A Tale of Three Profile Photos
On the left is a photo from my wedding I used for professional accounts at the time. When I did my on-site “gauntlet” interview with Gap Inc. this is close to what I looked like (minus the corsage 🌹 of course).
The middle photo is a selfie I took on my way home from work about a year into my career there. Legit smile, hoodie, headphones, and backpack — my standard gear for the time. I used it for my profile because I wanted to capture a more authentic look of what it’s like to see me in the office day-to-day.
The third photo is my most recent. Since photo 2, not only was I more comfortable showing my true self at work in my clothing and hairstyle choices, but I also decided to stop hiding my queer and ND energy. The noise canceling headphones are still ever-present but #remoteWork made them less necessary than before for work purposes.
I think about this progression often as I look for new roles. Sometimes, part of me wants to retreat back to photo 1 so I can look “more professional” or “more managerial”. I’m resisting that as best as I can. I don’t need to pretend to be someone else. I got where I am as the real person I am. Casual clothing, colorful mohawk, pronouns, tattoos, aversion to unsolicited phone calls and meeting taps without descriptions, and all.
Many (borderline ableist) #interview tips posted here say I should hide these things. They also generally tell me to be myself. *shrug*
Much like going on a first date, I intend to bring #myWholeSelf to applications and interviews right from the start. And maybe that gets me fewer callbacks, but those relationships weren’t going to work out anyway.