Beyond the job title

Isn’t it odd we mention our profession when describing ourselves? I get it, for much of history our identity and labor were inseparable. Telling someone you are ‘the blacksmith’ said who you were. Your skills were your survival and your social role.

Nowadays, it has become a shorthand to signal status. “I’m the director of [..]” doesn’t tell me anything about you as a person. We overdue for a shift toward describing ourselves by qualities, passions, or states of being.

In a few rounds of ‘Never have I ever’, the characters in Lost uncovered more about them than all the episodes before. A game like that bypasses that ‘resume-level’ version of ourselves. I thought, We can do that too! Strip away the job title intro and jump straight into lived experience. The risks we’ve taken; the little stories that reveal how we think, feel, and dream.

How we describe ourselves should evoke a sense of humanity. Perhaps now more than ever. But it can’t be too ‘hooha’ either. There is value in our job description. So, we’d need to strike a balance between who someone is and what someone does. Cover both drives, values, curiosities and tangible work or craft.

What if we'd format it like this: Driven by who you are, I have become a what you do.

For example, my own description could be:

Driven by quiet rebellion and stubborn curiosity, I wander into systems and ask, “what if?” I’m happiest alone with my thoughts, yet outgoing when it counts. I design software to help people navigate financial stress and I’m obsessed with music. Husband to Illustrator Julia and guardian of Loki the Shiba Inu.

It tells someone about your life, field, and reveals why it matters. Now, excuse me, I have a self-description to polish.