Stop Calling Yourself a Consultant
So this is going to be one of those "real talk" blogs because I see too many pastors make this mistake when transitioning from ministry into the marketplace.
They don't know how to properly position themselves in the job market so they come across as generic, and plain.
I see this all the time on LinkedIn. A pastor will have a selfie of themselves (please don't) and their tagline is "Leadership Consultant with 20 years of developing people"
That literally means nothing.
I don't say this to be mean but you HAVE to be more specific on what you do and to be even clearer, what problem you solve.
Let's suppose you're a Youth Pastor who has spent 7 years in full time Youth Ministry and want to transition into a Project Manager role, and are studying for the PMP. You haven't transitioned yet but you want to "brand" yourself as an aspiring Project Manager.
Ok, that's a start. Do you know what kind of company you want to work for? What size or industry? There's a huge difference between working for a 10 person tech startup and a 50,000 person big bank.
So if you're that Youth Pastor who wants to transition into Project Management, let's say within People Operations or HR of a company in Tulsa where are you want to return to.
Here's what I would brand as on the top of your LinkedIn:
7+ Year Nonprofit Professional in Youth Development, PMP Candidate, Exploring Opportunities in People Operations and Human Resources in the Tulsa. Let's Connect
All of a sudden you have an unique (keyword here) way of branding yourself and anyone can understand in seconds who you are and what you're trying to do.
If you remember nothing else about this blog, remember this: if you can't say who you are and what you do in 7 seconds, you're not focused enough.
I know this may feel super overwhelming and if only there was a place where you can receive coaching and guidance on how to help pastors make this switch smoothly.
Oh wait, there is and you can schedule a free call right now to learn more so what are you waiting for?