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Transcript
- Lucas: There is a scene in the movie The Big Short where Michael Burry's character is trying to explain credit default swaps to his investors, and he says, 'I'm not trying to convince you. I'm just telling you what I see.' Luna: Right, and people still didn't listen. But there's a lesson in there about framing. Lucas: Exactly. Because framing — how you present the same set of facts — can make the difference between someone leaning in or zoning out. And in a job search, framing is everything. Luna: So today we're talking about how to frame your career story so it fits the opportunity you want, not just the jobs you've had. Lucas: Let's start with a concrete example. I worked with a marketing manager — let's call her Sarah — who had spent six years running content campaigns at a mid-size B2B software company. She wanted to move into product operations. Luna: That's a pivot. Two different functions, really. Lucas: It is. But she had a huge advantage she didn't realize. In her marketing role, she had built a cross-functional workflow system to track campaign deliverables across four teams. She had also created a feedback loop between customer support data and the product roadmap. Luna: So she was already doing process design and cross-functional coordination — core product ops skills. Lucas: Exactly. The problem was her résumé listed those tasks under 'Marketing Manager' bullet points. So a hiring manager scanning for product ops keywords would skim right past them. Luna: So what did she do? Lucas: She reorganized her résumé around skill domains instead of job titles. Under each role, she grouped her bullets into three sections: 'Process Design', 'Cross-Functional Collaboration', and 'Data Analysis'. Luna: That's smart. It tells the reader, 'Here's the story I want you to see.' Lucas: Right. And it worked. She got three interviews in the first two weeks — one of which led to her current product ops role. The same experience, different frame. Luna: I think a lot of people struggle with this because we're trained to think chronologically. First job, second job, third job. But hiring managers think in terms of problems they need solved. Lucas: Yeah. So the first step is to decode the target role — not the job description's 'responsibilities' section, but the underlying challenges. What keeps the hiring manager up at night? What problems does this role exist to solve? Luna: How do you actually figure that out as an outsider? Lucas: Three ways. One: read the job description for repeated nouns. If you see 'process improvement' three times and 'stakeholder management' twice, those are the anchors. Two: look at the LinkedIn profiles of people who already hold that title — what language do they use in their summary? Luna: And three? Lucas: Talk to someone in the field. A quick informational interview where you say, 'What's the hardest part of your week?' That one question can give you the frame. Luna: So once you have the frame, you go back and look at your own experience through that lens. Lucas: Exactly. And this is where most people get stuck. They think, 'I don't have experience in X.' But the question isn't whether you have the exact title — it's whether you have a story that maps to the problem. Luna: Can you give a non-obvious example? Lucas: Sure. A friend of mine was a high school teacher who wanted to move into corporate learning and development. On paper, zero L&D experience. But she had designed a curriculum for 150 students, managed classroom behavior, and trained new teachers. Luna: That is literally instructional design, stakeholder management, and onboarding — all core L&D functions. Lucas: Right. She reframed her résumé under headings like 'Curriculum Design', 'Training Delivery', and 'Performance Assessment'. She got hired at a Fortune 500 company as a learning specialist. Luna: The frame changed everything. Same bricks, different blueprint. Lucas: That's a great way to put it. And I think the framework applies beyond résumés. When you're in an interview and they ask, 'Tell me about a time you led a project,' you decide the frame. You don't have to tell the story chronologically. Luna: What do you mean? Lucas: Most people start with, 'Well, in 2021, my manager asked me to...' Instead, start with the problem: 'Our team was missing deadlines by an average of two weeks. I designed a new workflow that reduced that to three days.' That's a frame. The year doesn't matter. Luna: So lead with the outcome, not the setup. Lucas: Exactly. And if you can quantify the outcome, even better. Numbers make the frame stick. 'Reduced cycle time by 40%' is a frame. 'I worked on a project' is not. Luna: I think one reason people resist this is they feel like they're being dishonest. Like they're twisting the truth. Lucas: That's a common fear. But framing isn't lying. It's selecting which facts to emphasize. Every résumé does this implicitly — the question is whether you do it intentionally or leave it to chance. Luna: Right. And honestly, if you've done the work, the facts are there. You're just arranging them so someone else can see their value. Lucas: Exactly. And I want to be clear: this isn't about keyword stuffing. If you frame yourself as a data analyst but you've never run a regression, that's going to backfire in the interview. Luna: So the frame has to be honest — but it can be selective. Lucas: Right. And the most powerful frame is one that connects your past to their future. 'Here's what I did, and here's how it prepares me to solve your problem.' Luna: Let's talk about LinkedIn for a second. That's another place where framing matters a lot. Lucas: Oh, absolutely. Your headline is prime real estate. Most people write 'Marketing Manager at Company X'. That's a label, not a frame. Luna: So what's a better frame? Lucas: Something like 'Helping B2B SaaS companies turn customer feedback into product improvements'. That tells someone in two seconds what value you bring. Luna: And it signals to recruiters searching for skills, not titles. Lucas: Exactly. The same logic extends to your About section. Don't write a biography. Write a value proposition. Luna: So if someone is listening right now and wants to start reframing their career story, what's the first action they should take? Lucas: Pick one role you're interested in — not a company, a role. Write down the three biggest challenges that role faces. Then look at your last two positions and find one concrete example for each challenge. That's your new narrative. Luna: And if you can't find an example, that tells you something too — either the role isn't a fit, or you need to stretch your definition of relevant experience. Lucas: Yeah. And honestly, if you're early in your career, you might need to use volunteer work, class projects, or side hustles. That's fine. The frame still works. Luna: You know, I think we've helped a lot of listeners think through career moves like this. And if today's episode was useful to you, there is a way to support the show and keep it ad-free. Lucas: Yeah, it's simple. If today's episode was worth the price of a coffee to you, you can find us at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. That's it — no pressure, no upsells. Luna: We love making this show, and listener support is what keeps it independent. So thank you to anyone who chips in. Lucas: Alright, back to framing. One more example I want to share — this one is about a finance analyst who moved into a product manager role. Luna: Okay, that's interesting. What was her frame? Lucas: She realized that as an analyst, she had spent years building models to predict customer behavior. She framed that as 'user research through data'. And she had presented those findings to executives — that became 'stakeholder communication'. Both are core PM skills. Luna: So she didn't pretend to have built products. She just showed that she understood users and could influence decisions. Lucas: Exactly. And she got the job. The hiring manager later told her that what set her apart was how clearly she connected her past work to their product challenges. Luna: That's the power of a good frame — it makes the connection obvious. Lucas: One last thought. I think we sometimes overcomplicate this. At its core, framing is just answering the question: 'Why should I care?' If you can answer that for a hiring manager in two sentences, you win. Luna: And if you can't, it's worth spending time until you can. Because that clarity changes everything. Lucas: Agreed. That's our show for today. I'm Lucas. Luna: And I'm Luna. We'll be back next week with another career conversation.