Dan Richards is a serial founder and former public company CEO, and an award-winning member of the marketing faculty at the Rotman School of Management, where he oversees the credit course associated with MBA student internships.
In today’s challenging job market, one essential truth often gets lost: When companies choose among qualified candidates, they don’t always hire the most qualified and the ”best” on paper – they hire the one who stands out.
A recent Globe and Mail article pointed out that for young Canadians, this is the toughest job market in decades. Fueled by a toxic stew of uncertainty because of U.S. tariffs and artificial intelligence threatening to displace entry-level roles, youth unemployment is well over 10 per cent. That has major implications, as history shows that new entrants to the workforce who get off to a slow start can see income depressed for many years to follow.
With a flood of candidates for every posting, how do you rise above the noise? In an article last fall, I talked about the power of networking. But today, even networking isn’t always enough. You have to go one step further. That step? To borrow advice from Harvard Business School strategy guru Michael Porter: Don’t aim to be better, be different. Rather than trying to demonstrate how you’re better than other candidates – instead show you’re different.
In my years teaching at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, I’ve seen firsthand how some graduates land coveted jobs by taking bold, distinctive steps that set them apart. Here are some examples:
A blog that reopened a closed job posting
A fast-growing tech firm had posted a role but closed it after no candidate truly stood out.
That’s when a student who was about to graduate but had not previously applied sent a personalized e-mail to the founder, highlighting a blog post she’d written about how a leading retailer uses its loyalty program – a topic directly relevant to the company’s work. Her blog didn’t have many pageviews, but it showed initiative, relevant insights and passion. Curious, the founder reopened the conversation, invited the student for a conversation and after an interview process she was ultimately offered the job.
The blog didn’t get the student the role outright. But it got her in the door and gave her the chance to show she could add value.
LinkedIn posts that open a door
A student struggled to break into consulting after completing his MBA. Despite doing everything right – networking with alumni, crafting strong applications – the tough market at consulting firms meant he kept hitting dead ends.
Then he changed his approach. In addition to conventional job search approaches, he subscribed to daily e-mail newsletters about developments in AI and started creating three short LinkedIn posts each week, highlighting something new and different he’d read about. Spending 30 minutes per post, he dictated the articles using a speech-to-text tool, sent them to a platform that converted this into LinkedIn ready posts and made quick edits before posting. Then each Monday he emailed his contacts with a summary of his posts the past week.
Six weeks later, a Rotman alum at a leading consulting firm who the student had met with forwarded one of his posts to a partner in their AI transformation practice. That led to an interview and, ultimately, a job offer.
This student didn’t just show interest in AI, he showed initiative and the ability to communicate complex ideas – something that made him stand out.
A unique way to tell your story
A student had a strong background and a great story to tell, especially around her interest and the expertise she’d built in AI. The challenge was getting her story heard.
That’s when she found a unique way to tell her story. Using her proficiency in AI, she created a short e-book version in which she told her story, customized to the specifics of target companies. Then she emailed the CEOs of these companies, asking them to spend 30 seconds to look at her story. The result: She heard back from several busy CEOs who were intrigued by her approach and put her in front of senior members of their team.
By taking an approach that went beyond a conventional cover letter and resume, this student set herself apart.
Networking through industry associations
Before his MBA, an engineer had worked in supply chain roles. With the goal of transitioning into supply chain management, during the second year of his MBA he attended monthly meetings of a Toronto supply chain association. After graduation, he reached out to people he’d met there. One contact flagged a newly posted role at his company, encouraged the student to apply and offered to refer him internally. The student got an interview and then the job.
The differentiator? His pre-existing relationships and shared interests established through consistent presence in industry sessions. Something else that helped: At those meetings, he was invariably the only student, surrounded by practitioners with whom he built relationships.
To be clear, you should absolutely tailor your cover letter, polish your resume and reach out to contacts at your target companies asking to meet. Today, those are all baseline expectations. But in a market flooded with qualified applicants, the real winners are job seekers who go beyond the basics. Acting on Michael Porter’s advice, to land that first job, don’t try to be better than other candidates. Rather, show why you’re different – and why that difference matters.
This column is part of Globe Careers’ Leadership Lab series, where executives and experts share their views and advice about the world of work. Find all Leadership Lab stories at tgam.ca/leadershiplab and guidelines for how to contribute to the column here.