A few weeks before graduating from VA Tech, my son Tom saw a job opening at NASA’s Mission Control at Johnson Space Center in Houston.

His dream job.

He submitted his resume and – YAY! – got an interview.

We role-played and I asked how he was going to differentiate himself from the other highly-qualified candidates.

We searched for ONE THING others couldn’t claim that would give decision-makers a reason to pick him.

We found it when Tom told me, “Well, my collegiate team won an international competition for our plan on how to put men on Mars.”

I told Tom, “That’s great. When the interviewer asks, ‘We have a lot of people applying for this job, why should we hire you?” share that.”

Guess what Tom said? “But Mom, that would be bragging.”

“It’s not bragging if you’ve done it. Plus, this is in alignment with their priorities.

Sharing what’s rare – and introducing a relevant achievement that no one else can claim – could be a career-maker or career-breaker.“

Guess who got the job? Guess who’s living his dream career because he said something that earned their attention and helped him pop out of his pack?

That’s right. Tom.