You are the most precious work of art, putting yourself on exhibit for the job market. It’s up to you how you present your wonderful self to the world and it’s critical you make a good impression for all those potential employers out there.
We’ll take a detour into the art realm for some metaphor action.
They say it’s all about the painting, but I’d say the frame paves the way. Imagine a dramatic acrylic masterpiece with three dimensional gritty-textured brush strokes, cool contrasting hues, and a warmly muted background. The piece is visually breathtaking, but its frame consists of a lime green plastic anomaly, fractured and asymmetrical. The unfortunate frame here might deter a beloved museum goer, art critic, or gallery shopper. While the painting itself took an artist hundreds of hours and deep daydreams to concoct, the opportunity to project such value to viewers is lost in a judgemental flash, due to faulty choice in frame.
Imagine an intricate etching, pressed from the finest copper plates. This inky blue landscape was printed on heavy acid-free paper that happens to be infused with the fibrous pulp of native plants. There are feathers involved. Smatterings of crushed moonstone shimmer like so many stars. However, the whole innovation risks being passed up if it’s punctured by clusters of push-pins that lumpishly trap it against a sooty wall. This one-of-a-kind relic might as well be hanging loose in the semi-lit bathroom of a raunchy dive-bar.
The way art is framed should add beauty and depth, revealing its best qualities. Some paintings call for stainless steel frames. Many beg to be veiled in glass. Still others seek to be surrounded by elaborately carved wooden edges that are their own works of sculpted splendour. Even a firm canvas can droop when unmounted, warping shapes that were so endearingly illustrated. The frame is what makes a work of art complete, and prepares it for the showing.
Basically, you can present your talents and skills in a variety of ways, which attain correlating outcomes. If you tell people that you have “only just started working in a really hard role”, rather than saying you are “thrilled to have recently taken on a challenging role”, your wording will frame the facts with self-limitation rather than adventure and exuberance. A listener might second-guess your credibility, as you seem to be unclear of it yourself. On the other hand, you might say all the right words, but if you refrain from smiling or intonating, you might sound deceptive or even bored. You choose between muddy sneakers and clean modest loafers. Torn jeans with a wallet chain versus slacks and a smooth belt. Framing what you share about yourself affects the way you come across to others.
Just as you seek the perfect frame to complement your artwork, you should consider the way you frame your own self-expression. Here are four attributes to consider:
Quality: the type of material
Can you weather a challenge?
Do your actions match your words?
Do you come across as trustworthy?
Strength: how dependable the material is
Do you adapt to your surroundings?
How secure do you feel about who you are?
Can you hold the team together when times get hard?
Presentation: the tones and textures
How do you make other people feel?
Do you respond well and with consideration?
How do you express yourself in a unique way?
Situation: being fastened evenly and securely
Do you seem sure of yourself?
Is your presence stable and unshakeable?
Do your anecdotes make sense and fit into a whole story?
When you communicate about your professional experience, you are putting yourself on display. Before you show up to the exhibit, inspect your frame. Consider how you will be steering opinion and perception through the way you frame who you are. Even small factors, such as your own nervousness, could contribute to someone being distracted from the enthralling content of your personal pitch.
Remember that you are the art and your frame is the manner in which you share yourself with others. You are amazing. Frame yourself right.
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