Show Impact, Not Work

In interviews, demonstrate how your work made a difference—not just what you did

Ethan Evans
Taking control of your career | Ethan Evans (Amazon)

Show Impact, Not Work

"People talk about what they have done but not why it mattered. They don't talk about the impact... Someone who has an impact is more of a leader." - Ethan Evans

What It Is

Show Impact, Not Work is an interviewing framework that distinguishes candidates who merely describe tasks from candidates who demonstrate business value. Having interviewed over 2,500 people, Evans observed that the most common mistake—especially at higher levels—is focusing on activities rather than outcomes.

Hiring managers aren't looking for someone to "just do work." They're hiring because they have a problem or need. Candidates who can show they understand how to solve business problems—not just complete tasks—signal leadership capability regardless of their formal title.

The framework reflects a deeper truth about careers: your value isn't measured by how hard you worked or how much you did, but by what difference it made.

How It Works

What "Doing Work" Sounds Like:

  • "I managed a team of 12 engineers"
  • "I launched 5 features last quarter"
  • "I created a new onboarding process"
  • "I worked on the checkout flow"
  • "I put in 60-hour weeks on this project"

What "Showing Impact" Sounds Like:

  • "I managed a team of 12 engineers who reduced our page load time by 40%, which increased conversion by $2M/year"
  • "I launched 5 features that increased user retention by 15% in our first-time user segment"
  • "I created a new onboarding process that reduced time-to-productivity from 6 weeks to 3 weeks"
  • "I redesigned the checkout flow and reduced cart abandonment by 8%"
  • "I identified an opportunity to automate our reporting, saving the team 20 hours/week"

The difference: connecting your activities to business outcomes, customer improvements, or organizational value.

How to Apply It

Before the Interview:

  1. For each role/project you'll discuss, write down:
    • What you did (the work)
    • Why it mattered (the impact)
    • How you would quantify the outcome
  2. Practice saying "which resulted in..." or "this mattered because..." after every description
  3. If you don't have metrics, use qualitative impact: "The VP of Sales told me this was the most useful dashboard she'd ever had"

During the Interview:

  1. Lead with context about the problem or need
  2. Describe your actions briefly
  3. Spend most of your time on the impact and outcome
  4. Use concrete numbers when possible

Structure to Follow:

  • Situation: What problem existed?
  • Action: What did you do? (keep this brief)
  • Impact: What changed as a result? (emphasize this)

If You Don't Have Clear Metrics:

  • Use qualitative impact: "The team was able to ship twice as fast after this"
  • Use adoption metrics: "Within 3 months, every team in the org was using this process"
  • Use stakeholder feedback: "The CEO specifically called this out in the all-hands"
  • Use counterfactual reasoning: "Without this, we would have missed our Q3 launch"

When to Use It

  • In any job interview at any level
  • When preparing for performance reviews
  • When writing self-evaluations or promotion packets
  • When updating your resume or LinkedIn profile
  • When explaining your work to leadership
  • When making the case for why you should get a project or opportunity

Source

  • Guest: Ethan Evans
  • Episode: "Taking control of your career | Ethan Evans (Amazon)"
  • Key Discussion: (00:36:33) - Standing out in interviews
  • YouTube: Watch on YouTube

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