Carol Cox: What does it really take to position yourself
for bigger stages, promotions,
clients, and visibility?
That's what I talk about with my guest,
Kate Wade of Get Her Hired on this episode of
the Speaking Your Brand podcast.
More and more women are making an impact by
starting businesses, running for office,
and speaking up for what matters.
With my background as a TV political analyst,
entrepreneur, and speaker,
I interview and coach purpose driven women to
shape their brands, grow their companies,
and become recognized as influencers in their
field. This is speaking your brand,
your place to learn how to persuasively
communicate your message to your audience.
Hi there and welcome to the Speaking Your
Brand podcast. This is your host,
Carol Cox. Today's episode is all about
building a career brand that truly opens
doors. Whether you're in corporate aiming for
your next promotion or job,
or you're an entrepreneur wanting bigger
clients and bigger stages.
My guest is career strategist Kate Wade,
founder of Get Her Hired.
And we go deep into why so many talented
women feel stuck and what you can do to get
unstuck, starting now.
We talk about how to find the thread in your
story, especially if, like me,
you've had a lot of twists and turns in your
career. How to communicate your value without
feeling like you're bragging, and the small
but powerful shifts that make you instantly
more memorable to recruiters,
decision makers, and event organizers.
Kate and I also talk about the rise of AI
resumes and speaker applications,
including our tips for using AI effectively.
We talk about the realities of today's job
market, and why being good at everything is
not the advantage we think it is.
I know you're going to love this conversation
with Kate. I have known her for about five
years now and we always have a fun and lively
conversation. If you would like to work with
us here at Speaking Your Brand to develop
your thought leadership and signature talk so
you have a strong personal platform,
one that increases your visibility,
amplifies your impact,
and creates opportunities for you beyond your
corporate job, the best thing to do is to
schedule a call with us.
You can do so by going to Speaking your
brand. And then we can learn more about you,
what your goals are, and the best options for
working together.
Now let's get on with the show.
Welcome to the Speaking Your Brand podcast,
Kate.
Kate Wade: Well, thank you so much,
Carol. I'm so happy to be here today,
and it's delightful to be on your podcast.
Thank you for the invitation.
Carol Cox: I am delighted that you are here.
We did a webinar together not too long ago at
the beginning of October,
and I feel like we laughed throughout the
entire thing, even though it was really good
quality content. I feel like the same thing's
gonna happen today.
Kate Wade: There's a lot of joy.
I mean, there is so much non joy in the world
that it's good to have some joy,
especially when we can share that from,
you know, the scar rather than an open wound.
And it also it makes it makes things more
relatable for everyone that we can move
forward. I'm sure humor helps a lot in the
work that you do, Carol.
Carol Cox: Oh, absolutely. And really being able to
laugh at yourself.
Kate Wade: Yes.
Carol Cox: Much less about it, about the absurdity of
everything else that's going on right now in
the world. Yeah.
We have so much to talk about,
Kate. We have known each other for a number
of years now. I've always admired you as a an
incredible business coach and now as an
entrepreneur, the founder of Get Her Hired,
which we'll talk a little bit more about in
just a moment. But I want us to jump right
in, because the women who are listening to
this podcast, they are entrepreneurs,
they are executives in corporate.
They're leaders in their community and their
industry. And I know that they want to have a
bigger impact in the world,
a positive impact and what they're doing.
Again, whether it's in their workplace, their
industry, their community,
whether it's on stage,
in the media, within nonprofit organizations
or within corporate.
Yet so often and I know,
Kate, you see this that and I experienced
this myself. We get stuck at some point in
our career, some point in our life,
you know, things are happening around us and
sometimes for good reason, we plateau.
Maybe we have to hit pause.
Sometimes it's a choice that we make,
but sometimes it's things that are happening
to us or we feel like are happening to us,
and we really want we want those bigger
opportunities, those bigger stages, those
bigger promotions.
But we feel like we're not sure what to do.
Where do you see that happening and how do
you help the women you work with navigate
that?
Kate Wade: Um, I think one of the that's such a good
question, and I have three answers for that.
Um, three things that I see typically,
and this applies for people,
whether they're applying to a job or
consulting or being a speaker or public
speaker. Um, and that's lack of target not
having a singular focus.
So one of the things we do when we work with
women at Get Her Hired is we say,
great, I'm glad you're the Jill of all
things, and no one's gonna hire you to be the
Jill of all things.
This is a problem.
So, um, working with people to get a focus is
probably the number one thing. So a thing.
Holding people back and keeping them stuck
and small is not claiming an area of
expertise, which seems kind of
counterintuitive to some people because you
think, well, I'm so versatile.
I'm so capable.
Why wouldn't someone bring me in?
I could do a workshop on this.
I could do a workshop on that.
I could speak on this,
I could keynote on that.
I can whatever.
But actually, no, they want they want to hire
an expert. So that's the first thing.
Do you see that too, Carol?
Carol Cox: Yes. Well it is and I and and I agree with
you because I feel like I'm a Jill of all
trades for sure.
I had this background in politics and
technology and then in history,
and then the work I do in speaking your
brand. But to your point,
if someone wants to hire you,
they have a problem.
Kate Wade: Yeah.
Carol Cox: That they need help with.
And it's usually not all of those things at
the same time. So they have to figure out
where do they where do they slot you in to
help help them fix their problem?
Whether they're hiring you and they're your
client or they're hiring you,
like you said, for a workshop or speaking
engagement, or you want to get promoted
within your organization.
What is it that what problem are you solving
for?
Kate Wade: Yes. Well, this goes into point number two
then on why women stay stuck.
Really? And what I find is that,
um, they have a narrative that's full of
features but lacks benefits,
right? So if you think about all of the
features that we have, you've had a
background in politics, you've had a
background in news, um,
in news production. You've had a background
in tech. These are features that make you
really good at what you do.
And the benefit to people is what we want to
talk about, not the features,
right? So we often can get stuck in the
features. And that happens when I'm working
with a CEO. That happens when I'm working
with an SVP of marketing.
It happens with people in every industry,
in every type of functional role,
is because it's kind of like that opposite of
not having a target as being too much of an
expert in talking about functional,
functional, functional. But talk about the
benefit, just as you were saying a moment
ago. Yeah.
Carol Cox: And it's so easy to slip into that.
Like I just did that.
So will you will you help us later?
Think about this idea of a narrative more
than the features.
Kate Wade: Yes, yes, because it's everything we do.
And I'm sure, Carol, it's very similar to
what you do is we're reverse engineering from
the future. If you've got a target in mind
and you've got clarity to that,
we can design a really great set of career
marketing materials.
We also do this for people who are like
fractional leaders. They maybe take on
retained roles as a COO or something like
that. And also for people who are
entrepreneurs, we help craft these messages
that come into like a one page brief that you
can easily share.
Why should you hire me?
For example, for whatever it might be?
Um, but the third, the third thing that,
um, might be counterintuitive.
Again, why women get good,
women get stuck in bad places is because we
can make ourselves indispensable.
Carol Cox: Whoa. That is counterintuitive.
Tell me more.
Kate Wade: Well, it's kind of like the not having a
target. A lot of women we work with,
um, and that I meet, have been,
you know, rewarded for being able to fix lots
of things, lots of different kinds of things.
We have capabilities that go across so many
different areas and that makes us
indispensable. So women are held back from
promotions because you're too useful in that
spot. No one else. We'd need three.
We'd need three carols if you weren't in this
position. And we sometimes can take that as a
compliment when really it's a big problem.
And that's where you have to speak up and
have that conversation with your leadership
team about where what could be different.
Um, and when I think about indispensable for
people who are entrepreneurs,
is it it kind of relates back to that lack of
focus, trying to fix everyone's problems in
every different manner.
Um, and we probably stay stuck as
entrepreneurs because we're too afraid to
niche into our market.
I had a, um, a CFO, I have a,
um, fractional CFO who I call upon a few
times a year to kick my butt,
right? So I opened the books and I show him
everything. And we talk about what's
happening. We talk about efficiencies and
automations, and we talk about structure of
the business. Right. And he said to me,
he said to me, you know,
you're probably missing out on half of your
potential audience and half of your potential
revenue because you're focused on women only.
To which I said, great.
Because we do work with men,
we work with thems, we work with women.
We market to women, though,
because that's the passion of where our
mission is. That's where I've had the
experience and that's where I know I can help
as an expert.
So yeah. Are we missing out on something?
I actually don't think we are.
Um, I think we've got a great niche and men
actually ask permission to work with us.
Carol. So I think we're okay.
Carol Cox: Yes. The same exact thing happens with us as
speaking your brand. Because as you all
listen to the jingle on the podcast,
the same jingle I've had since I started this
podcast almost nine years ago and all.
And so much of the work that we do is about
helping women find and use their voice and
have a bigger presence,
but we have worked with male clients over the
years and they have been amazing,
and we really enjoy working with them.
I think it's because they understand our
mission. They appreciate our mission and
their allies to our mission.
And so the same kind of thing, like they'll
contact us and like, you know, can you work
with me? And we're like, yeah, let's
absolutely like if we feel like like it's
going to be a good coaching relationship.
Yes. Then for sure.
Kate Wade: Yeah. Absolutely.
Yeah. And so a lot of the times we can,
um, lose out and stay stuck by not taking
that courageous step to just,
you know, dig into one area and claim it.
Carol Cox: Yeah, that is hard because I hear from a lot
of the clients that we work with,
and I feel myself the same way where I have
all of these different threads in my career.
I mentioned five different ones,
and they're like, how do they even relate to
each other? I see the commonality,
but they don't. And so and I feel like for so
many of us, we do have these different
interests or different parts of our career
where we haven't had that straight and narrow
line. And so how do you help women then?
Maybe we can talk about this idea of crafting
their narrative.
Where do they have to find the commonality
between these different things that seem
unrelated to each other,
or is it more about picking and prioritizing
what is most relevant now?
Kate Wade: I would never pick and prioritize based on
some fashionable phrase.
Okay, so the way I would work is with the
whole person and looking through their
career, there is a definite thread.
Okay, I have a master's degree in 18th
century German literature.
My mother said to me, why that?
Why would you do that to yourself?
Okay. Anyway, now I'm writing and I'm
listening to people.
And a thread for me has always been in my
career. That ability to listen deeply,
ask questions, evaluate,
assess, and recompose the information in a
way that's really easy for others to digest.
That's like, oh yeah, no brainer.
But that came from studying languages and
literature, right? It didn't come from
nowhere to be able to do that.
And some people ask me,
you know, oh, did you go to school to be a
resume writer? I'm like,
that's cute.
No, I didn't grow up wanting to be a resume
writer, but.
Carol Cox: Well, and also, I don't think you would want
to hire someone that that's all that they
trained. That's all they did. Because they
really they're not they don't have these
other experiences that are.
That is what makes what you do so good is
because you have this background doing
something that trains you in a different
field, but that you're using for what you do
now.
Kate Wade: And that's the exact thread.
So just like you, you got trained in other
fields that make you fantastic at what you do
now. Carol. So we look at the whole woman,
we look at the whole story and what I like to
do. Um, I'm a very data oriented person,
but it doesn't come out like data.
Um, it comes out like a narrative.
Because what I want to do is I assess people
by listening, by looking,
by reading, and I pull together,
what are this person's best competencies?
What are they so great at?
And a competency to me is the combination of
a strength, which is something we're born
with. We're naturally good at speaking in
public. Carol, you and I,
we work on it. Right. But like,
we're naturally pretty good at that,
right? It's a strength.
A skill is something we learn over time.
It's not something we are naturally born
with, and so we can work on public speaking
as a skill, even if it's not a strength.
Right? And so I look at a person's
competencies holistically,
which means what are they great at from a
native, like just how they were born and how
they show up in the world,
and how what are they great at?
Because they've learned how to do it really
well and they're excellent. And so if we take
that picture then of what someone's really
great at, it is so easy to pull the threads
through because you can see,
well, of course, you're really good at
collaborative communication.
I can see that because you've had this
experience in your past,
this experience in your past,
this experience in your past.
And this, of course, pulls these things
together for you and is a really foundational
part of who you are and how you show up.
Carol Cox: Mhm. I like that.
I remember now Kate.
We are both PhD dropouts.
Kate Wade: Yes. Dropouts.
Carol Cox: But you know. So I studied modern European
history. That was my focus for my PhD
program, but finished with a masters and
didn't complete my dissertation.
But to your point, I think doing that work
trained us. Like you said,
listen, evaluate, assess,
recompose, digest.
Even though it was on French history or
German literature, what we were trained on
very weirdly decades ago led us to this exact
point. So let me ask you,
Kate, why did you decide to start get her
hired specifically?
Because with the skill set and the strengths
you have, you could have done a number of
different things as far as in your business.
So why get her hired?
Kate Wade: Yeah. Thank you, thank you.
Um, yeah. And there's still lots of things I
have ideas for.
Um, but with.
Get her hired. Uh, I got laid off.
I've been laid off a couple times, and I got
laid off from a job I loved.
Felt horrible and I don't know if anyone out
there can relate to that because it happens
to good people. Yes.
And, um, at the time before my layoff,
I was one of the only senior,
uh, people in the company that was a woman
that had a door on my office and my part of
my role, and actually a point of contention I
had with my boss, the president,
many times was that I was mentoring too many
people. I also got in trouble for taking all
of the women in our Tampa office out to lunch
and not inviting the men,
um, all sorts of interesting things.
I used to get in trouble,
for, which are part of the thread as to what
I'm doing now. Right. It's like it's not by
accident. And, um, when I left that company,
left that role, I said,
okay, fine. I was doing strategy.
So I just opened a consultancy and did
strategy and did pro bono strategy work and
had some clients.
But the people from my company followed me
and we're continuing to ask me for advice.
And so over time, it just turned into this
business where I moved away.
I dropped doing the strategic planning and
the strategy consulting.
I dropped doing business coaching and
business consulting.
And I said, what the heck?
Why don't I take all of this,
that I know how to do and help all these
people who've wanted help from me over time?
And so two and a half years ago,
I went all in on get her hired as a business
where we're helping, um,
really cool women, thems and men land their
next boss roles through great career
marketing materials.
That's what we do.
Carol Cox: And what are you seeing in the marketplace?
You know, with the women, either that you
know, or women who have come to you.
Obviously, right now we're recording this,
you know, at the tail end of 2025,
it's been quite a year for a number of
reasons. The job market,
I feel like kind of like the housing market
was right after the pandemic,
like it feels like everything is just like in
that locking place and nothing's really
moving around.
So what are you seeing?
What are your what are you sensing?
And then when women come to work with you and
I, I know because I've experienced it
firsthand with you as a coach on the business
side, helping.
What are you what are they feeling like
emotionally, and how are you helping them to
either shift their mindset or to navigate
what's going on right now?
Kate Wade: Yeah, it is a really difficult period,
uh, with just what's happening.
Uh, in our in nationally with the job
markets, I'll just say that.
And, um, I agree, it's kind of in the stock
zone, but there is, um,
some good, some really good,
uh, indicators that I'll share in a moment.
But the emotions people are coming to us
with, we have leaders who have been in part
of national federal agencies in very high
levels coming to us, and they're crying
because they can't do their job anymore.
And we're seeing a lot of frustration,
a lot of lack of confidence,
the confidence really getting shot down,
um, disappointment.
And in ourselves like that,
we caused this to happen to us.
And so there's just a whole lot of negative
emotion happening for a lot of people.
There's that side. And then there's another
side, which is the fear side of I'm still in
role, but they just eliminated 13 people on
my team. I was just talking to someone ten
minutes before this. They eliminated 13
people on her team today,
but she's still there.
And so she's like putting out like,
uh, when am I?
When's my turn?
So, um, confidence, feeling shame and then
fear that it's going to happen to me next.
So that's really where people are coming to
us. And over the years people have come to us
with that kind of emotional,
um, makeup.
But more than ever now it's,
um, very reactive, like something happened to
them in their position,
rather than them being proactive and wanting
to go and find a new job.
It's reactive.
And so that's the difference in the market
right now. Uh, we talk to a lot of
recruiters, talent acquisition people because
we want to know what's actually happening in
the businesses. Like how are.
So I kind of go into reporter journalist mode
and I'm like, so tell me,
what are you what's really happening on that
executive search you're doing?
And I get a lot of information.
And so the good thing is,
and, uh, that the recruiters tell me and the
search firms tell me that executive roles
always get filled, there's always a
succession plan, and people are always hired
for those roles. So if you're in a higher
level role, it's not as dire as it might be
in an entry level individual contributor
lower level role.
All right. And then I can tell you from the
clients that we see that people are landing
jobs all the time.
All the time.
We just had two clients this week that got
back to us that said they landed an
opportunity. So but we work with people that
are in that director level and up.
So jobs are being found.
Um, interestingly, I do some speaking,
uh, which I should I should surely use
speaking your brand to polish myself up,
but there's some very large,
a very large pharmaceutical company that talk
to me about a year ago and then dropped it,
um, because they have a women's erg,
right. So they have an employee resource
group for women engineers at their company,
and they wanted me to come in and talk about
how to talk about yourself.
So kind of like speaking your brand but in
your company because the ERG wants more women
engineers in this company,
right? And they dropped it with the dye stuff
that kind of came to the fore earlier in the
year. But they're back again now.
So here's the thing.
There was a blip, I think,
for sometimes for people that are speaking or
working in areas that might be considered
woke or di related or too liberal or LGBTQ
related, but I think it's I seen it coming
back around. Um, so that's that's a real
relief for what's happening in the market
right now.
Carol Cox: Yes. Well, thank you for sharing that, Kate.
And those insights that you have, and I
agree, I feel like earlier this year,
a lot of companies pulled out of women's
conferences or sponsors for women's
conferences or, you know,
closed down their ERG groups and things like
that, very, very reactionary on their part.
I think they wanted to, like, not be sticking
their neck out, right, to get it chopped off,
uh, so to speak.
And so I feel like, though,
they're realizing the downside,
the negative consequence of doing that for
their employees and for their mission and
their place in, in the market,
their competitive place in the marketplace.
So I like you. I have seen them starting to
resurrect it, maybe more quietly than they
had in the past, but it is there.
Kate Wade: Yeah, yeah. Agreed?
Agreed.
Carol Cox: All right. So then, Kate. So thinking about,
you know, the women that you're working with.
So you like, when you're working with them,
obviously you're helping them with the kind
of the nuts and bolts or resumes or cover
letters. What are positions that that are the
best fit for them? This idea of helping them
build their narrative so the benefits,
not just the features.
So you're doing all of this with them,
and I know that you like to talk with them
about this idea of having career advancing
conversations.
And so can you tell us what that looks like?
And again, that can apply even to those
people listening who are not in working in
corporate but want to have, let's say,
opportunity advancing conversations.
What does that look like?
Kate Wade: Yeah. So what this what?
And we guarantee our work that you're going
to have a career advancing conversation and
we'll give you your money back. Because if
you're not getting those opportunities, we
haven't done our job.
Um, and so what that really looks like and
how it can apply even in the entrepreneurial
zone, is being clear on what you want,
being clear on the benefits that you can
bring to that situation,
and then going ahead and having that
courageous, uncomfortable conversation to ask
for what you want.
And so a career advancing conversation can
look like figuring out that,
you know what I really want to move into.
Um, let's see, I want to I want to move into
the IT department. I've been a business
analyst for years.
I've coordinated and cooperated with,
um, the IT department over the years.
I want to go over and I want to be in the IT
department. And so you've got a little bit of
a pivot coming up there.
Well you got to talk to people about it. You
got to know what you want to do.
You make a little bit of a plan for yourself
before you have that conversation. So you can
suggest something for how it works.
And then you go and you have it have that
conversation.
It can also look like a new introduction.
So for entrepreneurs out there introductions
are so important.
A referral is gold because what
psychologically happens is we're borrowing
the trust that someone else has.
Right. So we're like borrowing that trust
when someone refers us to someone else.
And so it's asking people in your network,
will they could they, um,
introduce you?
Uh, this is what you're working on right now.
Do you know anyone who needs this?
And so going out there and having that
courageous conversation of saying,
the world needs this, I can deliver it.
I'm probably not the only one who can deliver
it. Right. There's some humility that we get
to have in this situation.
But that doesn't take away our power and
authority, because the benefits are coming
from the features of your skills in the
background. Right? So like I've done this and
so there's a reason why you would be the
perfect person for them to introduce you to.
So that's a career advancing conversation.
Um, it could be having interviews.
It could be doing press releases.
It could be doing all sorts of different
things that, uh, move forward,
the knowledge about you and your product and
how it can help the world.
So whatever that is, that's what that is.
Carol Cox: So then, Kate, you mentioned this idea about
humility, right? And going in,
in, well, thinking about what we want,
asking for what we want.
But then I know that on the flip side of
that, that we also have to show and tell the
other person our accomplishments,
you know, our our competencies and our
strengths and our skills.
Yeah. And I know that for a lot of us,
it us, it can be hard to do that because
number one, we feel like,
well, who am I to brag about myself like that
does not feel weird, like arrogant.
But the other side, as women,
we have been conditioned that we feel like
there is a penalty, you know,
unspoken penalty if we are perceived as
coming across as bragging about our
accomplishments or thinking that we're we're
stuck up or that we're all that.
Kate Wade: Yeah, yeah. Um, so it is a fine line,
but here's, here's, here's where I
differentiate it.
If it's a fact, it's a fact,
right? It's not an opinion.
So if you can gather the information about
your background and you know these things as
facts, they're indisputable.
Then, um, and I would say that the thing that
separates the people that are bragging from
the people that are honestly sharing what
their experience is, is motivation.
So if your motive is to impress someone with
unearned laurels that you haven't,
you know that aren't actually yours to be
awarded. Um, that's different than sharing
your honest contribution within a situation.
So a lot of the times we get people that will
say to us, they're on,
you know, senior leadership teams.
They're the head of, um,
product development for a very large,
uh, semiconductor company.
Who knows? And they've been leading a
project, but there have been many other
people involved, and it's created,
let's say, $50 billion in revenue over the
last three years. You know,
that kind of thing, right?
Well, they might say to me,
well, I can't take credit for that.
I was part of a team.
Yes. To which I say, Carol,
that is so cute because you can take credit
for that. It couldn't have happened without
your direction. And guess what?
The men at the top of all these corporations
are taking credit for all the stuff,
all the time that they have no idea about,
right?
Carol Cox: Yes. Absolutely.
Yes.
Kate Wade: I'm not gonna name any names,
but it happens. It happens.
And, um, you know, you would think that some
of the people leading these large companies
are actual engineers or scientists or,
you know, that they are a product expert,
but they're not they're they really know how
to run a PNL. They really know how to report
to Wall Street, and they know how to talk to
investors like that's what they do.
So, um, yeah.
Okay. Yeah.
Carol Cox: It's a different competency. No,
it's a different it is a different
competency. Right?
It is.
Kate Wade: That is a generous way of looking at it.
Yes. And so therefore you can take credit for
being a part of this $50 billion opportunity
that you created.
Absolutely.
Especially if you're not trying to say,
oh, I did it all by myself,
which few people are would assume.
I mean, that would be ridiculous to assume
someone did that by themselves.
And few people really try to take credit like
that. But we're afraid of that,
right? Because like you said, we're we're
raised with this this expectation.
Yeah.
Carol Cox: Well, and and when we work with our clients
on their talks and then say for,
say for a keynote or even a Ted talk,
is that I'll always make sure that they're
dropping what I call credibility markers.
Somewhere in the in the talk we have this
three act structure. So it's in act one.
It's not at the top like you don't lead with
that. Hi everyone.
You know, look at all the great things that
I've done. And I'm here to speak to you
today. Right. Like it's it's in act one.
So it comes in the beginning.
But it's not it's not the first like you're
building towards that.
And so I'll say like you have you need to do
that because then once the audience
understands that, that you understand them,
then they want to feel like you are the
trusted source, that you're going to help
guide them on this journey,
that you're taking them on in your talk.
So you have to have some of those credibility
markers and share them with the audience so
that they know what they what those are.
And so that and that's one strategy.
The other strategy is I is I'll say,
okay, have your bio right.
Make sure your bio is one that can be easily
read out loud by whoever's introducing you at
the event, and put your credibility markers
in the bio that they're reading,
because then someone else is doing it on your
behalf, and then you maybe if you really feel
uncomfortable doing it, then at least they've
done it for you.
Kate Wade: Yes. Such a good point.
Yeah. So many.
Um, I use this analogy quite a bit that the
clients I work with are the Mona Lisa,
and they're sitting in the frame smiling.
They can't see how beautiful they are.
They're just sitting there, you know, like,
but you and I, as in the audience,
can see that beauty.
Right. And, um, and the mystery of it.
And that's what it takes. It takes,
you know, when we do this alone,
it can be so unnerving.
And like, our confidence can just get really
shot when you're like,
oh, I'm just bragging about myself.
It's like, no, I see that beauty in you.
Talk about it. It's okay.
Carol Cox: Yes. Well, I get the same thing.
Like, oh, I can't call myself a thought
leader. Can't.
Doesn't someone have to,
like, give me that title? I'm like, no,
you do not. They do not have to give you.
Trust me. You can give yourself that title.
Plenty of people do.
And it is completely up to you.
Same with speaker.
We here, we have women who work with us and
they're like, I'm not a speaker.
I'm like, have you ever done a presentation
before anywhere at work?
They're like, yes, I do them all the time.
I'm like, then you're a speaker.
Like.
Kate Wade: Happy birthday. You graduated.
Yeah.
Carol Cox: All right. So let's let's dig into a little
bit of resume and resume writing,
because Kate can't ChatGPT just write our
resumes Mhm.
For us. And write and write and write
everything for us nowadays.
Kate Wade: Um, you know I love ChatGPT.
I love AI for from language,
large language models. Right. So that's
typically what I'm working with. I have other
automations I use in my business that are
also AI related, but they're not language
models when it comes to writing a resume.
There are some programs out there that do a
pretty good job, some GPT,
that will do a pretty good job of creating.
Um, what I would like to say are,
uh, credible bullet points.
Now, here's here's the thing with it.
Um. Today people are probably designing
speaker requests using AI,
right? For.
Carol Cox: Oh, yeah. I have an example I'm going to
share here in just a moment.
Kate Wade: Same thing like people at companies and HR.
They're like, oh my God. Let's let ChatGPT
kick out this job description.
Right. Yeah. And then it gets out online.
And then we're using ChatGPT to write our
resume to fit to it.
And it becomes this like echo chamber of zero
value. And people will often ask in
particular, I don't know if this happens with
speaker applications.
Um, maybe, you know, but they'll ask us,
well, how do I get through the detectors?
Right. So there are detectors that companies
have that say how many keywords or the
strength you have. So there's an algorithm,
a mystery algorithm on the receiver's end
that we can't know what that algorithm is,
the sensitivity of it.
But a lot of people want to work to gain that
by using ChatGPT to optimize their documents
to get through.
But then once they get through,
they look like everyone else's.
So yes.
Carol Cox: Exactly.
Kate Wade: Because here's what a GPT is.
It is a large language learning model.
It is simply predicting the next logical word
in the sentence. Right.
And because it doesn't actually know
anything, it is going to be basing what it
talks about you, uh, based on like what it
knows about 500,000 other people.
So it's actually not personal at all.
Carol Cox: Yes. It's like the lowest common denominator
of the internet.
Kate Wade: Yeah. Yes. And I would say there is good
prompting. And we have AI,
um, large language model augmented work that
we do. So we do use, uh,
professional models of ChatGPT,
we use perplexity, we use Claude,
and we have then other automated models that
we use for different parts of the business.
But, um, I would say that it can do it.
Here's what it's good at.
It's good at creating a formula or a
framework. Right.
The the what that's going into there can be
really strong. And so I do like it as a
thought partner sometimes to start some
ideas. Right. I think it's good that way.
But then to really get to the strategy and
the story, we have to move beyond it.
Like it can give us a framework.
It can suggest that these might be the things
you might want to think about,
but I used a lot of modal verbs there.
Right. Like things you might you could,
but I didn't say should.
They may be appropriate for you to use or
not. And so yeah, go ahead and use it.
But you have to customize it.
You have to make it your own or you are going
to sound like 1 in 1,000,000,000,
you know.
Carol Cox: Yes. Yes. Absolutely.
So I again I love AI, I use it all the time.
I've talked about it on the podcast. I have
my clone, I have my AI voice clone,
I have an entire companion podcast called
Confidence Speaker that has 100% AI generated
very transparently, transparently.
It's great. Go check it out.
So I love AI, but to your point is that it it
is good at certain things and it's
understanding what it's good at and using
that and understanding what it's not good at.
So, for example, can ChatGPT write your
presentation or write your keynote?
Sure. In theory it could.
It's going to give you a whole bunch of
words. Yeah, but I trust me,
I've tried it. It's not going to be very good
because it is back to that lowest idea of the
lowest common denominator.
And it just it doesn't have that.
And I don't know how it is like the human
essence. And I'm sure,
Kate, you feel this when you're working with
your clients is that we'll ask them questions
and all of a sudden we can see how they're
reacting to a question or how they're
starting to share an answer.
And either they get really excited about that
answer. And so we perk up.
We're like, oh, we've hit on something there.
Let's pull on that and see where that goes.
Or we ask something and we're going in a
direction and we can see it's flat.
Like they just have no interest in that,
that part of the talk or maybe that part of
their career. So that's the things we can
pick up on as the humans on the other end
that the AI can't pick up on that.
Kate Wade: Yeah, absolutely.
Everyone has a different vibe.
So we do a lot of work on the front end
interviewing our clients. I know you have a
big interview process as well and assessment
process when you're taking someone in.
We do the same because we want to know the
things that light them up,
the things that they never, ever want to do
again, the things that they prefer to have in
their lives and not have in their lives.
Um, their proudest moments,
their most embarrassing moments. Like, we
want to know all of this stuff because then
we can really shape the voice of the person.
And everyone is different.
So different.
We don't want to emphasize in someone's
materials. Um, what was the one we had to
take out the other day?
Oh, I was working with someone in banking,
and she doesn't want to do treasury work
anymore. She's really good at it.
And it was all over her previous materials.
But guess what? Because,
um, she doesn't want to do it.
We're going to take that out and de-emphasize
treasury so that no one gets the idea to put
her in a treasury, you know,
bucket again, you know?
So, um, ChatGPT doesn't know how to do that.
Right.
Carol Cox: Right. It's going to see Treasury and be
like, let's double down on that all over the
place.
Kate Wade: Exactly. Yeah.
Carol Cox: Yeah. Well, and to your point that then the
resumes, even if they get past the initial
system, is that end up sounding like
everybody else because I have used ChatGPT
since it launched. I teach marketing classes
at a university. My students use it even when
I don't want them to.
I can tell what is written by GPT no matter
how good you prompt it.
Trust me, I can tell, and so can the people
on the other end. And so right now,
I'm one of the speaking coaches and curators
for TEDx Orlando.
We're getting ready to have, you know,
the events in 2026.
We put out the call for speakers.
We got over 600 speaker applications,
which is like unheard of.
It's there's so many of them.
There's ten of us on the speaker curation
committee. So we're like putting a process
together to to, you know,
go through them all.
But as we started initially,
like going through the initial batch that was
coming in, we were reading them all.
And even though every topic was different
because they're all they're all different
people, they all sounded the same.
And we knew ChatGPT wrote the titles,
the little description like, what is your
idea worth sharing?
And even though even though some of the ideas
were interesting, it's a turn off because the
cadence, like the wording and the cadence is
so similar from one to the other that this
person's the speaker's personality just does
not come out. And we want to know the idea
the person has, but we want to know their
personality too.
Like, why are they passionate about this?
And it doesn't come through in ChatGPT writes
it.
Kate Wade: Yeah, no it doesn't.
And you know, we have a we have a definite
voice over here at get her hired.
Being a feminist company not using sports
terminology, you know,
there's like there's just certain things that
we are not going to let pass the gates of get
her hired out into the world.
But ChatGPT is built by it's it's,
you know, yeah, it's kind of got common,
common terminology that is not common to get
her hired. And so we don't allow that to
happen to good people.
We have a voice. We know everyone else has a
voice, and there's the dignity and respect
toward that voice.
And we're going to represent it.
Not saying we're not going to get ideas and
frameworks and some structure,
um, pointers from an automated system or from
a ChatGPT type of product.
But, um, because we do,
it would be stupid not to.
Right. I mean, we used to hand-make all of
these things. It's like I liken it to the
work I used to do is like,
um, my mom used to quilt by hand,
you know, she used to sew.
Now she has a real fancy sewing machine,
right? I feel like I have a real fancy sewing
machine now. Mhm.
Oh, yeah. I mean, that is great.
Carol Cox: Like audience activities,
like you're like, okay, I have this audience.
Here's what the topic is. Give me some ideas
for things I can do with the audience. It is
great at that. Like okay.
Like plug those in to where it makes sense.
Kate Wade: Yeah for sure.
Yeah. And ideas.
Absolutely. Mhm.
Carol Cox: So Kate, I know that you mentioned before we
hit record that you have a new course that
you're putting out. So tell us about that.
Kate Wade: Oh my gosh. So we are so excited.
We have been working on a self-paced course.
Um and we've been doing it for eight months
now. Like these people.
These people. There are people that are on
the internet. They might show up in your
Instagram or your LinkedIn and they they it
appears to be so easy to create an online
course. Well, I think they are using AI to
create that whole online course and that's
why it looks easy. But the truth is,
if you want to create a good online course,
it takes a team of three people,
20 failures, five figure mistakes,
eight months. Okay, so as an entrepreneur,
I hope everyone can relate to this.
And um, yeah, the personnel changes we may
have been through in the last eight months on
this particular project. And I'm so proud to
say it's actually launching tomorrow.
Um, and so now coming up here at the end of
2025, we have our new self-paced course on
writing your own resume and cover letter.
It is incredible.
We take all of the methodologies and the
frameworks and the tools that we use with our
CEO clients, and we give it to you in this
course. It's called hit send.
Hit send because that's what you're that's
what you want to do.
Again I'm talking about the benefit.
Do you see how I'm talking about the benefit
and not the feature.
Yes. In um, what we're doing with the course
name even. And so it's a self-paced thing.
We've got all the templates out there. We it
is AI augmented.
And so we say that in,
you know, if you want to go and purchase this
course, which I'll give your audience,
uh, 60% off, um, coupon for that.
Um, if they use speaking your brand,
just write it all together and we'll give you
60% off on the course.
Um, but what it's got is all the templates,
all of the materials, everything that you
need to write your own documents and the AI
augmented prompts that we,
um, ask you to use in there,
too. And so if you don't want to use AI,
don't buy this course.
There are plenty of people out there that
don't want to use AI, and we have a tick box
when you purchase it to say,
I acknowledge that this is AI augmented.
And then and then we got to say in there,
if that doesn't fit your vibe, that's okay.
Cool. Don't buy this.
Carol Cox: Well, it's good to be upfront about it. Yeah.
That's no that's that's good okay.
So everyone go to GitHub.
Right. So all together get her hired hit send
and 60% off.
That is so generous of you. Use the coupon
code speaking your brand. That's all together
speaking your brand. And I'll make sure to
also include this in the show notes.
So for those of you listening right now,
just go to the show notes and you can find
the link and the coupon code there.
So find that and yeah and I'll say that like
for example, when we work with our clients in
the Thought Leader Academy, we help them to
put together their speaking proposals and
pitches. And so we have this whole framework
called their Brand Voice Canvas that they
fill out. And we say, give your filled out
brand voice canvas to ChatGPT or Claude or
whichever chatbot you use and have that,
then tailor your your pitches based on this
so that it is less generic.
Then obviously do any adjustment that you
need to do afterwards. So I like this idea of
you said AI enhanced.
Is that the word that you use?
Kate Wade: Augmented assisted.
Carol Cox: Augmented. Yeah okay.
Kate Wade: But there's still a whole bunch of work we
have to do in order to stand out.
There are so many people out there competing
for a job, competing for an speaking
opportunity, competing for all sorts of
stuff. We have to stand out,
know what we're really great at and ask
people for it. And, um,
this is one of the ways that people can do
this. With our hint send course.
It helps think through all of those great,
great experiences you have and how to
position yourself for what's next.
Carol Cox: I love that and of course continue to build
relationships, build your network,
build your community because not only for
opportunities, but just for that sense of
support so you don't feel like you're you're
alone, that you have that that community to
go to.
Kate Wade: Absolutely. Yeah.
Carol Cox: All right. Kate. Well, this has been
incredible as I knew it would be.
Thank you so much for taking the time to come
on the Speaking Your Brand podcast.
And again, for all of you listening,
make sure to check out the Hit Send course
and also connect with Kate on LinkedIn.
I'll make sure to include a link to her
LinkedIn profile as well.
Thank you. Lovely as always.
Kate Wade: Excellent. Well thanks Carol,
I've really enjoyed it.
And I love talking with other entrepreneurs
about these kinds of things because it
matters. Our stories matter and knowing like
what you do, Carol, like helping people pull
out their their greatness in their story and
then sharing that with the world.
That's what makes life worthwhile in so many
ways, helping other people.
So Carol, thanks for helping me today.
Carol Cox: Oh, absolutely.
Well, and for everyone else.
Until next time, thanks for listening.