Presence

What this dimension is

How do I show up?

The artefacts and signals that represent me to others. CV, LinkedIn, portfolio, references, written and spoken self-presentation, the consistency between them.

Key questions

• When was the last time I genuinely updated my materials, not just refreshed the dates?
• Do my CV and my LinkedIn represent who I am now and where I am going, or who I was three years ago?
• What signals am I sending, intentionally and unintentionally?
• If a recruiter read only the first half of my CV, would they understand why I am applying for this role?
• Is the evidence behind my polished sentences strong enough to survive a five-minute interview probe?

How this showed up at IACW 2026

Presence is one of the thinnest stages in the official programme. Two of the 40 sessions had it as primary focus, and nine touched it. The thinness is itself useful information: the agenda assumes most candidates already know what to do here, when in practice this is where most applications break. The Presence frameworks that exist are concentrated, practical, and worth using carefully. See the Event Coverage Analysis for the full data.

Frameworks for this dimension

Achievement banking

• BASIC Achievement Bank · A five-field structure for documenting one professional achievement so it can be reused across CVs, cover letters, and interview answers.
• R-CAR · A four-part structure for turning a documented achievement into a single scannable CV bullet or cover-letter sentence: lead with the result, anchor it in context, action, and final outcome.
• Third Eye Principle · A three-layer review pass for any application before you submit it: alignment, machine-readability, polish. Each layer catches different errors; skipping any one leaves a class of mistakes uncaught.

Reading the application as the recruiter does

• Application Review Audiences · A four-stage map of who actually reads your application after you submit it: an AI or system screen, a recruiter, a hiring manager, and a selection panel. Each stage reads with a different lens.
• JD vs Profile Comparison · A two-column working document that maps the job’s requirements and duties to your own profile, so the application reflects what the JD actually asks for and where your transferable experience answers it.
• JD Colour-Coded Breakdown · A four-step method for decoding a job description on a separate document, using a different colour for each category, so what the role actually does becomes visible at a glance.
• Evidence vs Polish Diagnostic · A single recruiter-side question: if I stripped every polished phrase from this CV today, what real evidence of work would remain? The answer separates a strong application from a fluent empty one.

Skills made credible

• Skills-in-Use CV Pattern · A writing pattern for CV bullets, cover-letter sentences, and interview answers. Name the skill, the action it enabled, and the context it produced impact in.
• Capability + Outputs + Evidence · A three-part rewrite formula for any CV bullet, motivation paragraph, or LinkedIn line that needs to pass a skills-based or AI-assisted screen.

Interview presence

• SMART Method · A five-element structure for competency-based interview answers: Situation, Mission, Action, Result, Teachability. The Teachability element distinguishes SMART from STAR and turns difficulty into evidence of self-awareness.
• Duties-Driven Interview Prep · A method for preparing competency-based interviews that starts from the vacancy notice’s duties section, generating 20 or more likely questions before the interview begins.
• Why You · A three-question test for any motivation letter or cover letter. Hiring managers read the motivation letter before the CV; the letter has to answer three things in the first read: why this organisation, why now, why you.
• AI Roleplay for Skill Practice · A practice routine that uses AI personas to rehearse high-stakes conversations (interviews, stakeholder pushbacks, performance discussions) before they happen for real.

Sessions where Presence was primary

• Mapping Professional Achievements · Day 2, Bewketu Bogale, Mian Nabeel Ahmed
• Building a Winning Profile from Application to Interview · Day 4, Preeti Nautiyal, Tina Stochmal, Luisa Zurek, Draga Paskova

If your situation is closer to

If your materials look right but the right opportunities are not reaching you, see Visibility. If your CV is in good shape but you cannot decide what to apply to, see Choice. If the materials are ready and you are inside the application loop, see Pursuit.