Many applicants were qualified. One honest thing tipped the decision.
"What made the client pick you and not someone else?"
The question worth a clear answer
The short answer: when I look back, I am fairly sure it was that I talked about my genuine interest in AI and ChatGPT, and it matched a client who was technology-forward. The qualifications were probably similar across applicants. The fit was not.
It was not one thing in isolation. I had researched the client, prepared my answers, and gone the extra mile on the trial. But the moment I point to as the difference is the AI conversation, because it showed I lived in their world and loved to learn. That is what a tie-breaker looks like: a true thing about you that fits the client exactly.
You do not win by being the most qualified. You win by being the best fit. Find the true thing about you that matches this client, and lead with it. For a tech-forward client, a real interest in AI is often that thing.
Hold steady, BFF Team. We keep going together.
– Lala