4 Data Points Is Not a Sample Size
The internet gives everyone the same microphone. It does not give everyone the same sample size. After reviewing 1MM+ resumes and hiring 10,343 people, here is why Lindsay Mustain blocked a resume critic with only 4 case studies - and what that has to do with protecting your career energy.
4 Data Points Is Not a Sample Size
A guy tried to teach me about resumes recently.
He had 4 case studies. I have over 233.
Not to mention a 16-year corporate recruiting career with 10,000+ hires.
"Numbers on a resume don't matter," he said. Written out experience is enough.
He is an attorney by background with a resume side hustle by night. His 4 examples had some success. My 233 have receipts - in my clients' own words.
Here is what I want you to remember:
The internet gives everyone the same size microphone.
It does not give everyone the same sample size.
4 data points is not a sample size. It is an opinion.
Which is fine. Everyone has one and we all have to start somewhere.
But after reviewing 1MM+ resumes and hiring 10,343 people - along with a couple of bestselling books on the topic - I have enough data to confidently assess the job market.
So what you need to know is this:
Your experience is worth exactly as much as the numbers - the proof - behind it.
I have been doing this long enough to know when to change my mind based on statistics and evidence. And when someone is confidently wrong with 4 data points and a strong voice.
The second one does not require a debate. It does require a boundary.
So I did the thing more of us should do.
I blocked him.
Not because he was rude. Not because he was mean.
Because he was creating emotional labor for problems that were not mine to solve.
My time is worth more than convincing strangers. So is yours.
Everything you say on LinkedIn is visible. Everything you argue about is visible. Every hill you die on is on the record.
Pick them carefully.
If someone is costing you more energy than they are contributing to your goals, you do not have to prove anything to them.
You have to protect your peace - so your focus can go toward the things that matter.
That is not weakness. That is strategy.
This is the same principle at the core of the Theory of Hireability - knowing where to direct your energy so it builds real career equity, not just visible activity.
When you are ready to build a career backed by proof, not opinion - and learn exactly how recruiters evaluate your application after 1MM+ resumes and 10,000+ hires:
