Steven Davis talks with Jason Barnard about career mobility. Steven Davis, CEO and Managing Director of Renaissance Solutions, Inc., talks with Jason Barnard about how emotional intelligence, digital presence, and intentional networking are reshaping the future of career growth. Steven emphasizes the power of showing up authentically—on LinkedIn, in the workplace, and even in Google's search results. He stresses that confidence doesn't mean being the loudest in the room; it's about clarity, consistency, and connection. Steven Davis and Jason Barnard also explore how internal and external mobility are influenced by visibility, relationships, and your digital footprint. They highlight how mapping the room and following up with empathy can accelerate your leadership path. If you’re a professional or a leader ready to build meaningful momentum in your career, this episode is absolutely for you. What you’ll learn from Steven Davis 00:00 Steven Davis and Jason Barnard 01:38 What Did Jason Barnard Find When He Searched Steven Davis on Google? 01:51 What Did Jason Find When He Searched for Steven Davis in Europe? 02:25 What Challenge Does Someone Face When They Have a Popular Name Like Steven Davis? 02:48 What Should You Do to Make Your Name Stand Out if Your Personal Brand Is Important to You? 03:43 What Did Jason Barnard Emphasize When He Looked Up Steven Davis on ChatGPT? 04:15 What Does Steven Davis Do? 04:40 What Makes Steven Davis Qualified to Talk About Career Pivots? 04:57 What Have Decision Makers Been Shown to Care About When Evaluating a Job Candidate’s Background? 06:12 Why Does the Way You Present Yourself Not Change Depending on Who You Are Presenting To? 06:22 Why Are the First 30 to 40 Seconds of a Presentation So Important? 06:45 What Factors Do People Analyze to Determine if Someone Fits a Role Based on How They Communicate? 07:13 Why is it Both About Emotional and Professional Qualifications During a Presentation or Interview? 07:32 What Factors Does Steven Davis Consider When Selecting Candidates During an Interview? 08:09 Why Did Steven Davis Still Send Candidates Who Did Not Meet All the Qualifications for C-Level Role? 08:35 Why is Emotional Connection Considered the Most Important Part in Presenting Yourself? 08:53 What Makes a CV Stand Out Enough to Prompt an Interview Even if the Qualifications Are Just Average? 10:05 What Are the Most Important Things to Do When Presenting Yourself on Paper or Online? 10:36 What Platforms Should You Prioritize When Trying to Pivot Within or Between Companies? 11:47 How Do You Express Your Personal Brand on Platforms Like LinkedIn and Google? 11:56 Why is it Important to Make a Strong First Impression When Trying to Change Careers? 12:12 Why Do Recruiters Eliminate Candidates Quickly During the Hiring Process? 13:05 What Role Does the LinkedIn Headline & About Section Play in Showing Your Personality to Recruiters? 14:20 What Should Professionals Keep in Mind When Expressing Themselves on Their LinkedIn Profile? 15:46 Why Do You Need to Be Careful When Disagreeing During a Pitch With a Company Like IBM? 17:52 Why is Visibility and Positive Impression Important When Networking on LinkedIn for a Job Position? 19:17 What Can Your Google Search Result Be Compared To? 19:31 Why Do We Use Google? 20:21 What Do We Usually Look for When Searching on Google? 20:28 Why Does What Appears About You in Google Search Results Matter for Your Reputation? 21:24 What Old Expression Did We Learn About Achieving Success in Our Careers? 21:53 What is Considered More Important for Success Than Who You Know at Work? 22:16 What Questions Do People Seeking a Promotion Commonly Ask About Moving Up? 22:41 What Should You Consider When Identifying Key People to Help You Get Promoted? 24:06 What Steps Can You Take to Increase Your Visibility and Awareness for Internal Mobility? 25:00 What Are the Two Pillars of Emotional Intelligence That Support Effective Communication? 27:25 What Should You Say to People Who Feel Hesitant or Embarrassed About Following Up After Applying? This episode was recorded live on video April 29th 2025 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhp7i2n7Ydg Links to pieces of content relevant to this topic:https://renaissance-sol.com/workshops/Steven Davis Transcript from Steven Davis with Jason Barnard on Fastlane Founders And Legacy. Career Mobility [00:00:00] Steven Davis: You don't want to come across as being desperate. Because if you...  [00:00:08] Steven Davis: Thank you for that reaction!  [00:00:11] Steven Davis: ...if you connect with the recruiter and you connect with the VP and then you say, oh, let's see who else I can connect with. The recruiter could say, Hey, did you see Jason connected with Steve Davis and Frank Smith and Harriet Jones? He's all over the place. Maybe he's got a problem. We have that one chance to make that impression.  [00:00:31] Jason Barnard: There's a balance between enthusiasm and desperation.  [00:00:36] Steven Davis: Precisely.  [00:00:37] Narrator: Fastlane Founders and Legacy with Jason Barnard. Each week, Jason sits down with successful entrepreneurs, CEOs and executives, and get them to share how they mastered the delicate balance between rapid growth and enduring success in the business world. [00:00:54] Narrator: How can we quickly build a profitable business that stands the test of time and becomes our legacy? A legacy we're proud of! Fastlane Founders and Legacy with Jason Barnard.  [00:01:06] Jason Barnard: A quick hello and we're good to go. Welcome to the show, Stephen Davis. [00:01:16] Steven Davis: Thank you. I'm proud to be here.  [00:01:18] Jason Barnard: Brilliant. I'm delighted to have you. And today we're going to talk about career changes, career pivot, why a Personal Brand might be important for that, and how you can help yourself along on a career pivot, whatever level of a company you're at, but especially C-level. [00:01:34] Jason Barnard: And for me, entrepreneurs is my favorite topic. But before that, I've actually found, I search your name on Google and your problem, if I may, is not necessarily a problem, but certainly there were a lot of famous people with the name Steven Davis. And I found when I searched in Europe, a football player, a soccer player, and a snooker player. [00:01:59] Steven Davis: Yes, I know the snooker player because I'm a big pool player here in the United States so my namesake is a snooker champion in the UK.  [00:02:09] Jason Barnard: Yeah, and we used to call him when I was a kid, boring Steve Davis. And that's not the case with you, is it?  [00:02:16] Steven Davis: No. Thank you. I've got to go now. It's been a pleasure to meet you. [00:02:22] Jason Barnard: Brilliant. Wonderful. Delightful introduction, but I think one of the important things here from our perspective at Kalicube is when you've got a popular name like Steven Davis, you have a problem of ambiguity and competition that I don't think people really think about. And when you have, when you share a famous a name that somebody famous likes Steven Davis, the footballer, or Steve Davis, the snooker player, you either have to become more famous than them. Which I don't think is likely to happen, or you need to add something to your name, middle initial, middle name, or your industry or something unique to make you stand out if your Personal Brand is important to you, but it's not always important. I always think it is. Is it important to you or not?  [00:03:10] Steven Davis: Extremely important. However, if a Google search is done with Steven Davis, coach, I'm got to show up. I don't think the football player would show up. Plus with me Jason, my priority is my business, Renaissance Solutions. And Renaissance was selected because it connotates new beginning and that is more important to me than my name.  [00:03:35] Jason Barnard: Right. A hundred percent. And I think that's really important is I tend to get obsessed about dominating of your own name and it isn't necessarily important. [00:03:43] Jason Barnard: What is important though, is that the machine, Google, ChatGPT, Perplexity, understands who you are and what you do, who you can serve, and that you're trustworthy. And I've looked you up on ChatGPT and ChatGPT is perfectly happy with you in your current circumstance.  [00:03:59] Steven Davis: What a relief. Thank you. [00:04:01] Jason Barnard: The future is yours, Steven. Tell me really quickly what you do and why you are qualified to talk about career pivots and why Personal Brand might be important in that.  [00:04:13] Steven Davis: Thanks for asking, Jason.  [00:04:15] Steven Davis: I started my career as a recruiter and I found that I was very successful in being able to present candidates to hiring managers because I schedule anywhere from 10 to 20 interviews a week. [00:04:29] Steven Davis: And every recruiter's reputation is based on the quality of the candidates they send to decision makers. Whether they're recruiters in human resources or they're actual hiring managers. So why am I qualified to do this? Spent over 20 years filling jobs at companies like Morgan Stanley, Sharing Cloud, Johnson and Johnson, NBC television, a lot of companies in entertainment, JP Morgan Chase, many other companies. And what I've learned along the way is that looking for a job, whether it's internally at someone's company or externally, it isn't about the job seeker. It isn't about the person that is interested in internal mobility. That's not what it's about. [00:05:15] Steven Davis: It's more about who's looking at someone's background, who's interviewing someone, and what decision makers want to see and what they want to sense and what they want to hear. So what qualifies me, I believe,