Fill in your details
The script updates automatically as you type, click Play in ScriptScroller when you're ready
›
Script text
[Client Name], I've spent time with your CV before today, and I want to share what I see — but first, I want to hear from you.
When you look at your career history so far, what's the story you tell yourself about it?
[Listen for self-limiting narratives, gaps they're embarrassed about, or achievements they're underselling.]
Now let me tell you what I see.
[Share 3–5 specific transferable strengths — be concrete and specific. E.g. You've been managing cross-functional teams in every role — that's not just experience, that's a demonstrated leadership pattern.]
Here's the thing about career pivots: hiring managers aren't looking for a perfect match to a job spec. They're looking for someone who can solve a specific problem. Your job is to show them you've been solving versions of that problem your whole career.
So let's get specific about your target. When you imagine yourself 18 months from now, doing work that genuinely excites you — what does that look like? What are you actually doing day to day?
[Dig in: "What kind of problems are you solving?", "Who are you working with?", "What's the culture like?"]
Based on what you want, and what you've done, here's the narrative thread I'd suggest: [Draft a 2–3 sentence career pivot story in plain language].
How does that land? Does it feel honest and compelling?
[Refine until they feel proud to say it.]
Now — let's look at your CV and apply that narrative. The first thing we're going to change is [First Specific Change — headline, summary section, or how a specific job is described].
What you'll need to fill in
This script has 4 details to fill in before you read it. Have these to hand — the customizer above updates the script as you type:
- Client Name
- Dig in: "What kind of problems are you s…
- Draft a 2–3 sentence career pivot story…
- First Specific Change — headline, summar…
It also contains 3 stage directions in grey. Those are instructions to you, not lines to say out loud — they mark where to pause, listen, or wait for a response.
That timing assumes about 130 words a minute, which is a normal conversational pace. If you are presenting to a room you will likely go slower; if you are nervous you will go faster. Read it aloud once and time yourself before it matters.
When to use this script
Use this to prepare for the conversations you keep handling inconsistently. Discovery calls, first sessions, difficult feedback, and clients who want to quit all recur across a coaching practice, and improvising each one afresh produces wildly variable results. A script is a rehearsal of the structure, not a text to read to a client.
The value is mostly in preparation. Working through the wording in advance means you have already decided how to phrase the hard question, which frees you to actually listen when the session happens.
Making it sound like you
- Turn statements into questions wherever you can. Coaching works through the client's own realisations.
- Prepare the hard question exactly. Under the pressure of a real session, that is the one that gets softened into uselessness.
- Leave deliberate silence in the structure. The pause after a difficult question is doing the work.
- Adjust the language to your modality and your client. Borrowed frameworks sound borrowed.
Reading it out loud
Never read this to a client — use it to prepare, then keep at most a few prompts visible during the session. If the call is on video, keep any notes near the webcam so glancing at them does not read as disengagement, which in a coaching context is more damaging than in most.
More on the setup side: Teleprompter for Webcam, Teleprompter for Laptop, Moving Text for Scripts.
Questions about this script
How long does this career coach: resume review & career pivot script take to read?
The script runs to about 255 words, which is roughly 1 min 58 sec at a normal speaking pace of around 130 words a minute. Your own pace will vary, so time one read-through before you rely on the number.
What do I need to prepare before using this script?
There are 4 details to fill in: Client Name, Dig in: "What kind of problems are you s…, Draft a 2–3 sentence career pivot story…, First Specific Change — headline, summar…. Enter them in the customizer and the script updates as you type, then opens straight in the teleprompter.
Should I read a coaching script to a client?
No. Use it to prepare and to settle the wording of the difficult questions in advance, then keep only a few prompts in view. A coaching session that sounds delivered rather than heard undermines the relationship.
How do I use notes without seeming distracted?
Keep them minimal and positioned near your camera if the session is remote. A few key prompts you glance at are invisible; a full script you track down the page is not.
