I’ve been applying for jobs, which means my LinkedIn feed is flooded with advice about how to get noticed by hiring managers by re-inventing yourself (and your resume) for every application to match exactly what each employer is looking for.

And I get it.  The market is hard right now.  Every job, especially in the tech space, gets hundreds or thousands of applications.  Lots of candidates who could have thrived in the role get canned “thanks but no thanks” e-mails–if they ever hear back at all.  

From one perspective, it makes sense to do everything you can to make yourself look like exactly what they say they want.  

I just kinda hate it.

It seems like a recipe for short-term relief and long term unhappiness– for you and for organizations looking for new hires.

What happens if you get a job by painting yourself as someone you’re not?  How long can you keep up the facade before the box you painted yourself into starts to get really cramped?

Or, the bigger tragedy, what if you miss out on a job where you would have been deeply valued for exactly who you are and what you believe, but you missed out by pretending to be like everyone else?

How do you know when you are highlighting the true parts of you that are exactly what a company (or a new friend or romantic partner for that matter) are looking for, and when you are cutting off part of your foot to fit in the magic slipper?