Need help with expressions like "It is going to be like this..."

Question

Consider this expression:

If you don't make an effort for this, It is going to be very difficult

Instead of the expression "it is going be difficult", I want to elaborate what the repercussions will be:

If you don't make an effort for this, it is going like this, that even if you have a decent profile and resume, no one will consider you.

The second sounds wrong to me. Specifically, the like this that part sounds odd to me. Can anyone help with this expression and point out what the correct version is?

Answer 1

All that it is going to be... does is spell out the consequences of not making an effort: it's going to be very difficult.

So, you just need to spell out different consequences:

If you don't make an effort for this, no-one will consider you.

You can add your parenthetical clause in too:

If you don't make an effort for this, even if you have a decent profile and resume, no-one will consider you.

Answer 2

There are two unidiomatic expressions here.

1. With expressions like try, attempt, make an effort, for is generally used to introduce the beneficiary of the effort: Make this effort for your children. Better uses would be make an effort to VERB or make an effort to achieve this. It may even be that you don't need the phrase at all:

   If you don't make this effort, ...

2. English has lots of ways of saying the result will be, but it is going like this is not one of them. Here are some possibilities:

   • ..., what will happen is ...
   • ..., the consequence will be ...
   • ..., you will find that ...

   But the simplest way in this particular case is to skip that phrase altogether and go right to the result:

   If you don't make this effort, no one will consider you, even if you have a decent profile and resume.