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Know What You Want and What You Offer, with William Corless

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When you’re considering a new position, you should take the time to evaluate whether the job is what you’re looking for. That may seem obvious, but too many folks take the first job offered, says Find Your Dream Job guest William Corless, without considering what would make the job enjoyable. William says self-reflection is crucial to understanding what you‘re good at, what you enjoy in a work environment, and even your weaknesses. William stresses the need to come across as interested, competent, and engaging in an interview.

About Our Guest:

William Corless is an executive coach and facilitator. William also hosts The Workplace Podcast.  

Resources in This Episode:

Transcript

Find Your Dream Job, Episode 499:

Know What You Want and What You Offer, with William Corless

Airdate: April 30, 2025

Mac Prichard:

This is Find Your Dream Job, the podcast that helps you get hired, have the career you want, and make a difference in life.

I’m your host, Mac Prichard. I’m also the founder of Mac’s List. It’s a job board in the Pacific Northwest that helps you find a fulfilling career.

Every Wednesday, I talk to a different expert about the tools you need to get the work you want.

Last week, Laura Knights explained why you need to show your value to an employer and how to do it.

But your needs matter, too.

And understanding your own goals will not only help you find a better job, it will also help you make a better case for yourself.

William Corless is here to talk about how to know what you want and what you offer.

He’s an executive coach and facilitator.

William also hosts The Workplace Podcast.

He joins us from Dublin.

Well, let’s jump right into it, William. Why is it important for you to know, when looking for work, to understand both what you want and what you offer?

William Corless:

I think it’s really important, Mac, to understand what energizes you, what you’re interested in. And most importantly, is understanding that you’re learning from the past, a bit like relationships, or when you’re dating again, you know what doesn’t work and what does work.

And I think what’s really important about that then is you understand, “Okay, well, why is it that I’m leaving this job? If I was to find a new job, then what would be the right match or fit for me?”

So again, it’s a bit like that dating analogy, it’s that profile is: what is the type of job, what is the type of team, manager, organization, or sector that will fit that profile that best meets my needs, my interests, my competencies, my experience, and my expertise, and then I’m going to be really valued and I place value then on the work that I do.

Mac Prichard:

Let’s talk about what matters to employers. What difference does it make, William, to an employer when you can explain what you want and what you offer?

William Corless:

I think clarity is key. So, you have to remember what employers are looking for. So, number one is they’re looking for your competence. Are you able to do the job? They want to make sure they can trust you to do the job in a consistent and reliable manner, to meet their expectations. So, that’s number one about competence.

Number two is they’re going to be spending forty hours a week with you; they have to make sure that, just like dating, they want to be satisfied that they spend that amount of time with you, that you will be able to interact with other people, with clients, with suppliers, in a way that represents the organizational values.

Mac Prichard:

You mentioned energy a moment ago. What part does energy and engagement play in making the right career choices?

William Corless:

Yeah, I think it’s really important, that role of emotional intelligence and knowing yourself, that self-awareness is really important. And I often talk to clients about looking back on your previous career, your last couple of jobs, what is it you really liked.

And the reason why I say that is, this is what gives you energy, this is what gives you that motivation to be the best at your job, that performance piece. This is what managers and employers are looking for, is that “How can I hire someone that is going to be at their optimum, consistently?”

Mac Prichard:

What would you say to a listener, William, who thinks, “Well, I’m not excited about this position but I need the job?” Can an employer pick up on whether you don’t have energy or not?

William Corless:

Yeah, they’re called micro-expressions, Mac, and this comes out in our body language. It’s very hard to disguise our body language, and if we are muted in that area, if our passion doesn’t shine through, that’s going to be quite noticeable to an employer. And this is what, when you’re going into an interview, to be fully prepared, then that you understand what you like, what you dislike, what you enjoy, and what you find difficult.

And from that then, they might ask you, “What are your challenges, you know, what do you think you need your development, if you’re to develop the needs or training needs to be successful in this job,” and what they’re really looking for is to understand, do you have that self-awareness?

Do you have those major blind spots or are you fully aware of what your areas of strengths are, your competencies are? And also, its figuring out well, where are your areas of development that we can help you to be a success in your job.

So, you’re not really hiding anything, you’re going to be very authentic about that. And I think, employers, interviewers, recruiters, are very astute at understanding that people may shield, you know, aspects of their personality that they’re not the most confident in, but what you’re really trying to do is portray that you’re confident and competent and it be consistent in delivering a high performance for that organization.

Mac Prichard:

How do you develop that self-awareness so that you’re both aware of your strengths and the areas where you need to improve? What do you recommend to your clients?

William Corless:

I do a very simple four-question exercise. I’ll just mention it briefly here. So, when you look back on your last four or five jobs or over your CV or your career, what you can do is you can understand, these are the elements of my job I really liked. And then you highlight those there.

And then what you do is you go to, well you look at the aspects of my jobs that I didn’t like. And then you highlight that and you want to start noticing patterns there. Then, you want to highlight things that you find really easy, and when you find stuff that’s really easy, that really highlights a strength of yours. And then what you find difficult, then, that’s something you find really challenging.

So I’m gonna give you an example: I really dislike, for example, routine. So, for me, then, what I really like, the opposite to that, is variety. Again, when what I find difficult, doesn’t mean that I can’t do it, it’s a challenge for me is I find details really difficult.

So would you believe, Mac, I used to be an electronic engineer? Wasn’t something that I could really be good at because from a sustainable point of view, if I’m not playing to my strengths, I’m not going to be fully successful. I’m able to meet my optimal performance now because I’m able to understand my personality, able to understand what I really like, what I’m really good at, and what I’d like to see more of in my jobs, so I can be motivated more consistently in the workplace and be engaged.

Mac Prichard:

And when you know what your strengths are, and the areas where you might need improvement, how do you communicate that in the interview and in your application materials? What’s the most effective way to talk about those things?

William Corless:

I think the best way to talk about those things is exactly, it’s like a dating profile, again. Am I meeting their needs in this organization? Do they meet my needs? And then, there’s going to be an overlap there, and what you might say is, for example, if there’s an overlap in, say, for example, you’re going a public body, government organization, something like that, you know you can put in the words why you would like to do that.

Could be public service, it could be that you enjoy stability of a job or routine or whatever, but there’s something there that you can get across in your values, your interests, or your needs, why you want that job, and also why you believe you’re the best candidate for it. And the more then that you have that self-knowledge, the more you’re able to craft a message, a story about that, and I think it’s really important that people rehearse that quite a bit.

Mac Prichard:

Terrific. We’re going to take a break.

Stay with us; when we come back, William Corless will continue to share his advice on how to know what you want and what you offer.

We’re back in the Mac’s List studio. I’m talking with William Corless.

He’s an executive coach and facilitator.

William also hosts The Workplace Podcast.

He joins us from Dublin.

William, before the break, we were talking about how to know what you want and what you offer.

At the end of the first segment, we were talking about the importance of self-knowledge. What have you found are some common barriers that prevent people from understanding what they want and what they offer?

William Corless:

I think some of the barriers there is maybe old patterns, like limiting beliefs. They might say to themselves, “I’m not good enough” or they might think, “I would never be able to do that.” It’s more to do with, they haven’t seen anybody in their social circle be able to do that. Okay? And I think sometimes it’s understanding what your limiting beliefs are.

But also, there’s kind of old patterns that might have emerged and this is where you need to challenge yourself then, is “Was I a bit of a workaholic? Was I a perfectionist? Was I a people pleaser?” And this is where, from a personal development point of view, to say “If I’m starting off on a clean slate here, how might I show up in a different way?” And I think it’s about knowing what your value proposition is.

I’ve often worked with people who had limiting beliefs or might have had poor confidence. When we did different exercises like listing out all their experience, all their competencies, all their skills, all the expertise that they have, they realized, actually, I have a lot to offer, this is my value proposition.

Once you have that written down, your mind doesn’t play tricks anymore. This is the importance of using journals or mind maps, just to remind yourself that you actually have a lot to offer. One such tool is the Personal Business Model Canvas. If people look that up online for careers specifically, I definitely would recommend that.

This is where, for people then is, you need to figure out that just like a date, is how do you show up as your best self. How do you project the best version of yourself? I think if you fall into the pattern where you have that negative self-talk, what you need to start really thinking about is who would the person that really admires me or I’m really close to, what would they say about me. If you can start talking to yourself like that, and self-talk I think is really important, is that if you think about it, if you spoke to those people who you love around you in the same way you speak to yourself in that negative way, you probably wouldn’t have a whole lot of people around you. So just to remind yourself is who is the person you need to be to really nourish yourself and talk to yourself in that positive light?

Mac Prichard:

You’ve laid out a lot of good work there, identifying self-limiting beliefs, asking people for their assessment of your strengths and your abilities, perhaps doing some journaling, envisioning your best self.

How do you get started doing this and how long does it take? Can you do it on your own, William?

William Corless:

Yeah, I think that’s a really good point, Mac, is, you can do it on your own first. What I really would say is for people, is some people say they have a blind spot and they’re afraid to find out what others might think of them. I did this exercise many years ago, I would say 20 years ago, and I asked people the simple question of “What do you believe my values, my strengths, my traits are in a positive light?”

And I reached out to people I could trust. I didn’t go to my own personal male friends, because there might have been some revving going on or whatever, but I reached out to family and cousins and other people that I worked with that were going to take it with a positive intention or the outcome that I was looking for. And I was quite surprised how people viewed me. And many people that I coach and I offer this as an exercise to do, they really start recognizing that they have a lot of hidden strengths that they may not realize. And especially your coworkers down through the years then is, “What is it that you liked, working with me before, what do you think I was really good at? What is it you think my competencies are? If you were to give me advice on something to work on or something I should promote about myself, what is that?”

When all this work between journaling and talking to people or maybe emailing people, then, you’re really getting a good sense of how you’re portrayed and this is all reinforcing of your identity and your ego. And I think it’s really important that you understand what esteem is and what esteem is, especially that positive self-regard, is how do I perceive myself and how do others perceive me?

Again, it’s all to do with perception and what we have to do is be very objective, by writing it down, we can say actually this is how I am perceived and maybe you can say to yourself, “Maybe there’s some truth to this.” It’s a bit like that old Whiskas ad, “9 out of 10 cats say it’s true, it must be true.” I think that’s really important then for yourself is to reach out to as many people as possible. Figure out what are the commonalities there in how they see me in that positive light.

Mac Prichard:

So, you do this work, you have a sense of what your strengths are, and what you want, and what your best self will look like. Many people, William, struggle with self-promotion and advocating for themselves. How do you help your clients become good at self-promotion and advocate for themselves during a job search?

William Corless:

So, I often use this self-distancing technique. So, this self-distancing perspective is that third person. If somebody else were to describe you, Mac, how would they describe you? And you choose that person and they find it very easy to go, “Well, this person would say this and they’d say that and they’d say, Mac, you’re a great podcaster and you ask really good questions and you’re very prepared and you’re very punctual.” All of these things, Mac, are going to come out.

And I think it’s very easy then, is, if you choose people and you guess what they might say, that’s a very easy way of looking at that. Again, what it is, it’s you understanding that you deserve this. You’re championing yourself, you know? You’re getting your best chance of doing that, of seizing the opportunity. By seizing the opportunity, it’s about being prepared mentally, emotionally, and physically for the interview, and what I mean by that is, maybe, don’t drink too much coffee beforehand that it’s going to make you nervous. Or maybe it’s about taking a breath or maybe it’s just sipping on water and relaxing and really concentrating on the speaker. It’s really important to be yourself with skill.

Mac Prichard:

So you know what you want and what you offer. You’re talking to employers, you’re in the interview room. How do you evaluate whether a company, a team, or the manager that you’re connecting with during a job search is the right fit for you?

William Corless:

Yeah, there are several ways to do that. Number one, if you talk, if it’s a brand-new industry, you can actually talk to people that you may know in that industry. If not, you have to remember your network; there are people that can connect you to people who are in that industry. So, I think that’s really important – to go, what do you really like about this job, if you’re to meet that person, tell you more about the sector or that industry, and what are the challenges there? What advice would you give me? What are the things that I really need to be aware of that are maybe the dark side of this?

So, you want to see both sides of it so you can really make up your mind. Again, from a culture fit or a company fit then, you know, you can do your research online, like Glassdoor, and see what people thought about the company. You can figure out, again, if you use LinkedIn who are the people you know that worked in that company and then you can get an insight from them to what that actually, that work experience is like.

Mac Prichard:

Well, it’s been a terrific conversation, William. Now tell us what’s next for you.

William Corless:

What’s next for me, well, I have many interesting guests coming up on The Workplace Podcast. I have so many offerings being promoted in this year, which is great. I have online workshops, in-person workshops, whether it’s leadership, high-performance teams, conflict resolution, relationship dynamics, breakthrough conversations. So, yeah people can find me on LinkedIn, under my name: William Corless, or under YellowWood.

Mac Prichard:

Terrific, we’ll be sure to include a link to your LinkedIn page in the shownotes and on our website. When you do reach out to William on LinkedIn, I hope you’ll mention you heard him on Find Your Dream Job. And I know your website also offers more information about your podcast and your services. That URL is www.yellowwood.ie.

Now, William, given all the great advice you’ve shared today, what’s the one thing you want a listener to remember about how to know what you want and what you offer?


William Corless

I think it’s really important that, a couple of things, one is you practice talking about yourself in a factual way. Create a story bank of star moments of how I can competently do the job, situation, task, action, result. Focus on the competencies you can do on the job that’s a real overlap that you can actually do that job that you can see on the job description and visualize yourself doing that job.

Imagine yourself doing that, and have questions lined up for the interview to go, “This is my understanding of the job, I would like to know more about this.” So, remember that an interview is just like a date, that it’s a good fit for you, so you can hit the ground running, and they can imagine you doing the job, they know that you’re asking the right questions. I think it’s really important that it come across as interested, competent, and engaging.

Mac Prichard:

Next week, our guest will be Mark Crossfield.

He’s a career coach, author, and podcast host.

And he has a new book out, Mid Career Change: A Guide for Hope, Clarity, and Action.

Experts say you will change careers three or more times.

And as you plan your move there are real challenges you will need to overcome.

But other obstacles you may worry about simply aren’t real.

Join us next Wednesday when Mark Crossfield and I talk about three career change myths you need to ignore.

Until next time, thanks for letting us help you find your dream job.

This show is produced by Mac’s List.

Susan Thornton-Hough schedules our guests and writes our newsletter. Lisa Kislingbury Anderson manages our social media.

Our sound engineer and editor is Matt Fiorillo. Dawn Mole creates our transcripts. And our music is by Freddy Trujillo.

This is Mac Prichard. See you next week.