There’s so much advice out there about how to get a job. Some of it is good, and some of it is real bad. But most of it is just….tangential.
You’ve seen this stuff.
“3 Profile Tweaks that Make Recruiters Come to You on LinkedIn.”
“The One Sentence Every Cover Letter Needs to Stand Out to Recruiters.”
“4 Sections your Resume MUST Have in 2025 (and One You Should Ditch)”.
This is clickbait-y stuff. Sometimes I click through. Sometimes there’s a tip or two that makes the 90 seconds I spend reading it not a total waste of time.
But mostly these articles, whether they are insipid or insightful, are simply missing the point.
I don’t want my clients to spend too much time worrying about how to be convincing. At least not early on in their career pivot.
Instead, the high value activity is to work on developing your CONVICTION.
When you have conviction, it’s easier to be convincing. And when you don’t have conviction, there aren’t enough magic words, formulas, and tweaks to make you compelling to a discerning decision-maker.
Too often, people believe they need to polish up how they appear to others before they can begin to explore new roles or organizations. They want to convince others before they ask what they want, or why they want it. This is exactly backwards.
You never want to trick someone into hiring you, by presenting yourself as the person you think “they” want. That’s bad for them, and bad for you.
Instead, I work with clients to uncover the things they know for sure about themselves: what problems they love to solve. The work culture where they can have the biggest impact and bring the most energy. The areas where they hope to grow, and the projects they are proudest of. Top priorities for the next chapter of their career. Together we form a strong hypothesis about where they might find those things, and what value they’ll be bringing to their colleagues.
When you know these things, not because you read them on a listicle or scrolled through a carousel, but through the insight earned from reflection and self-awareness, you show up differently. You can have better conversations, listen with curiosity, and offer your ideas without pretense. The relationships you form this way are grounded in authenticity, self-acceptance, and depth.
Find conviction. That’s convincing.
