Welcome to The Iconic Edge. As always, my goal is to help you find, elevate, and monetise YOUR iconic identity with AI, so you can thrive in the digital age.
I went to my first entrepreneur conference 6 years ago. I was in a roomful of smart, driven people. Everyone was introducing themselves, swapping what they do, feeling each other out.
I said I was a career coach (which I was at the time).
So were about 20 other people. We were all different flavours of the same thing. I was just one name badge among many.
Then someone asked me why. Why career coaching specifically.
So I talked about my amazing sister, Liz. How we lost her to cancer when she was just 32 years old. And how she left behind so much unique talent and untapped potential. There was so much she could have done, could have been and may have given to the world.
I told them that I started this work because I was inspired by her to help people build careers and lives that are genuinely worth their time on this planet. That they love and are passionate about.
Because you never know what's around the corner.
I could see their attitude towards me change. People leaned in more and asked questions. Most of all, they remembered me.
Because I had a story.
What's coming (and why it matters more now)
You already know that the working world is changing. You can see it at the bottom of the career ladder right now. It won’t be long before the ladder disappears altogether.
Over the next few years, portfolio careers, multiple income streams, and projects alongside a job are going to become far more common.
The long term contract is on its way out.
Because of this, you'll be introducing yourself to new people more often. Pitching yourself more. Writing more. Interviewing more. Networking in rooms where nobody knows your name yet.
And when that happens, most people will reach for the same playbook: polish the CV. Update the LinkedIn headline. Stack another credential, list more skills, more experience, more qualifications.
They way we always have done, and the way that used to work.
Something more is needed to succeed now and in the future.
Why that playbook is losing its edge
Because AI already does polished and professional at scale. A list of skills reads like every other list of skills. A well-written ‘safe’ LinkedIn summary looks like the one above it and the one below it.
Sure credentials and qualifications will still get you into the room. But they won't make anyone remember you were there.
You know what will? Stories. Your stories.
AI can write about any topic. But only you can say "I was in that room. I made that call. I saw what happened next. I felt the atmosphere shift when I did"
And yet most of us have never sat down and catalogued our stories. We have 10, 15 or 20 years sitting in our heads, uncollected.
Those stories are important professional assets. They belong to you. They travel with you when you change roles, start something new, or walk into a room where nobody knows your name yet.
No employer gave them to you and no employer can take them back.
And the good news? With AI, capturing and organising them is easier than it's ever been.
How to build your story bank this week
Set a timer for 20 minutes and brain-dump every career story you can remember from the jobs you have had. Not polished. Just bullet points. The project that nearly failed, the boss who changed how you think, the decision that scared you.
If writing feels slow, use a voice tool like Wispr Flow and just talk. You'll get more out in 20 minutes speaking than typing.
Pick your 5 strongest. The ones where something changed: you learned something, you surprised yourself, you made a visible impact.
For each one, write three lines: what happened, what you did, what changed. You're not writing a memoir. You're building a bank you can pull from on demand.
If you struggle to structure them, paste your rough notes into Claude or ChatGPT and ask it to pull out the core story in three lines. AI is good at shaping raw material. The raw material has to be yours.
Notice the gaps. Where in your career do you have no stories? Ask your AI partner: "Based on my CV, what career moments am I probably undervaluing?" You'll be surprised what it surfaces.
Add one story a week. The bank compounds. In six months you'll have material for interviews, posts, pitches, and anything else that asks you to show who you are.
Where to keep them? Anywhere searchable. Notion or Google Docs work well. A simple spreadsheet works too. If you want your story bank to connect directly to AI later, look at Obsidian (it links beautifully with Claude and other AI tools). The format matters less than having them all in one place rather than scattered across your memory.
The Bottom Line
Your career story doesn't start when you sit down to write it.
It started years ago. When you were just starting out.
Every decision, every difficult conversation, every project that went sideways and taught you something: those are already written. You just haven't collected them yet.
The woman in the room who can tell a story about what she's actually done will always be more memorable than the one with the best slide deck.
Five stories this week. That's where it starts.
Reply and tell me: what's one career story you've never told publicly but probably should? I read every reply.
All my best,
Nichola
P.S. If you're finding The Iconic Edge valuable, please forward this to another ambitious woman who needs to hear it. We rise together.