Story Sparking: The Spin Factor

Over the next few posts, I will share a variety of real-life examples of people who have changed the way they are perceived--and in some cases, the way they perceive themselves--simply by reframing the way they tell their story.

Installment 1:
In almost every workshop I teach, someone has a truly interesting experience they are hesitant to mention for fear it will somehow be misinterpreted. As the following case illustrates, the secret is in how you spin it.

Jason started as a programmer at a large technology company that had just put $2 million down on a new, highly rated $4 million software program. After implementing the software, Jason’s company realized it wasn’t living up to expectations. Unfortunately, they had no way to get out of the contract. Quite coincidentally, Jason was working on a project and took the initiative to test the security features of the new software. That’s when Jason discovered a major security glitch with the software that would have allowed competitors to access confidential customer records online.

By discovering and reporting the security issue, Jason gave his company a way to get out of the contract with the software vendor. This saved his company several million dollars. At least as important, from Jason's point-of-view, was the fact that the company gave him the honor of developing a more effective program to do what the $4 million program failed to do. To Jason's credit, he accomplished this task at a cost of only $30,000.

Jason was justifiably proud of these accomplishments, but he had no plans to mention the experience on his résumé or in an interview because he was concerned that people would view him as a hacker rather than a programmer. That may be a legitimate concern, but it doesn’t have to be if he spins it correctly.

For obvious security reasons, employers may be reluctant to hire a programmer who is an accomplished hacker. However, the same facts can be used to present an entirely different picture that is actually closer to the truth. If Jason describes his discovery of the security glitch as “hacking,” that’s how it will probably be interpreted. Instead, Jason would be better off describing his ability differently. For example, he could say:

“As a programmer, I have always been passionate about security and finding ways to protect company information.”

From there, he can go on to describe his ability to identify and correct security issues from a problem-solving standpoint. This way, Jason can show how his passion and interest in security makes him a better, more effective programmer. In this case, Jason is not just selling his programming expertise—an ATTRIBUTE—but the peace of mind his employer will have knowing that Jason is writing programs with an eye toward company security—the BENEFIT.