--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Once people decide they want you to do…" description: "\"“Once people decide they want you to do something, they don’t really care what your qualifications are. However you describe yourself becomes proof tha..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c94/chuck-klosterman-804_candidate_once-people-decide-they-want-you-to-do-s_1465398.jpg" --- # Once people decide they want you to do something, they… ![“Once people decide they want you to do something, they don’t really care what your qualifications are. However you describe yourself becomes proof that you’re the ideal candidate. This is true in journalism, and in life.” quote by Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c94/chuck-klosterman-804_candidate_once-people-decide-they-want-you-to-do-s_1465398.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c94/chuck-klosterman-804_candidate_once-people-decide-they-want-you-to-do-s_1465398.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c94/chuck-klosterman-804_candidate_once-people-decide-they-want-you-to-do-s_1465398.jpg) > ““Once people decide they want you to do something, they don’t really care what your qualifications are. However you describe yourself becomes proof that you’re the ideal candidate. This is true in journalism, and in life.”” [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People often value perceived fit over actual credentials, so self‑presentation can outweigh experience. **In simple terms:** Perception can beat qualifications. Key Takeaway Craft your narrative wisely. Themes image self‑presentation career journalism Mood anxious confident Type advice observational When to use this quote - Job interviews - networking events - social media profiles - pitching ideas Key Concepts Identity signaling theory authenticity Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance authenticity with self‑promotion? - When does image become deception? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on image can lead to misrepresentation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Candidate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/candidate/) [Describe yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/describe-yourself/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [Perfect is not on the menu. Nobody is going to be your ideal candidate. You can't dream somebody up out of nothing that's going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-hoover/perfect-is-not-on-the-menu-nobody-is-going-to-be-your-ideal-candidate/) [Margaret Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-hoover/) > [What happens is I speak to people outside of my circle of friends and they have already formed an opinion of me based on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robbie-williams/what-happens-is-i-speak-to-people-outside-of-my-circle-of-friends-and/) [Robbie Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robbie-williams/) > [I had discovered journalism to be my life's ambition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-cronkite/i-had-discovered-journalism-to-be-my-life-s-ambition/) [Walter Cronkite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-cronkite/) > [Relentless is not the sexiest word to describe yourself. But I will say I am resilient. I don't wound easily.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-scanlon/relentless-is-not-the-sexiest-word-to-describe-yourself-but-i-will/) [Angela Scanlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-scanlon/) > [I just go for what makes me feel good. Especially in 2011, it's so easy to sound like a dickhead when describing yourself because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-tucker/i-just-go-for-what-makes-me-feel-good-especially-in-2011-it-s-so-easy/) [Mike Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-tucker/) > [“Frozen, I stood staring at him like he was a vision or something. His hair was still damp, and a few droplets glistened on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-ashley/frozen-i-stood-staring-at-him-like-he-was-a-vision-or-something-his/) [Katie Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-ashley/) > [“in the dark you have to describe yourself. In the daylight other people describe you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fynn/in-the-dark-you-have-to-describe-yourself-in-the-daylight-other/) [Fynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fynn/) > [“If you could pick only one word to describe yourself, what would it be?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-maxwell/if-you-could-pick-only-one-word-to-describe-yourself-what-would-it-be/) [John C. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-maxwell/) > [If you celebrate your differentness, the world will, too. It believes exactly what you tell it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-moran/if-you-celebrate-your-differentness-the-world-will-too-it-believes-2/) [Victoria Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-moran/) > [We have a game we play when we’re waiting for tables in restaurants, where you have to write the five things that describe yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-ephron/we-have-a-game-we-play-when-we-re-waiting-for-tables-in-restaurants/) [Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-ephron/) > [If you celebrate your differentness, the world will, too. It believes exactly what you tell it-through the words you use to describe yourself, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-moran/if-you-celebrate-your-differentness-the-world-will-too-it-believes/) [Victoria Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-moran/) > [“The first step in overcoming your problem is to acknowledge that what you call shyness is anxiety, a very specific kind of anxiety. As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-berent/the-first-step-in-overcoming-your-problem-is-to-acknowledge-that-what/) [Jonathan Berent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-berent/) > [“If you describe yourself as "Atheist," some people will say, "Don't you mean 'Agnostic'?" I have to reply that I really do mean Atheist.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/if-you-describe-yourself-as-atheist-some-people-will-say-don-t-you/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [If someone was like, 'Describe yourself in one word,' I would never say, 'Handsome.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-harding/if-someone-was-like-describe-yourself-in-one-word-i-would-never-say/) [Ian Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-harding/) > [Start by writing down ten positive words to describe yourself. Write them on a card - the size of a business card will do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-edmonds/start-by-writing-down-ten-positive-words-to-describe-yourself-write/) [Noel Edmonds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-edmonds/) ## More by Chuck Klosterman > [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [“I suppose we'll never know what really happened in that room, though he did tell police, "I did it because I'm a dirty dog."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/i-suppose-we-ll-never-know-what-really-happened-in-that-room-though/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [Do you know people who insist they like 'all kinds of music'? That actually means they like no kinds of music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/do-you-know-people-who-insist-they-like-all-kinds-of-music-that/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [Let's say Twitter existed during the Civil War. We would have a better understanding of people in the Confederacy who were against slavery, people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/let-s-say-twitter-existed-during-the-civil-war-we-would-have-a-better/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [All my friends are rock critics, so we talk about rock criticism a lot. Because of that, in order to be part of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/all-my-friends-are-rock-critics-so-we-talk-about-rock-criticism-a-lot/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [If rain is God crying, I think God is drunk and his girlfriend just slept with Zeus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/if-rain-is-god-crying-i-think-god-is-drunk-and-his-girlfriend-just/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [But no matter how many times we re-rank the presidents, in another 200 years, the top presidents will still be Washington and Lincoln and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/but-no-matter-how-many-times-we-re-rank-the-presidents-in-another-200/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [Different critics go to different lengths to disagree with that sentiment, but ultimately, they're the person experiencing this art, and whatever judgment or taste…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/different-critics-go-to-different-lengths-to-disagree-with-that/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [First, you must love yourself. And if you do that convincingly enough, others will love you too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/first-you-must-love-yourself-and-if-you-do-that-convincingly-enough/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [Anyone who claims to be good at lying is obviously bad at lying. Thus - as a writer myself - I cannot comment on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/anyone-who-claims-to-be-good-at-lying-is-obviously-bad-at-lying-thus/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [“I care about strangers when they're abstractions but feel almost nothing when they are literally in front of me. They seem like unnamed characters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/i-care-about-strangers-when-they-re-abstractions-but-feel-almost/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [“Toby Keith writes songs like 1993's "Should've Been a Cowboy," and what's compelling is that you can't deconstruct its message. "Should've Been a Cowboy"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/toby-keith-writes-songs-like-1993-s-should-ve-been-a-cowboy-and-what/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [Some say that time is like water that flows around us (like a stone in the river) and some say we flow with time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/some-say-that-time-is-like-water-that-flows-around-us-like-a-stone-in/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [ \[On political correctness:\] Any intended message mattered less than the received message, and every received message could be interpreted in whatever way the receiver… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/on-political-correctness-any-intended-message-mattered-less-than-the/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [In baseball and sex, cliches are usually true: pitching beats hitting, and people always want to be loved by anyone who doesn't seem to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/in-baseball-and-sex-cliches-are-usually-true-pitching-beats-hitting/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) [Explore all 364 Chuck Klosterman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) ## More Candidate quotes > [I know of not one Republican candidate that would not appear publicly with Mitt Romney and I know many Democrats that don't even want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-sessions/i-know-of-not-one-republican-candidate-that-would-not-appear-publicly/) [Pete Sessions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-sessions/) > [As a registered Democrat, I am praying for a credible presidential candidate to emerge from the younger tier of politicians in their late 40s.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/as-a-registered-democrat-i-am-praying-for-a-credible-presidential/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [Obama did organize a great large number of people and many enthusiastic people, what's called in the press 'Obama's Army.' But the army is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/obama-did-organize-a-great-large-number-of-people-and-many/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Candidate Trump held out his hand to Vladimir Putin. He rejected further U.S. intervention in Syria other than to smash ISIS.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/candidate-trump-held-out-his-hand-to-vladimir-putin-he-rejected/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [You should not be misled about the so-called single opposition candidate. There are so many of them now that you will lack the fingers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-lukashenko/you-should-not-be-misled-about-the-so-called-single-opposition/) [Alexander Lukashenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-lukashenko/) > [I want to say that I cannot be intimidated or stopped. In order to put an end to various attempts to get rid of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vitali-klitschko/i-want-to-say-that-i-cannot-be-intimidated-or-stopped-in-order-to-put/) [Vitali Klitschko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vitali-klitschko/) > [Today, I'm a candidate for the office of president of the United States of America. My kids can't believe I just said that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-huntsman-jr/today-i-m-a-candidate-for-the-office-of-president-of-the-united/) [Jon Huntsman, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-huntsman-jr/) > [I think Trump is a very interesting candidate in this sense: I think he has cross-party appeal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/i-think-trump-is-a-very-interesting-candidate-in-this-sense-i-think/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [I do think that sometimes, especially coming into this going straight from activism to being a candidate or to being a person who potentially,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/i-do-think-that-sometimes-especially-coming-into-this-going-straight/) [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/) > [Even though I don't agree with Donald Trump on everything, and I think there may be certain things or statements of his that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-zeldin/even-though-i-don-t-agree-with-donald-trump-on-everything-and-i-think/) [Lee Zeldin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-zeldin/) > [I'm not quite certain how you can force a candidate to stick by the rules.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwen-ifill/i-m-not-quite-certain-how-you-can-force-a-candidate-to-stick-by-the/) [Gwen Ifill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwen-ifill/) > [I am not a fan of Mitt Romney, but I admit that he is, politically speaking, a good candidate for president. He has no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-schlossberg/i-am-not-a-fan-of-mitt-romney-but-i-admit-that-he-is-politically/) [Jack Schlossberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-schlossberg/) > [I am aware of the responsibility I am taking on as the chancellor. Things have developed very quickly for me in recent years, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-kurz/i-am-aware-of-the-responsibility-i-am-taking-on-as-the-chancellor/) [Sebastian Kurz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-kurz/) > [For people to even think that I'd be considered or a good candidate for a supporting actress nomination is mind blowing to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naya-rivera/for-people-to-even-think-that-i-d-be-considered-or-a-good-candidate/) [Naya Rivera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naya-rivera/) > [A candidate's faith is not the only consideration, but should be a major consideration in electing the president of the United States.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jeffress/a-candidate-s-faith-is-not-the-only-consideration-but-should-be-a/) [Robert Jeffress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jeffress/) [Browse all 529 Candidate quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/candidate/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Once people decide they want you to do something, they don’t really care what your qualifications are. 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