Latest / Career Skills with Fexingo: Hard Skills, Soft Skills, and Future-Proofing Your Career / How Skill Signalling Gets You Hired Faster
Transcript
- Lucas: So we talk a lot on this show about building skills, but there's this other piece that I think people underestimate: how do you actually show what you know in a way that a hiring manager or a promotion committee can actually see it—not just hear you claim it? Luna: Right, because everyone says they're a 'strong communicator' or 'data-driven'. Those words don't land anymore. Lucas: Exactly. There's a concept in labour economics called skill signalling. It's the idea that when you apply for a job, you're sending signals about your abilities, and the hiring manager is trying to decode those signals. The classic example is a college degree—it signals that you can stick with something for four years, follow instructions, meet deadlines. But degrees are a pretty blunt instrument. Luna: Yeah, and they're expensive too. So what's the sharper signal? Lucas: Well, the sharper signals are concrete, verifiable outputs. A GitHub repository with clean code and a thoughtful README. A sales rep who can say, 'I generated $1.2 million in new revenue last year, 30 percent above quota.' A marketing person who can point to a campaign that drove a 15 percent lift in conversion. Those are signals because they come with evidence. Luna: There was a study—I think it was from the National Bureau of Economic Research last year—that looked at exactly this. They sent out fake resumes to real job postings, and the ones that included specific skill signals—like a portfolio link or a quantifiable achievement—got 38 percent more callbacks. Lucas: Thirty-eight percent is huge. And it matches what I've heard from recruiters. They scan a resume for about six seconds. In that window, they're looking for something that feels real. A generic bullet point like 'responsible for social media' is invisible. A bullet point that says 'grew Instagram following from 2,000 to 15,000 in six months' jumps off the page. Luna: But there's a line, right? You can over-signal. If you flood your resume with every minor achievement, it starts to look desperate or inflated. Lucas: That's the dark side. Economists call it over-signalling or signal jamming. When everyone claims they're 'results-oriented', the signal loses value. The trick is to pick two or three of your strongest, most relevant signals and feature them prominently. Quality over quantity. Luna: And the format matters too. I've seen people use a small 'portfolio' section at the top of their resume—maybe three lines with a link and a one-sentence description of the project. That's cleaner than trying to cram everything into a work history bullet. Lucas: Right. And the same logic applies in interviews. When a hiring manager asks 'Tell me about a time you led a project', they're not looking for a story about how you felt. They want a signal. So you give them one: 'I led a cross-functional team of seven to launch a new product feature in eight weeks. We increased user engagement by 12 percent and reduced support tickets by 20 percent.' Now they have something concrete to evaluate. Luna: It's almost like you're building a case in advance. You're not just answering questions; you're providing evidence for the conclusion you want them to reach. Lucas: Exactly. And the best part? You don't need a fancy degree or a prestigious company name to generate strong signals. A side project, a volunteer initiative, a blog post that got shared widely—those can be just as powerful. The key is that they're verifiable. Anyone can say they're a 'creative problem solver'. Not everyone can point to a website they built or a process they improved that saved $50,000. Luna: Speaking of which, I want to dig into how you actually structure those signals on a resume. What's the formula? Lucas: There's a simple template I like: verb + metric + context. For example: 'Redesigned the onboarding flow, reducing drop-off by 18 percent and increasing daily active users by 9 percent.' That's a signal because it has a number and a clear before and after. Compare that to 'Responsible for onboarding improvements.' Which one tells you more about the person's ability? Luna: The first one, no contest. And it also shows you understand the business impact, not just the task. Lucas: Right. And you can apply this to almost any role. Customer support? 'Handled 1,200 tickets per month with a 95 percent satisfaction rating, and created a knowledge base that reduced repeat contacts by 25 percent.' IT? 'Automated server deployment, cutting provisioning time from two hours to 15 minutes.' The numbers make it real. Luna: But what if you're early in your career and don't have big numbers yet? How do you signal then? Lucas: You can still use the same structure, but the metrics might be smaller or more qualitative. 'Wrote 30 blog posts on data science topics, resulting in 5,000 monthly readers and two guest post invitations.' That shows initiative and skill development. Or 'Completed a 100-hour volunteer project designing a website for a local nonprofit, which now serves 200 users per month.' It's still a verifiable output. Luna: There's also the option of creating a signal on purpose. Like, if you're trying to break into a new field, you can do a small project or a case study and put it on GitHub or a portfolio site. That's a signal you built from scratch. Lucas: Exactly. And the act of building it also develops the skill. So it's a double win. You learn the thing and you create the evidence at the same time. Luna: I want to talk about the flip side for a second. What about when hiring managers are trying to decode signals and they get it wrong? Or when candidates try to game the system with fake signals? Lucas: That's a real problem. Some people inflate numbers or claim credit for team achievements. But experienced hiring managers have ways to check. They'll ask follow-up questions in the interview: 'How did you measure that? What was your specific role? What would you do differently next time?' If the signal is fake, it usually crumbles under that kind of scrutiny. Luna: And there's also the risk of signalling the wrong thing. Like if you put 'expert in Microsoft Excel' but you can't write a VLOOKUP in the interview—you've actually sent a negative signal about your self-awareness. Lucas: Right. Authenticity is part of the signal too. The best signals are the ones you can back up without hesitation. That's why I always tell people to lead with their strongest, most honest achievement. It sets the tone for the whole conversation. Luna: This idea of signalling—it's almost like you're building a reputation in advance. You're not just waiting to be discovered; you're actively creating evidence that you're the person they need. Lucas: And that's a skill in itself. If we've helped you think through a career move or a resume strategy, and you want to support the show, you can buy us a coffee at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It helps us keep the podcast ad-free and focused on practical advice. Luna: Yeah, listener support is what keeps this going. Every contribution makes a difference. Lucas: So back to the signals. One thing I've noticed is that people often underestimate the power of a good LinkedIn recommendation as a signal. It's third-party verification. If a former manager or client writes, 'She increased our revenue by 15 percent in six months,' that's a signal that's hard to fake. Luna: And you can ask for those proactively. Don't wait until you need them. After a successful project, ask your boss or client if they'd be willing to write a brief recommendation. Most people are happy to. Lucas: Right. And then you can feature that recommendation in your LinkedIn profile and even include a link to it in your resume with a note. It's a small extra signal that adds credibility. Luna: There's also the idea of a portfolio of signals. Instead of just one or two, you can build a collection that tells a story over time. That's what makes someone's career narrative compelling. Lucas: For example, a product manager might have a signal from a successful launch, a signal from a user research study they led, and a signal from a cross-functional collaboration that reduced development time. Together, they paint a picture of someone who delivers results across multiple dimensions. Luna: And that's much more powerful than a single bullet point. It shows depth and versatility. Lucas: So the takeaway for anyone listening: next time you update your resume or prepare for an interview, ask yourself—what's the strongest signal I can send? And how can I make it as concrete and verifiable as possible? That one shift could change the outcome. Luna: And if you're not sure what your strongest signal is, ask a trusted colleague. Sometimes we don't see our own achievements clearly. Lucas: Great advice. Until next time.