Your requirements map is done. Say its top row is SQL, so you open a new document and write down your evidence. If you’ve been learning through courses, the list might look like this:
- SQL for Data Analysis (online course, certificate)
- Advanced SQL (online course, certificate)
- Bootcamp: SQL module completed
That looks like a lot of SQL! Now picture a hiring manager who wants to know whether you can write a query that joins two tables and handles missing values. Which line answers that?
None of them, it turns out. Each line says that you studied SQL, but none lets the hiring manager see you use it. As Python Skills That Get You Hired puts it, employers care more about what you can build than about which courses you’ve completed. That’s the difference between a claim and proof, and it’s what this section is about.
Ask “How Would They Know?”
Proof is anything a reviewer can check without taking your word for it. A useful way to find it is to take the role of a skeptical hiring manager as you review each row of your requirements map and ask, “You say you know SQL. How would I know?”
