It's not the plane; it's the pilot!

“It’s not the plane. It is the pilot”.

I remind my mentees of this dialogue from Top Gun Maverick when I’m asked how they should tailor their CV for a particular role, e.g. separate versions for operations and marketing.

Seriously, instead of their skill sets, why is the person being made a commodity? A person may have more to offer than just their skill sets. Am reminded of the Pink Floyd video of Another Brick in the Wall – Part 2; replace the children by professionals!

People nowadays start the discussion with the ATS score of the CV and ask what needs to be done to increase it. Whilst this may be relevant to some specific industry and roles, it should not be for most.

A CV is a door opener, and it should be prepared keeping this in mind. Your CV should pique the interest of the reader, and make them interested in meeting you. To see and understand what difference you can make to the organisation.

You should never let yourself be commoditized! You are more than the sum of your skill sets.

(This was published as a post in LinkedIn in June 2025)