The crux of all hiring decisions comes down to one word: trust.
AI, combined with a growing number of malicious actors in the job market, has eroded trust between employers and job seekers, an issue that is worsening. Today, everyone’s resume looks great. Same buzzwords. Same frameworks. Same: “I managed,” “I built,” “I scaled.“ Miraculously, every candidate is strategic, results-driven and cross-functional. With AI, it is easy to create a slick veneer of tripe, filled with buzzwords from the job posting, at best, making hollow promises. Most job seekers, especially bad actors, focus on looking smooth. In contrast, savvy job seekers focus on presenting evidence—quantifying their impact on their employer’s business (read: profitability)—to build trust.
ATSs and, to a large extent, humans struggle to distinguish between effort, outcomes, and mimicking the job posting; therefore, hiring managers and recruiters seek job seekers who do what most don’t: quantify, with numbers, the friction they caused in their previous employer’s business.
What does “Led a team of inside sales reps to achieve sales quota“ mean? What value does this sentence offer? Does it build any trust or credibility? The same for:
- “Managed and maintained the organization’s social media accounts to strengthen Wayne Enterprises’ online presence.”
- “Managed the team calendar.“
- “Handled customer inquiries.“
- “Filed reports.“
- “Supported sales and marketing efforts.“
- “Improved office efficiency.“
- “Hard worker with a go-getter attitude.“ (Isn’t every jobseeker?)
These sentences simply list duties and opinions (Employers don’t hire opinions; they hire results.) rather than your accomplishments (read: results). Moreover, they fail to answer the critical “so what?“ question.
Hiring managers and recruiters aren’t asking, “Is this candidate impressive?” They’re asking, “Can I trust this person to deliver the results we need?“ Most resumes and LinkedIn profiles don’t fail screening. They fail trust.
A highly effective job search strategy is to concentrate intensely on demonstrating to recruiters and employers that you are results-oriented. Candidates who come across as trustworthy, result-driven, and reliable, and who aren’t afraid to own their results, are the ones employers swoon over.
A common job search myth, perpetuated by a sense of entitlement, is that one’s experience, which is subjective, speaks for itself. It doesn’t. Experience only holds value for an employer if the person with the “experience“ can be trusted to produce measurable results. Job seekers need to understand that hiring doesn’t occur in a reflective environment that gives a job seeker, who’s a stranger to the hiring manager, the benefit of the doubt. Hiring occurs under pressure. Resumes and LinkedIn profiles are rapidly scrutinized for evidence of impact at prior employers. When a resume or LinkedIn profile doesn’t provide evidence of impact, it becomes, without a second thought, a “No.”
Hiring isn’t mysterious, as many would like you to believe, especially those who benefit—make money—from you believing it is. It’s layered. The first layer is answering the question every hiring manager asks themselves when scanning a resume: “What has this person achieved?“ If what you’ve achieved leads the hiring manager to think, “[Name] could be someone we can use here,“ then the candidate moves on to the second layer, determining whether you can be trusted.
AI or not, resumes never tell someone’s full story. As I pointed out at the beginning, the job market abounds with bad actors and job seekers who exaggerate or outright lie about their experience and qualifications, or whose behaviour (personality traits) isn’t conducive to being an employer’s ideal employee. Nowadays, employers understandably seek a comprehensive view of a candidate, so they:
- Google the candidate—check their digital footprint (read: behaviour)—and review their social media activity (articles, blogs, comments, posts), especially on LinkedIn, to determine whether they’re interview-worthy. Does the candidate’s online presence raise any questions? Are they associated with (written, commented on, reposted) any industry- or profession-related articles or blogs? What charitable activities do they engage in? Do any illicit or questionable activities appear?
- Look them in the eye, listen, and observe how they communicate during the interview. Speaking for myself, a lack of communication skills—the ability to articulate with confidence—is a non-negotiable requirement when I hire. The way a candidate communicates with me—I’ll also ask candidates to write something to gauge their written communication skills and how they think (writing is thinking)—is how they’ll communicate with customers, prospects, and their colleagues.
“The ability to communicate is critical to building relationships, to leadership, and to learning.“ Sheryl Sandberg, American technology executive, philanthropist and writer.
- Ensure the applicant can walk their talk by asking them to take an assessment test or complete an assignment. I’ve lost count of how many candidates I’ve interviewed who talked a good game but didn’t pass an assessment or submit a subpar assignment.
Resumes and LinkedIn profiles have always contained a great deal of fluff, embellishments, and falsehoods. As employers grow increasingly weary of job seekers’ claims, the core issue job seekers face is communicating their value in a few seconds and convincing employers they can be trusted. Job seekers who empathize with employers, have trust issues, and therefore focus on building credibility to gain trust will be far ahead of their competition.
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