Have you made these career-limiting mistakes with executive recruiters? Find out now...
The Career Narratives Podcast with Doug Lester

LinkedIn Episodes

36
Sept. 19, 2025

36: Your LinkedIn Headline May Be Riskier Than You Think

Is your LinkedIn headline your job title and company name? If so, you're taking a big risk. Host Doug Lester shares why, based on his experience as a Fortune 100 hiring manager, an executive recruiter and a coach to more than a thousand MBA alumni. And he offers an alternative approach that more effectively communicates your personal narrative.
31
Feb. 14, 2025

31: How to Spot the Signals That Shape Your Career Narrative

Have you ever considered how the career choices you make can send intentional and unintentional signals to others that shape your personal narrative? Based on his experience as an executive recruiter at a top firm, host Doug Lester leads you through a quick exercise that lets you step outside yourself and see the forest of your career from the trees.
24
Oct. 31, 2024

24: One Thing Could Unblock Your Career Advancement This Year

Have you made less progress advancing your career than you had wanted to this year? Or maybe no progress at all? If so, host Doug Lester shares a little social media psychology and a realization from his own life experience that could help you identify and get past your roadblock so you can move forward.
23
Oct. 11, 2024

23: Why You Shouldn't Drop Dates and Experience from Your LinkedIn Profile and Resume

If you're in your 40s or 50s, have you ever been advised to drop the dates from your education entries and remove a few of the earlier roles from your LinkedIn profile and resume? Trying to soft-pedal or hide your age and level of experience can actually work against you getting the aspirational senior roles that might be the best fit at this point in your career. Host Doug Lester shares his experience as a coach to MBA alumni and a former executive recruiter to make the case.
12
May 3, 2024

12: You May Be Diluting Your Personal Narrative

Words and phrases you think you need in your resume and LinkedIn profile can unintentionally dilute your personal narrative. As a hiring manager, executive recruiter and coach, host Doug Lester shares the prime suspects and makes a case for avoiding them. He also explains how using them may even work against you by raising unneeded questions in your readers' minds. 🎧 Take control of your narrative and advance your career — subscribe to the podcast! 🤔 Need a thought partner with experience as...
10
April 4, 2024

10: How to Write a LinkedIn Experience Entry That Answers 3 Key Questions

Based on his experience as an executive recruiter at a top firm, Doug Lester offers a strategic perspective focused on crafting a concise, helpful LinkedIn Experience entry. Emphasizing an intended reader's requirements, Doug offers a straightforward approach to writing a LinkedIn Experience entry that focuses on answering the three key questions that executive recruiters (and hiring managers) need the answers to. This episode is the third in a series focused on writing an effective LinkedIn ...
9
March 21, 2024

9: How to Write a LinkedIn About Section That Supports Your Narrative

Is your LinkedIn profile actually written to connect with your reader? Do you have a LinkedIn Headline that communicates what you do, the context you do it in, and the impact of your work? If not, give Episode 8 a quick listen Then listen to this episode and find out how to write an engaging LinkedIn About section that will give your reader confidence that the claims you're making about yourself in your Headline are true. After all, your reader could be a potential hiring manager or an exe...
8
March 7, 2024

8: How to Communicate Your Narrative in Your LinkedIn Headline

If you don't define your narrative, then someone else might do it for you. Why take that chance? Doug Lester shares a simple, three-part framework he picked up as an executive recruiter that you can apply to your LinkedIn headline. You'll help the people who find you on LinkedIn make sense of your experience and, more importantly, understand where you're headed. 🎧 Take control of your narrative and advance your career — subscribe to the podcast! 🤔 Need a thought partner with experience as a ...