Spotlight your TRUE self – Details, episodes & analysis

“Your network is your net-worth!” – So, who do you make the most out of your LinkedIn network, and especially grow your networking contacts by creating well-visible content?

However, I know that many people either don’t like writing, don’t know what to write or don’t know how to translate their expertise into a text that resonates with anyone. So they end up with posting without plan – and get frustrated because they don’t get any views or reactions.

During the last 12 months I have managed to create multiple LinkedIn posts with multiple thousands or 10’000s views. And when I published that I will be fired, the post went viral and has reached 180’000 views until today.

And this is what I want for anyone else as well to reach something like this! Because based on this viral post I was flooded with supporting comments, contact requests, messages from people suggesting me to have a meeting, share my CV with them or that they can connect me to their own employers.

I have myself been to paid courses about copy-writing and content creation run by some of the best business coaches and copy-writers from the German speaking market. This knowledge I apply myself – and touch in this episode:

• How to set the right intention for writing a social media post
• Why it is crucial to know your target audience
• What is the right structure of a highly-visible post
• How do you find the right words
• What elements should you include in your post and what should you avoid

However, this topic is too complex to fully teach it in one podcast episode. Therefore, you are welcome to join my masterclass “How to write and create highly-visible LinkedIn posts” on 17th and 19th June. This masterclass includes two ~2 hour sessions on the evening of 17th and 19th June, in which I will share with you all my knowledge about copy-writing in an interactive way. You can register here:

https://www.eventbrite.fi/e/how-to-write-and-create-highly-visible-linkedin-posts-tickets-1390572151739?aff=oddtdtcreator

Keywords: Skilful self-presentation, successful career, fulfilling career, important for career, successful in my job, self-confidence, authenticity, be yourself, social media, LinkedIn, copy-writing, content creation, grow my network, getting more followers, go viral, resonance

... and what coconuts and peaches have to do with that.

Whenever the spotlight is on us – whether you are speaking on a stage, holding a presentation, pitching your business ideas or in a job interview – it can be challenging to authentic and to fully be ourselves. We think we should “sound professional”, should not exclude or hurt anyone, should not be too emotional, and as a result we generalize formulations, sugar-coat problems and hold ourselves back to say what we really think.

In this episode I will share with you funny analogy – yes, with fruits ;) – so that you can understand

• How you notice that you are not authentic
• What is needed to be authentic
• How you can find your stability in any situation
• Why it is an advantage not to be liked by everyone

If you would like to know more about NLP and how to set a body-anchor (a powerful tool from Neuro-Linguistic Programming) for your inner stability, please contact me!

I am also planning to hold a masterclass in June on how to write viral (open-to-work) posts on LinkedIn as your authentic self! More about this on social media soon! Let’s connect on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaela-kettner-6a67a993/) or Instagram (@michaela.kettner.fi).

And if you are looking yourself for a job in the Corporate world or want to take the next step in your career, I would be happy to support you in your skillful self-presentation and showing your true, authentic self to a company! Therefore, this podcast is based on three pillars:

• Self-confidence & self-esteem

• Managing your emotions

• Concrete communication techniques based on NLP

And in each episode, you will hear about one of them. – Subscribe to not miss any important points!

Keywords: Skilful self-presentation, successful career, fulfilling career, important for career, successful in my job, self-confidence, authenticity, be yourself, stability, courage, safety within yourself, attract the right people, body-anchor, condition yourself, Neuro-Linguistic Programming

It doesn’t matter what you know. It doesn’t matter what you say or do. It only matters how you make other people feel.

And having the ability to imagine what other people think or feel (to make them feel good) is called:

Empathy.

Empathetic people have a “service-mindset” towards their co-workers. They think about others. They share information. They communicate pro-actively.

This will lead to things getting done. This will lead to efficient processes and better results. This will lead to a good atmosphere and team spirit.

Because of this, empathetic people are very often the most liked co-workers. They are appreciated, recognized, rewarded and are very often the ones offered a promotion.

In this episode you will learn:

• What empathy is
• What empathetic people do and how they do it
• Why empathy will be crucial in the future working world (dominated by AI)
• How empathy will increase your chances to get a job

If you are looking for a job in the Corporate world or want to take the next step in your career, I would be happy to support you in your skilful self-presentation and showing your true, authentic self to a company! Therefore, this podcast is based on three pillars:

• Self-confidence & self-esteem

• Managing your emotions

• Concrete communication techniques based on NLP

And in each episode, you will hear about one of them. – Subscribe to not miss any important points!

If you don’t want to miss the coming episodes – then following me on LinkedIn (Michaela Kettner) or Instagram (@michaela.kettner.fi).

Keywords: Skilful self-presentation, successful career, fulfilling career, important for career, successful in my job, self-confidence, empathy, being empathetic, service-minded, service-oriented, people-oriented, good communicator, job application, reaching out to the hiring manager, phone call

If you look back on 2024 – how do you feel about it? What experiences have you made? Which decisions have you made? What people have you met? And did you achieve the targets you have set for yourself?

I looked back on my own year 2024 and realized that I have fulfilled all the following targets that I had set for myself at the beginning of the year:

• Becoming a good manager for my team
• Renew my website (www.michaela-kettner.coach if you want to take a look)
• Nourishing friendships and connections with like-minded people
• Founding a meet-up for female managers
• Giving key-note speeches in front of a big audience
• Going back to driving school
• Resolving bad eating habits
• Supporting people with 1:1 coachings and a group coaching program

I was able to do all that! And now I am benefiting from these results.

That made me realize: We have the power! We are the creators of our lives! If we have an idea, a wish or a vision, we need to get clarity about the necessary steps how to get there, writing them down and then DOING them!

What kind of life do you want to create for yourself in 2025?

If you are looking for a job in the Corporate world or want to take the next step in your career, I would be happy to support you in your skilful self-presentation and showing your true, authentic self to a company! Therefore, this podcast is based on three pillars:

• Self-confidence & self-esteem

• Managing your emotions

• Concrete communication techniques based on NLP

And in each episode, you will hear about one of them. – Subscribe to not miss any important points!

If you don’t want to miss the coming episodes – then following me on LinkedIn (Michaela Kettner) or Instagram (@michaela.kettner.fi).

Keywords: Skillful self-presentation, successful career, fulfilling career, important for career, successful in my job, self-confidence, fulfill targets, reach goals, look-back, end of year reflection, to-do list, action list, create your life, realize your dreams

“What are your weaknesses?” or “Tell us about your biggest weakness!” – are you afraid to be asked this question in your job interview? Because you are so insecure what do respond to that?

Recruiters or hiring managers actually like it a lot to ask this question and there is a good reason for it, that I will explain you in this episode. And in addition, you will learn what are the four steps to give a really good answer when you are asked “What are your weaknesses?”. In short, these steps are:

1. Do your homework and get clarity about your weaknesses (and also strengths) in advance!
2. Be honest about your weakness and share an example to explain how that shows in every-day life!
3. Share a strategy what you are doing to mitigate this weakness!
4. Mention how this weakness can be turned into a strength!

If you are looking for a job in the Corporate world or want to take the next step in your career, I would be happy to support you in your skillful self-presentation and showing your true, authentic self to a company! Therefore, this podcast is based on three pillars:

• Self-confidence & self-esteem

• Managing your emotions

• Concrete communication techniques based on NLP

And in each episode, you will hear about one of them. – Subscribe to not miss any important points!

If you don’t want to miss the coming episodes – then following me on LinkedIn (Michaela Kettner) or Instagram (@michaela.kettner.fi).

Keywords: Skillful self-presentation, successful career, fulfilling career, important for career, successful in my job, self-confidence, job search, job application, finding work, looking for a job, job interview, what is your weakness, admitting own weakness, weaknesses, strength, imperfection, mistakes, honest, authentic, team, diversity

Do you have a job interview upcoming – but you are afraid that you will miss this unique chance to land the job, because you are so nervous that this might jeopardize that you present yourself well there?

A hiring manager is inviting you for the interview also to test how it is to talk with you. So yes, if you are mumbling and stuttering, because you are so nervous, that will not give a very good impression.

But here are three tips to decrease your nervousness and make your job interview a success:

1) Get awareness for your fears: What are you afraid of when you think about the job interview? What are your worst-case scenarios? – Then derive little strategies for these situations how you could resolve them if they would really happen in the job interview.

2) Prepare by researching about the job, the tasks, the company and the persons who will interview you. Also think about the right dress code or how you will set up the video interview.

3) 99% of the job interviews start with the question “Can you introduce yourself? – And your response for this you can already prepare and practice at home as a fluent and concise pitch about yourself!

If you are looking for a job in the Corporate world or want to take the next step in your career, I would be happy to support you in your skilful self-presentation and showing your true, authentic self to a company! Therefore, this podcast is based on three pillars:

• Self-confidence & self-esteem

• Managing your emotions

• Concrete communication techniques based on NLP

And in each episode, you will hear about one of them. – Subscribe to not miss any important points!

If you don’t want to miss the coming episodes – then following me on LinkedIn (Michaela Kettner) or Instagram (@michaela.kettner.fi).

Keywords: Skilful self-presentation, successful career, fulfilling career, important for career, successful in my job, self-confidence, job search, job application, finding work, looking for a job, job interview, meeting the hiring manager, talking to the recruiter, HR, job interview questions, nervousness

Yes, the job market is tough and when >100 of candidates apply for one position only about 10-15% of them get shortlisted to the first round of job interviews.

How do you get among this small share of people with your job application? How should your CV and cover letter look like to attract enough attention to the recruiter or hiring manager so that he/she really feels a desire to get to know you better?

In this episode I am explaining the following steps to you to create a high-quality non-average application:

1. Do your homework. Research about the job and the company.
2. Reach out to the hiring manager (if the contact is provided) to hear more about the daily tasks and challenges that the team or the company has.
3. Create a structured and well-readable CV that contains the competences/skills/keywords that are needed for the job.
4. Make the effort to write a personal cover letter that is nailing down your motivation for the job, which values you bring to the table and how you contribute to solve the challenges that the team/company is having. Use language and a format that stands out.
5. If possible, even consider recording an application video – this is definitely not what the average is doing!

If you are looking for a job in the Corporate world or want to take the next step in your career, I would be happy to support you in your skilful self-presentation and showing your true, authentic self to a company! Therefore, this podcast is based on three pillars:

• Self-confidence & self-esteem

• Managing your emotions

• Concrete communication techniques based on NLP

And in each episode, you will hear about one of them. – Subscribe to not miss any important points!

If you don’t want to miss the coming episodes – then following me on LinkedIn (Michaela Kettner) or Instagram (@michaela.kettner.fi).

Keywords: Skilful self-presentation, Successful career, fulfilling career, important for career, successful in my job, self-confidence, job search, job application, finding work, looking for a job, writing a CV, writing a cover letter, creating an application video, getting short-listed, getting hired, get invited to job interview

Have you ever dated someone that ended up in a relationship? I hope we all have! – And hey, this means that you know also how to land a job. Because searching for a job is like dating!

Many people who are desperately searching work have the feeling that the whole recruitment process is a big mysterious black box full of tricky technical challenges to overcome so that the own job application gets considered.

What is often forgotten: the hiring manager who has a position open in his team and wants to hire a new talent is also just a human being – who is looking for the perfect match for his/her team!

I am a hiring manager myself and have hired two additional colleagues to my team during 2024. Seeing the recruitment process from this side brought me valuable insights what is attractive for a hiring manager or recruiter – and what are the common mistakes that people make that are distractive.

I am sharing in this episode practical tips how you can make your job search more successful by thinking about the funny analogy from the dating world!

If you are looking for a job in the Corporate world or want to take the next step in your career, I would be happy to support you in your skilful self-presentation and showing your true, authentic self to a company! Therefore, this podcast is based on three pillars:

• Self-confidence & self-esteem

• Managing your emotions

• Concrete communication techniques based on NLP

And in each episode, you will hear about one of them. – Subscribe to not miss any important points!

If you don’t want to miss the coming episodes – then following me on LinkedIn (Michaela Kettner) or Instagram (@michaela.kettner.fi).

Keywords: Skilful self-presentation, Successful career, fulfilling career, important for career, successful in my job, self-confidence, job search, looking for a job, getting hired, applying for a job, writing a job application, need to find work, select the right job ads and vacancies, finding open positions

“All my life I had been chasing success, but here I was – with 38 – and had no idea when I will ever work again.”

This episode is the second part of the interview with Tomi Kaukinen, a Finnish start-up entrepreneur who shares in a very open and personal way how he experienced a burn-out in 2017, after his company successfully expanded from Finland over Spain to Asia.

In 2018 he started talking about this dark period of his life in public – when burn-out and depression in the working world were still a taboo topic.

Nowadays he shares both – his experience in creating a successful start-up and his insights from overcoming the burn-out – with young founders and entrepreneurs under his mission “Licence to fail”. (https://licenceto.fail/)

In plus of that, he is creating educational and entertaining content – and very recently produced and published a documentary about the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, that you can watch for free on youtube (“Nietzsche in Sils Maria”).

If you have ever needed an inspirational impulse to think about the meaning of your life – this documentary is my absolute personal recommendation for you!

If you want to connect directly with Tomi, you can find him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomikaukinen/

And if you are looking for a job in the Corporate world or want to take the next step in your career, I would be happy to support you in your skilful self-presentation and showing your true, authentic self to a company! Therefore, this podcast is based on three pillars:

• Self-confidence & self-esteem

• Managing your emotions

• Concrete communication techniques based on NLP

And in each episode, you will hear about one of them. – Subscribe to not miss any important points!

If you don’t want to miss the coming episodes – then following me on LinkedIn (Michaela Kettner) or Instagram (@michaela.kettner.fi).

Keywords: Skilful self-presentation, Successful career, fulfilling career, important for career, successful in my job, self-confidence, entrepreneur, founding a start-up, burn-out, depression, high-functioning depression, personal crisis, existential crisis, meaning of life, Friedrich Nietzsche, philosophy

From a cleaner to an elite scholar, from investment banking to the colorful start-up world, from Finland over Spain to Asia. And finally into a burn-out.

I had the honor to interview Tomi Kaukinen, who is a successful serial entrepreneur and one of the most-wanted keynote speakers in the Finnish business sector.

Graduated from the Stockholm School of Economics, he quit is well-paid job in an investment bank after 6 years to found his own business. He has managed to build up a start-up that connected him with nobody less than the famous Spanish football club Real Madrid. But the hard work and the hunger for success left their traces.

This episode is the first part of the (very long, but definitely not boring!) interview with Tomi, in which he shares

• Why he returned to school to graduate with straight A’s
• What disillusionment he experienced when starting his career
• Why you should have a safety net when quitting your job
• Why it is important to fail to create a successful start-up
• How the WiFi at McDonald’s secured him the collaboration with a Spanish football club 😉

The second part of the interview will come out as episode #81, which will especially touch on the topic of burn-out.

Feel free to connect directly with Tomi on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomikaukinen/

And if you are looking for a job in the Corporate world or want to take the next step in your career, I would be happy to support you in your skillful self-presentation and showing your true, authentic self to a company! Therefore, this podcast is based on three pillars:

• Self-confidence & self-esteem

• Managing your emotions

• Concrete communication techniques based on NLP

And in each episode, you will hear about one of them. – Subscribe to not miss any important points!

If you don’t want to miss the coming episodes – then following me on LinkedIn (Michaela Kettner) or Instagram (@michaela.kettner.fi).

Keywords: Skilful self-presentation, Successful career, fulfilling career, important for career, successful in my job, self-confidence, entrepreneur, founding a start-up, quitting my job, get an investor, burn-out