How to Become Hard to Ignore
Career Antifragility #4: Build a Reputation That Opens Doors
When I graduated, I applied for about a dozen jobs.
I got invited to eight interviews. And rejected eight times. Always the same line. “It’s not you, it’s us. You’re great, but we’re looking for something else.”
Eight times.
So I gave up on applications and started a business instead. Three years later, I wanted experience at a major corporation. But this time I did it differently. I didn’t touch a single job board. I went to my network and got recommended.
Two interviews. Both at major companies. Two great offers.
That taught me something I’ve never forgotten. Job postings are mostly BS, especially for more important jobs. When I later worked at Gartner, most new hires I met came through a recommendation, not an application.
Here’s the data that backs it up:
85% of jobs are filled through networking
80% are never posted publicly at all
Referred candidates are four times more likely to get hired than someone who applies cold
The formal application process is mostly a backup system. The real opportunities move through reputation and relationships.
They go to the people who are already known, already trusted, already top of mind when something good comes up.
If nobody knows who you are, you don’t exist in that flow.
Doesn’t matter how good your work is.
This post is about fixing that. Not through self-promotion or personal branding gimmicks. Through building something real that makes you genuinely hard to ignore.
I talk about what that looks like in practice in this video:
The Invisible Professional Problem
Here’s something most talented professionals don’t know about themselves.
They have a visibility problem.
Not a skills problem. Not a performance problem. A visibility problem.
70% of employers research candidates on social media before making a hiring decision. 57% have rejected a candidate based on what they found.
This works both ways. A strong, credible online presence doesn’t just prevent rejection. It actively creates opportunity.
When someone Googles your name, what do they find?
If the answer is nothing, or an outdated LinkedIn profile from three years ago, that’s not helping you.
In a world where everyone is searchable, being invisible reads as being unserious.
Being Good Is Not Enough
This is the uncomfortable truth at the center of this post.
Being excellent at your work is necessary. But it’s not sufficient.
Research published in the Academy of Management Journal found that reputation has two distinct dimensions:
Quality: How good you actually are.
Prominence: How well-known you are to the right people.
Both matter. But prominence contributed more to outcomes than quality alone.