Stop Editorializing

By Soozy G. Miller, CPRW, CDCC, CDP

One of my clients insisted that he knew the way around job descriptions. As in, he thought he could look beyond the words, or between the lines, and conclude the true meaning of what the company was asking for, and then … kapow! ... he could wow them with his resume and smarts.

Except he wasn’t landing interviews at all.

For one job posting, before applying, he decided to do some research, which is highly commendable. He found an article written by a department manager about the company’s hiring processes.

Then we talked.

CLIENT: She wrote the article about the company’s hiring, so she’s obviously involved.

ME: You’re assuming that she’s part of the hiring process for this position. What if she isn’t?

CLIENT: She must have a say.

ME: How do you know that?

CLIENT: That’s how my business works.

This client was doing what I call editorializing—forming an opinion about the words and information in the job posting as to what the hiring team wants. He assumed that because he knows the industry, and because he has hired people, and because he read an article by someone who works at the company, that he could predict what they want from him. And that’s what he’s giving them.

For example, we came across the required skill “data management.” He wanted to add “data projects.” Because “that’s what they really mean” according to his research and knowledge of the company. So then we had this conversation:

ME: But they don’t say data projects anywhere in the job description. They call it data management.

CLIENT: But they mean data projects. When I worked with data we always called it data projects.

ME: But this is not your company.

CLIENT: Yes, but I know how the business works.

So we always came back to the same theme. He continued to adjust the skills to his own preferences based on his experience, and he continued to get rejections from applications and wondered why. “But I know the business” was always his rationale with every application.

You can know your business inside and out. You can be an expert. If you don’t address the company’s specific needs and put the skills they need in your resume, you’re going to experience a longer, more frustrating job search.

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Better job. More pay. More control.

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