Contribution from Kirsty Ferguson, resume and interview expert

Often I say to my job seeking clients in moments of depleted self confidence (and to myself on a regular basis): “There is always someone taller, blonder, thinner, smarter, more successful, richer and funnier… but there is nobody else just like you, anywhere in the world.”

When applying for a role, people have a tendency to worry about other candidates and what they are bringing. Those other candidates, whoever they are, are in fact completely irrelevant.

If you focus on others or continue to compare yourself, you are undermining your own qualities/attributes based on assumptions or perceptions, neither of which are factual or real.  You don’t know the other candidates and you are not competing with them. You are presenting yourself on your own merits, with unique qualities, a unique career path, unique ideas and unique life experiences, nobody can compete with that.

‘When you are content to be simply yourself and don’t compare or compete, everybody will respect you.” – Lao Tzu