Your Hidden Career Advantage is Already in Your Story

You probably already know your experience is valuable. But Laura Cox Kaplan's question — the one she put to Women in Print Alliance members in April — is sharper than that: Do you know how to deploy it?

According to Kaplan, Creator of “She Said/She Said,” the experiences that don't fit neatly on paper — the career gaps, the side projects, the failures — are often the most powerful differentiators you have. She calls it "experience equity," and she spent an hour unpacking how to use it at WPA's April Quarterly Connect.

Now if you missed this dynamic conversation, that’s okay because it’s available for download right now on WPA’s website. However, there is one hitch: You have to be a member.

If you aren’t a member, register today and join hundreds of other women around the globe who are committed to uplifting our voices in the industry.

Here are five actionable takeaways from the event — but there are even more from the full hour-long event you don't want to miss.

1- Your Experience Equity Is Your Hidden Superpower

Kaplan emphasized thar your value isn't limited to what's on your resume. Every life experience, whether it’s a career gap, a side project, growing up in a small town, being a military spouse, it all builds "experience equity" that differentiates you.

“Your value proposition, your differentiating qualities are often not just the things that go on your resume that you're sharing when you go in for a job interview, but oftentimes they are those particular skill sets, the experiences, the network, the failures potentially, or setbacks, and what you learn from those experiences,” Kaplan said.

She wants you to remember that when you’re competing for opportunities, even the things that don't fit neatly on a resume are often the most powerful differentiators.

2- Use the AIM Framework to Unlock Your Experience

Now, you have your experience equity, but what do you do with it?

Kaplan urged to leverage it through three steps.

• Awareness: Make sure to regularly pause to reflect on what you've learned
• Intention: Deliberately deploy that knowledge when pitching yourself
• Mindset: Treat every experience — positive or negative — as malleable raw material you can shape into a strength.

“Mindset is really the wrapper that you put around the whole thing, because it's how you think about and how you tell the story to yourself and to other people about what happens,” Kaplan said.

3- AI Is Your Personal Confidence Coach … If You Use It Right:

Kaplan reminded us that currently, women use AI significantly less than men, and that's a missed opportunity. Build a personal AI profile by uploading your LinkedIn content, interview transcripts, and bio. Then use it as a thought partner: ask it to remind you of your strengths before a big meeting, generate talking points, or identify areas for growth. Think of it as a sandwich — your input, the AI's output, your discernment.

“The top level bread is you. That's your input. The meat in the middle is the AI, whatever it sort of churns out. And then the bread at the bottom is your review, your judgment, your discernment, your curation of whatever it spits out at you,” Kaplan said.

4- Listen First, Then Pitch

When management values titles over experience Kaplan urges you to flip the script: ask decision-makers what problems keep them up at night, listen deeply, and then reverse-engineer how your specific background solves their exact needs. This approach works even when your resume doesn't check every box.

“Really listen, not to what you have, but what they need. And then reverse engineer that into, 'Wait a minute, I have this particular skill set that I might be able to deploy differently,” Kaplan said.

5- Protect Your Energy Like a Luxury Asset

Kaplan enlisted a little help from Taylor Swift for this one: your energy is finite and precious, so make sure to spend it wisely. Deploying mental energy toward critics or things outside your control drains the very resource you need to lead, create, and grow. Guarding your energy isn't selfish; it's strategic.

“If you get so hung up on and deploy your mental energy around those things that really you have no control over... you have control over where you deploy that energy,” Kaplan said.

If you want to catch the next Quarterly Connect, then mark your calendar for Aug. 27 at 2:00 pm ET. This time PRINTING United Alliance’s own HR subject matter expert Adriane Harrison will be discussing how women can maximize employment benefits, review new labor policies and legal protections, and work collaboratively with managers to design better employment experiences.