Job Seekers: Are You Answering the 'So What?' Question?

Would you hire someone based solely on their opinions of themselves?

Jul 12, 2025

Do you know someone who’s currently job searching? The “Art of Finding Work” is free, so feel free to share it with them.

LinkedIn—officially launched on May 5, 2003—began with good intentions. Today, it's an endless stream of "I'm a victim!" and employer-bashing posts by frustrated job seekers. When I look at the poster's LinkedIn profile, I inevitably notice that it lacks quantifiable figures to demonstrate the impact the individual had on their previous employer's business. When I see a profile that's just unsubstantiated "claims," "assertions," and opinions of oneself, I think, "So what?"

Most resumes and LinkedIn profiles are just lists of opinions, which is why job seekers struggle to attract opportunities and interviews. Vague, unsupported statements like "I'm a team player" offer no value and therefore are meaningless to an employer evaluating your application. "I was part of a 12-member sales team with an individual $3.5 million annual quota, a goal I achieved four years in a row, from 2020 to 2024," demonstrates individual impact, making you an attractive candidate.

In 2025, your resume and LinkedIn profile must focus on what matters to employers. However, most resumes and LinkedIn profiles are written in a task-focused manner, as if employers don't already know what a marketing manager or software developer does, thereby failing to explain the measurable value the individual contributed to their employer's business.

Employers look for candidates who can offer measurable value to their business. Those who generate revenue, create savings, solve problems, innovate, and get things done—never saying, "It's not my job"—are highly sought after. Therefore, employers gravitate to resumes and LinkedIn profiles that show numerically that the individual has achieved tangible results.

Most job seekers hide behind statements like "I'm talented" (highly subjective) and "I have X years of experience," without supporting their claims, raising the question: What makes you sure that your supposed "talent" or "experience" has any value? A better question: How do you expect an employer to know? If there's one hiring principle you should remember, it's this: Employers don't hire candidates who offer opinions about themselves; they hire candidates with a proven track record of achieving results businesses need. Therefore, the reader of your resume, LinkedIn profile, and especially your interviewer, thinks "So what?" when you include overused and cliché phrases such as:

"I'm a fast learner."
"I'm detail-oriented."
"Excellent communication skills."
"Managed projects."
"Great at problem-solving."

Throughout the hiring process, hiring managers grapple with the question, "So what?" Employers seek substance, not fluff. A resume or LinkedIn profile lacking numerical context leaves the reader guessing—and they won't. Include budget sizes. Team headcount. Reporting lines. Organizational impact. Amount saved. Productivity increases. Did you manage a $4.5M project? Lead a team of 20? Launch a company-wide cost-saving initiative? Grow your previous employer's social media followers? Achieve sales targets? Increase email open rates?

The language of business is numbers; therefore, explain, "I'm a fast learner," "I'm detail-oriented," etc., numerically!

Hiring managers constantly hear unsubstantiated opinions candidates hold about themselves; hence the reason for my mental eye roll when I hear phrases like "self-motivated" or my favourite "hard worker." Give employers dopamine hits with number-driven stories that demonstrate your value, rather than prompting the "So what?" question. Numbers convey a far richer story. Phrases like "Increased sales" are meaningless. Specify! "In 2024, it generated $4.7 million in medical equipment sales, a 15% increase over 2023," or "By redesigning the tree menu at the end of 2022, in 2023, I reduced the abandonment rate to 1.8%, down from 2.9% in 2022.” Statements like these show the tangible impact you made on your employer's business.

When you claim, "I'm detail-oriented," what do you expect an employer to do with your biased opinion about yourself? What the employer wants to know is how you, allegedly being detail-oriented, helped your employer's business success. Did you catch a critical error in a report that saved the company thousands or prevented losing a client(s)? Did you implement a new quality control measure that improved a product's quality, thereby reducing returns by 45%?

Consider this sentence: "Because I love challenges, last year was a fantastic year for me at Universal Exports. I had to lead a project that involved coordinating with multiple departments, managing a $2.5 million budget, and developing and implementing a marketing strategy that increased lead generation by 40% in six months." This is a sentence that grabs attention. You're not just stating a “I love challenges” opinion; you're showcasing your ability to tackle challenges head-on and achieve meaningful results.

When conducting your job search, keep in mind that numbers create clarity and value. If you don't provide numerical context, the hiring manager is left guessing, which isn't ideal because you're not controlling your career narrative. Hiring managers are busy; therefore, they prefer candidates who make their lives easier, not harder. Giving quantifiable figures showing how you made an impact on your previous employers—preempting the "So what?" question—is a proven job search strategy that, when not ignored, increases the number of employers reaching out to you.

Think like an employer—would you hire someone based solely on their opinions of themselves? Of course not! You’d want quantifying numbers to help you assess if they're likely to achieve the results your business needs.

The Art of Finding Work

Discussion about this post