and “How are you going to help me make or save money quickly?” Every other interview question—“Tell me about a time when you did this” or “Tell me about your other roles”—all fall into those buckets. Your interviewer wants to what you know about the company in front of you and the difference you can make for it.
The one-sentence exercise gets people pointed at those questions before they ever walk into a room. It takes them out of their own heads and lets them think of themselves as what they actually are: problem solvers. People who can make a difference.
It also gives the people around them the tools to actually help. Instead of a vague “If you hear of anything, let me know,” they’re now offering a concrete objective: “I’m looking for a COO role at a social services organization focused on housing. Do you know anyone I should talk to?” They’ve done the work for the person they’re asking. The people who want to help them finally have a goal to work toward.
Clarity in Turbulent Times
We happen to be living in especially turbulent times. Entire industries are changing. Some jobs are disappearing, and so are some companies. AI is the biggest business change since the computer, and it’s here, it’s real, and it’s not going away.
A single sentence can’t navigate all of that. What it can do is give you a sense of control over where you want to go next. In the 1900s, the horse-and-buggy maker who built the best buggy in town still had to reckon with the fact that nobody needed a buggy anymore. The way through a moment like that isn’t to keep your head down and do what you’ve always done. It’s to get clear about the difference you can make now.
Because that’s what this exercise is really about. Not jobs, not coaching, not even the search itself. It’s about clarity. People facing a moment of decision and transition may feel lost or afraid in the moment, but inside they usually know what needs to be done.
Sometimes it’s hard to see yourself for what you are—not a résumé of past job titles, but a person with the skills and talent to solve the problems of the moment. To put pen to paper and write the one simple sentence that can give you the clarity to move forward.
Scott Rabinowitz is a Partner at Seattle-based Herd Freed Hartz, named by Forbes magazine the #1 Executive Search Firm in the Pacific Northwest for three consecutive years. Check out our Portfolio of 1000+ successful executive searches. Let’s connect if we can help your future success too.