Let me share a career secret that might surprise you: scrolling through job postings or sending out a resume won’t lead to your next big move. Instead it will probably start with a conversation in a room you’re not in.

Picture this: Several people are discussing a new project, an organizational change, or a major challenge. Someone asks: “Who do we know who can do this…?” At that moment you want your name to appear. You want your unique experience and desires to resonate in this conversation as if you were in the room, hand raised, ready to dive in.

So how will you achieve this? How do you position yourself so that people immediately think of you when the right opportunity arises? To be ready for these moments, you need to answer five basic questions.

1. What Value Do You Bring?

You likely have a set of skills that can solve real-world problems for a variety of organizations. But here’s the trick: Different people may describe the value you bring in terms you might not consider using. Take a look at your resume; likely organized around degrees, job titles, and past roles. But does it actually represent who you are?

Jobs are no longer fixed sequences of tasks. These are fluid and evolving as technology reshapes job structures, skills, and even entire industries. Following the rise of smartphones, entirely new roles such as ‘app developer’ or ‘self-driving car engineer’ have emerged from advances that few could have foreseen. People with relevant skills, regardless of their degree, stepped up to meet these needs.

Today, organizations may maintain familiar job titles but redefine the skills they need or create entirely new roles. regrouping ability settings in new ways. To open doors to roles you’ve never considered, it’s crucial to define yourself not just by your last job title, but by the unique value you add.

2. Who Do You Collaborate With to Deliver This Value?

Since you won’t be in the room discussing opportunities, consider who will be. Who among your colleagues or collaborators has seen the value you bring and can vouch for you?

Think about it: Your collaborators know your strengths firsthand. They have experienced your impact beyond what a resume might suggest. Building and nurturing these relationships means having people in the room who understand your talents and can mention your name with confidence when the time comes.

Think about your own experience with team building. You don’t open people’s resumes. Instead, you rely on their impressions, unique contributions, and strengths. In moments like these, you’ll always look for that colleague with insightful questions or the team member who connects important parts of the organization. It’s not the job title that lasts, it’s the impact.

So ask yourself this: Who knows what you can do and speak for you?

3. Who Needs What You Know How to Do?

These are people who are looking for someone with your exact expertise, but they may not know you personally. They’re in that room, discussing a challenge or opportunity, and they need the right person to tackle it; they often rely on mutual contacts to help them make this connection.

A senior leader at a global company once found his promotion path stalled due to a lack of global experience. At his level, international roles were discussed and filled behind closed doors, so he determined who would be involved in these discussions (usually HR and Finance leaders). He shared his goal with these colleagues, making it clear that he needed global experience and was ready to move.

A few months later, a crisis abroad paved the way for his leadership role. The name came to mind, but given the family that had recently grown, one assumed he wouldn’t be interested. Fortunately, his Finance colleague corrected his assumption by remembering their conversation. He took over shortly thereafter, returned, and secured the promotion he had been working towards.

To create similar opportunities, identify teams, departments, or leaders in advance who are likely to need what you offer. Understanding their challenges will make you unforgettable even to those who have not yet met you. With the right connections, you can be sure that you have someone ready to put your name in the room when the right opportunity arises.

4. What Do They Call It?

Language is important. Often the way others define their needs does not match the way we define our own abilities. This gap can create a barrier; but this is a barrier you can bridge.

Take the time to understand how others talk about roles, projects, or challenges that align with your talents. Listen closely to how people define their needs, especially if you’re branching out from your typical profession or even exploring a new industry. Pay attention to the language used in job postings, trend reports, and industry pitches, and notice how they subtly express things you know how to do.

This language is the key to visibility; This is how you will be found when others are discussing the challenges you are equipped to solve. When you embrace this vocabulary, you will resonate with people and organizations that need your expertise, making it easier for them to recognize you as the solution they are looking for.

5. How Will They Know You Exist?

After all, visibility is your goal. You can’t expect others to defend you if they don’t know who you are. Visibility isn’t just about attending events or sharing online; it’s about showing up in ways that authentically highlight your value.

Expand networkespecially to people you don’t interact with every day. Make sure your networks include people who challenge your thinking and expand your perspective beyond your current role. It’s always easier to get on someone’s radar if you know someone who knows someone, so your network is a critical key to getting your name popping up in the right context when you’re not in the room.

Your personal brand It is also a very important asset. It’s the image people have of who you are and what you can do, created by everything you say and do. Consider ways to showcase your expertise where it counts, through industry events, informative LinkedIn posts, professional groups, or simply by staying connected to your network in meaningful ways. When you make yourself visible, someone asks, “Who do we know could do this?” When you ask, you will be sure. Your name is the first thing that comes to my mind.

Being the Candidate They Are Already Looking For

The new world of work isn’t about waiting for job postings or perfecting the keywords on your resume. It’s about positioning yourself to be the answer people need; before they even know they need it. It’s about transforming your career from a set of practices into a network of connections where your next opportunity will present itself.

That’s how work finds you. And not just work; the right type of work, the type of work that suits you best, and the type of work you like to do. By answering these five questions, you’re not only preparing for your job search; You’re creating a career strategy that lets the right people, in the right rooms, know exactly what you can do and why they should reach out to you.