You Don’t Need to Be The Perfect Candidate, Just Better Than the Next Option

There’s this idea that’s really stuck with me: you don’t need to be incredible or world-class to stand out. You just need to seem a little better than whoever (or whatever) you’re being compared to. That’s how people remember you. And honestly, it’s one of the simplest tricks in human psychology.

We rarely judge anything in isolation. We judge things by comparison. Whether it’s people, products, job candidates, or even restaurants, it’s never about whether something is “good” in an absolute sense. It’s about whether it looks better than the other choices we’ve seen.

Think about it like this: imagine you walk into two coffee shops. One looks messy and slow, the other is just okay but clean and quick. Even if that second place isn’t perfect, it feels better by comparison. You’ll probably go back to the second one, and maybe even recommend it to others. That’s how perception works.

Now take this into the job market. Let’s say you’re applying for a role. You don’t need to be some 10/10 superstar with a flawless resume. You just need to show up with slightly more clarity, slightly better communication, or slightly more confidence than the average applicant. That’s enough to stick in someone’s head as the “strong” choice.

This works especially well if you know what most candidates are lacking. For example, if most people applying to a role don’t have a clear portfolio, and you do, boom. You’ve just created contrast. Or if other candidates talk a lot about themselves, and you focus on how you solve their problems, you stand out without changing who you are just by shifting the focus.

Every person, brand, or company has weaknesses. No one’s perfect. So if you can figure out where others fall short, and you position yourself as strong in just that one area, you instantly rise in people’s eyes. The rest doesn’t even need to be perfect.

Want to be remembered for your creativity? Show up after someone who only followed templates. Want to seem dependable? Make that shine next to someone who dropped the ball. People will always compare, even if they don’t realize it.

So here’s the bottom line: you don’t have to fix everything about yourself or your work. Just figure out what matters most in that moment and make sure you look stronger in that area than whoever’s standing next to you.

That’s how you win attention without burning out trying to be perfect.