The story of a business professional struggling with their job title who, through trial and error with an editor, won a Creative Award

Many people struggle because they cannot clearly articulate "who they are" when becoming independent or changing jobs. Even business professionals with brilliant backgrounds can hit this wall.

Masahiro Hagiwara is one such person who has walked a career path featuring household names, from large Japanese corporations to foreign-owned companies and startups.

Even so, he struggled with "not knowing how to present himself." While an excellent background is a strength in itself, how to convey one's "true self" and the associated struggles are different, personal matters.

Hagiwara-san continued to work on his self-branding together with Keisuke Mizuno, a "Personal Editor®" who accompanies individuals in their personal branding and serves as his dedicated editor.

Objectively viewing oneself is surprisingly difficult. By adding the third-party perspective of an editor, strengths and charms that were hard for the person themselves to notice gradually began to emerge.

Born at the end of that journey was the piece that won a prize in the note Creative Awards: "What I learned at consulting firms and foreign companies: How writing tasks with 'action verbs' increases productivity."

The process of overcoming struggles and achieving results is packed with hints on how to turn a career into value. Through their dialogue, we explore clues for how business professionals can generate work via social media.

Why business professionals need a "Personal Editor"

── Hagiwara-san, you have been taking the "Personal Editor" course for over two and a half years. What kind of support have you received so far?

Hagiwara: About a year after I became independent, I was struggling with how to present myself. I had worked at large corporations, foreign companies, and startups, but I didn't have an easy-to-understand job title. I worked as a leader's right-hand man at foreign companies, and I did everything I could to launch businesses at startups. Because I can handle a wide range of tasks, I think I was a fairly useful person to companies when I was an employee.

But, the moment I became independent, I became "someone whose work is hard to understand," and it was difficult to connect to jobs...

Mizuno: For the first year you took the course, we worked mainly on branding, such as what to do about your job title and profile, didn't we?

── What was particularly impressive about Hagiwara-san when you first started the "Personal Editor" course?

Mizuno: Even though Hagiwara-san had a wonderful background, I had the impression that he didn't really want to talk about himself. The "Personal Editor" service includes thinking about how to express yourself within the limited character counts of X and note profiles, and working together to create articles that can serve as your business card.

I recommended that Hagiwara-san share his past career and hard work on note, but he seemed hesitant.

Hagiwara: Mizuno-san told me that the "expression" I showed through social media was hard to understand. I remember him saying, "Because you don't share more about yourself than necessary, your true thoughts and good qualities are hard to convey, and you look like you have a 'straight face'."

Mizuno: You were an amazing person if you visited your LinkedIn, but on other social media, it wasn't clear what kind of person you were. In the first year, we worked together so that your expression would come across as neither too stiff nor too soft.

Hagiwara: Even while taking the "Personal Editor" course, I barely wrote anything on note, and instead, we spent all our time communicating about branding.

Mizuno: Actually, lately, more and more people are using this not just for support in writing on note, but as ongoing career counseling.

There are many people, not just freelancers but also company employees, who struggle with how to verbalize and communicate themselves throughout their careers.The difference between this and other coaching is that we can output to note or social media while engaging in dialogue.

Since I used to handle job and career change consultations when I worked at Mynavi, I am very happy to be able to support people with their career concerns.

The secret story behind the birth of the "Action Verb" article that won a prize at the 2024 Creative Awards

──「What I learned in consulting and at a foreign-owned firm: How writing tasks with "action verbs" increases productivity」 won a prize at the 2024 Creative Awards. Could you tell us the background behind writing this note?

Hagiwara: As part of my branding, I thought I could deliver the task management techniques I had cultivated throughout my career to readers as content, so I wrote it.

What I wrote in this note is the method of writing "Contact Company A" instead of "Contact with Company A" on your task list. By describing tasks with verbs rather than nouns, it becomes easier to lead to action.

Mizuno: I gave you feedback that there was too much content to include in the article in the initial draft, didn't I? You had written about four chapters' worth of volume on task management. Among that, the "action verb" material was very interesting, so I suggested we narrow the theme down to just that one chapter.

I remember you had written it to cover all the know-how about task management out of anxiety that it wouldn't be read.

Hagiwara: At the time, I felt a trend of increasing articles on note that were like compilations of know-how, and I thought that if I were to write a know-how article, it would be important to write one that was comprehensive.

That was when Mizuno-san asked me, "Are readers really looking for comprehensiveness?"

Mizuno: Some people want all the information, while others are looking for information that narrows down the key points. While you, Hagiwara-san, feel value in a compilation-style note, there are actually many people who don't. There are people who are satisfied with just one takeaway by narrowing down the topic. I'm sure of it.

Hagiwara: I had written about 12,000 characters in the first draft, but I narrowed it down to the "action verb" theme and rewrote it. Even then, Mizuno-san said, "Let's make the content even simpler," and slashed the content of the next manuscript I submitted (laughs).

Mizuno: I felt that the angle of "action verbs" was so catchy that it would be read by anyone, regardless of their background. I have seen excellent notes that are read by many people by writing and conveying only a little bit of what could be talked about at length.

Hagiwara: For me, managing tasks with action verbs was so obvious that I was worried whether readers would be satisfied with just that amount of information.

Mizuno: If you make the content dense, I think it will reach people in the industry, but it will be hard to reach people outside that circle.

When there is a lot of information, some people don't know where to start, and it can take time for the readers themselves to apply it. If there is only one important thing, I think it's easier to make a decision to incorporate it.

But actually, there are many people who can't write like this. When writing about work, they get anxious about what people in the same industry might think, and they want to add this and that. I understand the feeling, but I feel from reading many notes that for first-time readers, there are cases where there is too much information.

To reach many people, make it clear who wrote it in the title

Hagiwara: We also worked together on the title.At first, I included the word "task management." But when you search for the keyword "task management" on note, none of the results had many "likes." Actually, there wasn't much demand for task management articles on note.

So, Mizuno-san suggested a title, but it started with "Learned at a consultancy and foreign firm..." and I was like, "Is this necessary? Isn't it a bit pretentious?" We went back and forth about three times (laughs).

Mizuno: Hagiwara-san wouldn't agree at all at first. But I kept persisting in persuading him.

Hagiwara: I really didn't want to write about my background, so I tried alternatives like "Task Management Mania," but Mizuno-san told me, "That's not it" (laughs).

"Please include words that make it clear who wrote this note" she told me over and over. When I was told that so many times, I finally realized she was right and added "Learned at a consultancy and foreign firm" to the title.

── Mizuno-san, what was your reasoning for telling Hagiwara-san to include his background?

Mizuno: The content about managing tasks with "action verbs" was a very interesting angle, and I felt it was a theme people would pick up if they saw it in a bookstore. However, as is true for all notes, "who is saying it" is very important.

You can see what kind of person someone is by looking at their note profile, but notes are often discovered as individual articles.

Things flowing through an SNS feed are gone in an instant. That's exactly why you have to win with the title. I wanted to include Hagiwara-san's "selling point" based on his past experience in the title.

Hagiwara: After that, I participated in the "Note Writing Study Group" hosted by Mizuno-san. Hearing what Mizuno-san usually teaches from an objective perspective made it all click for me.

Now, I am conscious of "who is writing" and I try to write in a way that shows my own face.

── Did you write the "action verbs" note with the Creative Award in mind at the time?

Hagiwara: I wasn't conscious of it at all. However, the reaction was good immediately after publishing, and it was read a lot. At that time, I heard from someone at note and Mizuno-san that a business category had been added to the Creative Award, so I decided to apply since I had the chance.

Mizuno: Past notes are also eligible for selection, so he applied with the "action verbs" article and "A 40-something guy finds the true nature of and how to overcome a "midlife crisis"." And then, both of them made it to the semi-finals. It's truly amazing to have two entries remain out of over 50,000 submissions.

── Mizuno-san, after reading the "action verbs" note, did you feel it had a chance to win the Creative Award?

Mizuno: I wasn't convinced it would win. But the readers' reactions were very good. Because the content was narrowed down to "action verbs," it reached readers without them being distracted by other information.

One reader's comment said, "I'll start using this tomorrow," and I thought that this kind of thing might catch the eye of the Creative Award judges.

The future for Hagiwara-san and Mizuno-san, who both represent one-person corporations

── Both of you are representatives of one-person corporations; how do you feel about the importance of posting on note?

Hagiwara: note is a place to share the ideas and thoughts behind a business, isn't it? People who resonate with my values read my articles, understand my business, and it sometimes leads to work.

I think it is a platform that is naturally accepted by readers as a medium for conveying the values of all kinds of people.

Mizuno: I feel exactly the same way. When I became independent, a mentor taught me the importance of continuing to post 'survival reports' on social media. I remember being told, 'It's fine to suddenly reach out and say, Let's meet, but it's better to post regularly, even if it's casual, to cultivate your social media presence.'

── Hagiwara-san, what kind of challenges are you thinking of taking on in the future?

Hagiwara: Recently, I realized once again that I love B2B marketing. I think that if I leverage my experience to date and engage in B2B marketing, it will create new opportunities.

I am consulting with Mizuno-san about what kind of value I can deliver if I were to write a note about B2B marketing.

There are already many reading materials written about B2B marketing. However, I think I can write an interesting article if I make it a theme that adds what I have thought about throughout my career.

Mizuno: I always get excited when we have strategy meetings for writing notes while thinking about branding. Let's definitely do it.

── Mizuno-san, you have been working alongside Hagiwara-san for two and a half years; how do you feel about the changes?

Mizuno: You have become able to express yourself well not only on note but also on other social media platforms. A sense of reliability is also coming across much more strongly. On top of that, I am witnessing firsthand how you are seizing business opportunities yourself.

Also, personally, since I am also the representative of a one-person corporation, it is encouraging that Hagiwara-san is in a similar position. As fellow business professionals, I feel like we are comrades in arms.

As a 'Personal Editor,' I have all kinds of people coming to me with their worries, including freelancers, executives, and company employees. Working alongside Hagiwara-san has led to my confidence in supporting such people, and I want to be of even more help.

── Finally, could you each share a message, from Hagiwara-san to Mizuno-san, and from Mizuno-san to Hagiwara-san?

Hagiwara: Mizuno-san and I became independent around the same time after being company employees, so we often share the same worries. It's not quite 'the bystander sees more than the player,' but we talk while sharing our worries. We often provide references for each other, and I think our sessions are a good time.

Mizuno: We have many common worries, and it's a strange relationship where we act as sounding boards for each other in our online sessions (laughs).

If you only look at the difference in our careers, I should never have had the opportunity to talk to Hagiwara-san as an equal. But precisely because I am in the position of an editor, I can talk on a flat level with someone with this much of a career.

I feel the fun of being an editor in that, and it also leads to my confidence.

Hagiwara-san is one of the people who taught me the fun of the relationship between an editor and a student. I look forward to working with you in the future.

✒️ ✒️

Mizuno-san, who has continued to convey the importance of 'who you are' to Hagiwara-san, who was worried about branding after becoming independent. Their journey has borne great fruit, leading to the remarkable achievement of being selected for the Creative Award.

It was a conversation that taught me that note is a place to carve out a future by expressing one's true self.

Postscript: Publication Announcement (Jan 23, 2026)

The work mentioned in this article, which won a prize in the Creative Awards for Mr. Hagiwara, has now been published as a book. Please see the announcement below.

Production: Futari Koho (Writing/Photography: Eri Miura / Editing: Miho Kanai)