Trying Too Hard to Impress Can Hurt Your Job Search
Sometimes, trying too hard to impress creates exactly the opposite reaction.
When Standing Out Becomes the Problem
Job seekers are constantly told to stand out. Make your resume impressive, optimize your LinkedIn profile, highlight your achievements, and sell yourself during interviews.
But there's a difference between demonstrating your value and trying to sound impressive.
Descriptions like visionary leader, exceptional problem solver, or results-driven professional might sound attractive, but without context, they tell us very little.
Research by Bolino, Long, and Turnley (2016) examines how people manage professional impressions, while Higgins and Judge (2004) found that self-promotion alone didn't necessarily improve recruiters' hiring recommendations.
The lesson isn't to stop promoting yourself. It's to make sure your message communicates something meaningful.
What Actually Makes a Good Impression?
Think about two candidates. One spends an interview emphasizing how talented, experienced, and exceptional they are. The other explains what they've worked on, the challenges they've handled, and how they've contributed.
Who gives the interviewer more useful information?
Barrick, Shaffer, and DeGrassi (2009) found that self-presentation tactics can influence interview ratings without necessarily reflecting future job performance.
Research on structured interviews by Campion and colleagues (1997) and Levashina and colleagues (2014) also highlights the importance of relevant, job-related information.
The same applies to LinkedIn and resumes. Research by Bangerter, Roulin, and König (2012) describes recruitment as an exchange of signals, while Roulin and Bangerter (2013) examined how recruiters and candidates interpret information on social networking websites.
What we intend to communicate isn't always what others understand.
A Practical Tip for Your Next Application
Before sending your resume or updating your LinkedIn profile, look at the words you've chosen to describe yourself.
Could you replace a generic adjective with something specific you've actually done? Does your experience clearly connect to the opportunity you're pursuing?
And during interviews, remember that you don't need to demonstrate everything you know in every answer.
Research by Sackett and colleagues (2022) reinforces the importance of reliable, job-relevant information in personnel selection.
Your goal should be to help people understand your capabilities, not overwhelm them with impressive descriptions.
How I Can Help
Through Everything HR-Or, I help professionals identify their strengths, improve their LinkedIn profiles and resumes, prepare for interviews, and develop more focused job-search strategies.
I'm also developing SignalU, a career development tool for employees, job seekers, and freelancers, designed to help people recognize their strengths through real experiences and communicate their professional value more clearly.
Learn more at Everything HR-Or.
Final Thoughts
The little Pomeranian certainly got everyone's attention. Just not the reaction he expected.
And that's the point.
Standing out isn't always the same as making a good impression.
Sometimes, being clear about what you bring is far more effective than trying to sound extraordinary.
References
Bolino, M. C., Long, D., & Turnley, W. H. (2016). Impression Management in Organizations. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior.
Higgins, C. A., & Judge, T. A. (2004). The Effect of Applicant Influence Tactics on Recruiter Perceptions of Fit and Hiring Recommendations. Journal of Applied Psychology.
Barrick, M. R., Shaffer, J. A., & DeGrassi, S. W. (2009). What You See May Not Be What You Get. Journal of Applied Psychology.
Campion, M. A., Palmer, D. K., & Campion, J. E. (1997). A Review of Structure in the Selection Interview. Personnel Psychology.
Levashina, J., Hartwell, C. J., Morgeson, F. P., & Campion, M. A. (2014). The Structured Employment Interview. Personnel Psychology.
Bangerter, A., Roulin, N., & König, C. J. (2012). Personnel Selection as a Signaling Game. Journal of Applied Psychology.
Roulin, N., & Bangerter, A. (2013). Social Networking Websites in Personnel Selection. Journal of Personnel Psychology.
Sackett, P. R., Zhang, C., Berry, C. M., & Lievens, F. (2022). Revisiting Meta-Analytic Estimates of Validity in Personnel Selection. Journal of Applied Psychology.
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