Sought-After

How to Be Heard, Be Trusted, and Be Recognized for Your Expertise

By: Karen A. Young, Steve Gilliland

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

No matter what you do for a living (maybe your functional expertise is in marketing, HR, or information technology) and regardless of the industry in which you serve (perhaps it’s manufacturing, education, healthcare, hospitality, or financial services), you want to know how to get from “here” to “there.” You want to be heard, trusted, and recognized for your expertise. You want a proverbial (or literal) seat at the table where critical decisions are being made. And you want to be more than just a worker bee ... you want to be a change maker and a trusted advisor to whom respected colleagues or clients come when seeking insight into important issues.

Even if you’re a little shy or incredibly humble, you want to be known and be seen for what makes you special in your field of practice and in the industry you serve. You want to be sought-after.

If you’ve ever wished you could live up to a professional bio or introduction that included words like “acclaimed,” “renowned,” or “sought-after,” this book is for you. Join author, entrepreneur, and (you guessed it) sought-after HR expert Karen A. Young for a candid and practical discussion of what it takes to get from “here” to “there” in your career.

All Sought-After Professionals Were Once Entry-Level Employees
Here’s the truth: We all start at the bottom, seeking knowledge, opportunity, and eventually respect and even acclaim. All sought-after professionals were once entry-level employees, stumbling their way into professions, learning “the hard way,” and feeling like they might never be heard, trusted, or recognized for their passion, hard work, and expertise. If only there was a formula for becoming sought-after ... Now, there is.

Karen A. Young’s 2023 book offers an unfiltered account of what it takes to climb the corporate ladder, drawing upon her own experiences of making big mistakes that could have been “career-ending moves,” and eventually locking in on a formula for career success and social mobility that can work for readers of all stripes.

• If you’re in an entry-level job, wanting to become a manager, Sought-After can help.
• If you’re a manager, wanting to become a leader, Sought-After can help.
• If you’re a leader, wanting to become a trusted advisor (inside your organization or by becoming a solo practitioner or consultant), Sought-After can help.

Four Building Blocks for Becoming a Trusted Advisor
Being sought-after requires that you be:

1. A subject-matter expert – “Know YOUR Stuff!”
2. A broad thinker – “Know THEIR Stuff!”
3. A strong communicator – “Know the AUDIENCE!”
4. A champion for change – “Be FLEXIBLE!”

Through personal stories, insights from sought-after experts in various fields, practical exercises (yes, there’s “homework!”), and a guided tour through her powerful four-part framework for becoming sought-after, Karen A. Young teaches readers how to prioritize self-awareness as they ascend the leadership ladder, how to set themselves apart from the rest, and how to earn (and keep!) workplace and professional credibility in a skeptical world. Mastering the Sought-After Framework allows you to become trusted so you can do more, be more, achieve more, and serve more.

Wherever you are and wherever you’re headed, there are smart, accessible ways to command more attention, respect, support, loyalty, and compensation.

Isn’t it time you made a plan to “level up” in your career? #BeSoughtAfter