Try hard

Aaron Francis on this piece on his very own blog, What if you tried hard:

Maybe there is the odd person for whom everything comes easily. The rest of us have to try. 90% of applicants don't even follow the instructions! The bar is so low! Nobody is trying! You merely have to follow the instructions and you're ahead of 90% of other applicants? That barely registers as "trying" in my book! Imagine how far ahead you'd be if you followed the instructions and put in a little extra effort. These two examples might provoke this thought: "I shouldn't have to try hard to get my job application noticed." You can find this pattern everywhere: "I shouldn't have to, therefore I won't." I'm entirely uninterested in asking whether or not I should have to try hard because the answer doesn't matter. Trying hard will produce better outcomes for me and I want better outcomes for me.