i’ve got several deal stories where my role felt meaningful, but translating them into crisp, measurable outcomes feels tricky — i don’t want to overclaim or make numbers up. veterans in our community suggested practical strategies: triangulate with public filings, cite team-wide metrics and then state your slice, or use conservative estimates and label them as such. in my last rewrite a vet recommended saying “our analysis contributed to a 10% improvement in margin” instead of implying sole credit. how have others balanced honesty and impact? what methods do vets recommend for verifying or phrasing outcomes so interviewers trust the number?
don’t inflate. interviewers can smell ballpark bullshit — and they will test it with follow-ups. use conservative, defensible figures and be ready to explain how you derived them. saying “contributed to” is better than claiming sole credit. vets will ask for your calculation, so keep a backup line with how you got the number.
i footnoted numbers in my prep notes. during mock they asked and i explained my math. felt less fake. try that.
honesty and precision are not mutually exclusive. When I advise candidates on quantifying outcomes, I recommend three steps: 1) traceable sourcing: if the number exists in public filings or attachable materials, cite it; 2) attribution clarity: use phrasing such as “our team reduced X by 8% over three months; my modelling indicated a 3pp contribution from the pricing change I proposed”; 3) conservative rounding: avoid hyper-precision unless you can show derivation. Veterans appreciate transparency; explaining your assumptions is often more persuasive than a rounded number with no context. Practice stating both the number and the assumption behind it succinctly. Which of your stories has accessible supporting data?
this is fixable! cite sources when you can, be humble about your share, and keep the phrasing clear. it’s totally doable — good luck!
i once had a deal where i couldn’t find the exact margin lift. a vet told me to say “modelled impact of my change suggested ~5-8% uplift; team implementation drove the final 6%” — the hedging sounded honest and interviewers appreciated the nuance.
another tip: if you used a proxy (like industry consistent conversion rates), say so. vets prefer the honest detective work over made-up certainties.
one quick metric: if you can’t identify at least one input you personally changed that links to the outcome, don’t claim the full delta — attribute appropriately.