Regular readers know that one of the major themes of A Storied Career is storytelling in the job search and career. Career practitioners are spotlighting the phenomenon more than ever. The white paper Findings of 2010 Global Career Brainstorming Day: Trends for the Now, the New & the Next in Careers affirms storytelling’s importance, especially in resumes and interviews:

In a world as chaotic as we live in, where people are becoming increasingly accustomed to sound bytes of information, they still do need context. Storytelling provides a framework, context, and pathway to understanding. It’s compelling; it creates connection; it personalizes; it captivates. It hold attention in a multi-tasking world. In job search, those stories must be tied to value to prove that the job-seeker can meet the need and exceed expectations.

The brainstorming day was held in December 2010 by the Career Thought Leaders Consortium, publishers of the white paper.

The recognition is timely because I am about to leave for two conferences in which job-search storytelling will play a significant role. At the conference of the Career Management Alliance in Las Vegas, an entire track has been dedicated to storytelling. I’ll be moderating a storytelling panel with three colleagues, who will then deliver full sessions on Using Pattern Recognition in Story Analysis (using life stories to foster career decision-making), Storytelling: Your Resume Differentiator, and Stick the Landing — The Art of Storytelling in Interviews. You can follow tweets from that conference at #CMAVegas2011.

Starting no later than a week from now, I’ll report what I’ve learned from these sessions. After that conference, I’ll go to Los Angeles to speak on storytelling in the job search to a group of career counselors who work with MBA students.