David Fano’s Post

One of the best ways to feel in the driver's seat during your job search: Choosing closure on your own terms. You don't have to wait for a company to get back to you. You can decide whether or not you you're still interested in the role. It's like going on a date with someone that you're not super excited about and saying, "If they reach out, I'd see them again, but I'm not going to initiate." That's reactive—not on your terms. If you're not excited to go out with that person again, actively end it. The same goes for your job search. You can close a job and move it to the "Archived" stage of your Teal Job Tracker any time you want: → If you haven't heard back in 3-4 weeks and want to move on → If the opportunity no longer sits right with you → If the job doesn't excite you You don't need permission from anyone else to have closure—and you'll be amazed at how much brain space it opens up.

3 things you can't control about the job search: ↳ Whether you hear back from a recruiter about your resume ↳ What day of the week you hear back about a job ↳ What time of day you get a rejection email 3 things you CAN control: ✔️When you follow up (use Teal to track & automate reminders) ✔️Your email notifications (mute them on nights/weekends if you want) ✔️Email overwhelm (create a separate email address just for your job search) There's no "right" time for a recruiter or company to send a rejection email—but you have control over when you receive the information. Is it frustrating to get a 6am email? A 10pm email? A Sunday email? Maybe. But just think: How many times have you emailed someone outside business hours or in a different time zone? In this world of async work, there's an "always-on" approach—so generally we assume best intent and know that people will read their emails when they can. Take the time to set up a process that's right for you so you're wasting extra energy on the things you can't control. For past tips on how to feel more in control of your career, head to the comments.

Salary range: $100,000 – $720,000. We've all seen the JDs with those massive ranges that do little to actually close the pay gap or serve job seekers on the salary transparency front. Sure, it's frustrating and worth speaking up about to effect change—but that doesn't really empower you as a job seeker. What does: Setting your own salary range and expectations, whether you're actively or passively job searching. Easier said than done, but here's what I recommend: 1. Do your research. I'll link in the comments to our go-to sites for salary research. Many companies have WAY more market research at their disposal than the average job seeker does, but you can still be as prepared as possible. 2. Set your range. In your Teal home, set your target salary range—or at least a minimum. (Why cap yourself?) That way, when you go to save a job with the Teal Chrome Extension, you'll see upfront whether or not the salary range aligns with your goals. (Red = below your target.) 3. Compare the roles you're interested in and identify patterns. Salary can vary based on a ton of factors: company size and stage, industry, location, seniority, specialization, demand for your skillset... But go ahead and bookmark at least 10 jobs in your Teal Job Tracker and see what the median salaries look like. That can give you a good benchmark to use as a starting place. Just because companies list unrealistic salary ranges doesn't mean you have to. (Screenshots of what that looks like in Teal 👇)

Want to feel more empowered in your job search? Reframe the process like this.👇 Beyond the kind words about what we're building at Teal (thank you, Patrick!) there's a powerful takeaway in Patrick Smith's recent LinkedIn post: "The job interview process isn't just an opportunity to find a job. It's a chance to meet people, engage, and open new doors for yourself... maybe not now, but later. Treat it as such." THAT is the attitude that can help you reframe the interview process and feel more in the driver's seat of your search. So instead of: 🚫 "This interview is make or break—and ultimately the company's decision." 🚫 "Ugh, I have to talk to 4 people and that's a waste of time." 🚫 "This job search is JUST about landing my next role." What if you try these? ✅ "This is a way to expand my network and connect with new people." ✅ "This process is about building my long-term personal brand." ✅ "Each interview I have teaches me something new." From there, you're making decisions from a place of what's right for YOU—a place of empowerment. And there's no better place to operate from than one of agency. ------------- Every day this week I'm sharing tips for how to feel in control of your career and more empowered in your job search. Follow along for more. (Link to yesterday's post is in the comments.)

In this current market, it can feel like landing a job is out of your hands: → Ongoing layoffs, especially in tech → Competing with 100s of other applicants → Feeling like companies have all the leverage right now But that's exactly when it's time to re-claim control of your career and re-frame your perspective. You're not the victim—you're the main character in your story. And you have the exact skills and tools you need to approach your search proactively, not reactively. Every day this week I'll share a hack for how to take control of your career and feel more empowered in your job search. Have other tips you'd add? Let me know in the comments. 💡 Today's tip: Get clear on your goals—and your non-negotiables. When you look at a job description, you usually see a list of "requirements" or "must-haves." That's the company telling you exactly what they're looking for in a candidate—and you can make your own list of requirements for a new role to use as a north star. Maybe it looks something like: → Autonomy in the work I do day to day → A minimum salary of $200K/year (not including benefits) → A hybrid or remote position that allows for a flexible work schedule → A mission-driven Series C–E startup in the tech or healthcare space → The ability to be both an IC and a people manager (ideally small team) → A company that values transparency in leadership and who invests in employees' growth Are you guaranteed to check every single box on that list? Not necessarily. But it can give you a roadmap so ultimately you can make the call about whether or not an opportunity is worth a compromise.

Employees' personal brands can be an asset to your company—not a liability. If teams are empowered to be their authentic selves on social media and are willing to post about your company, product, business, tools, etc. in an authentic way that reflects them, they're doing YOU (as the company) a favor. By lending credibility and relatability with their personal brand, they're likely reaching audiences that your brand may not have access to otherwise. Of course, like most things, it's not a clear-cut "one-size-fits-all" answer, and some industries are more sensitive than others, but generally speaking, it feels like an opportunity to shift the narrative and encourage employees to build their personal brands. (At Teal, we always remind people that's the thing that goes with you from job to job—it's the asset you control.) But not all companies see it that way. I was struck by this example from Miri (@mirithesiren on TikTok), a talented content creator and Chick-fil-A employee who's been reviewing her employee meal almost daily since January. In the past 4 months, she's gotten up to 3.4M views on certain videos, gained 50k+ followers, and has used her platform to connect with her community and customers, building upon organic love of the brand to drive even more engagement and sales. But corporate asked her to stop creating content as it goes against their employee handbook and aren't willing to collaborate at this time. She handled the news with such maturity and understanding the business decision—sharing the video in the comments below. But a good reminder that brand isn't always built from the top through corporate. There's an opportunity to be had when you empower your employees to share their authentic experiences. What's your take on this?

Doing some research to improve the user experience for Teal. Think back on the last 12 months. What prompted you to update your resume?

The # 1 resume mistake I see time and time again: listing job responsibilities without results. It's like saying, "I did my job," without the "so what." Anyone can list the exact same responsibilities on their resume—but it's the "so what" that sets you apart. You can stand out from the competition by asking yourself, "What was the bigger impact that it had on the business?" and making that clear. You want your resume to signal to the company you're applying for, "Hey, look at the impact I've had in my past roles. I can bring these skills to the table and come do that for your company, too." So how do you do that? Our go-to formula at Teal: Action Verb + Task + Metric + [Strategy Optional] = Outcome 💡 Example: "Led a marketing team (action verb + task) to increase online engagement by 40% (metric) through a targeted social media campaign (strategy), resulting in a 15% increase in sales (outcome)." Link in the comments for 13 templates for listing job duties on your resume effectively. #resume #resumeadvice #resumetips #jobsearch #careergrowth

❌ "What if my job didn't have metrics?" ❌ "My last role didn't involve anything measurable." ❌ "I don't have access to the data associated with my last role." We hear these concerns from job seekers at least 5x/week at Teal. But 9 times out of 10, you can find a way to quantify *something* about your past job—even without direct access to the data. (And it doesn't involve lying or making up numbers.) Here's a step-by-step breakdown of how to quantify your work experience and add metrics to your resume. 1️⃣ Think back on your job description and responsibilities. Questions to ask yourself: ↳ What were you hired to do? ↳ What tasks were you accountable for? ↳ What problem was your role meant to solve? Write these down for each job you've held. (Your Teal Resume Builder is a great place for this—don't worry about things being "perfect." Just get them down on paper.) 2️⃣ Reflect on your accomplishments. For each job, think about what you accomplished: ↳ Did you exceed sales targets? ↳ Did you improve a process? ↳ Did you manage a team that consistently outperformed others? Write down these potential accomplishments next to your responsibilities. 3️⃣ Identify the impact of your work. Reflect on the ripple effect of your accomplishments. Ask yourself, "So what?" or "What was the impact of this on the business?" For example: ↳ Did your cost-saving strategy enable other projects to be funded? ↳ Did your improved process save employees time each day? ↳ Did the content you created bring in new users to the website? 4️⃣ Find the numbers. If you're in sales or marketing, this might be easier—but for other job families, you might have to think creatively. ↳ If you managed a project, consider the budget, timeline, or number of people. ↳ If you implemented a new process, calculate the time saved or efficiency gained. For example, imagine you were the team lead on a project, and you reduced project meetings from 3 hours/week to 1 hour/week. While you can quantify the time saved, you can also roughly calculate how much money was saved: 👉 Your team has five people 👉 You saved two hours per week, per employee 👉 This equates to saving 104 hours per year in company time 👉 If each colleague earns $30/hour, you can quickly run the math 👉 One hour for five employees costs the company $150 👉 Over the course of the year, your team saved $15,600 Still struggling to find numbers? Try asking yourself: ↳ How many? ↳ How often? ↳ In what timeframe? 5️⃣ Write your quantified achievements With your metrics in hand, write out each achievement in a clear, concise way. Start with an action verb, clearly state your accomplishment, and end with the quantified impact. Remember to keep it relevant—the most impressive numbers relate directly to the job you're applying for. I'll link in the comments to a YouTube video and article that break this down even further. What other advice would you add? #resume #resumetips

This is the # 1 thing you should do if you're expecting an offer from a company: Keep applying to other roles. Keep moving. Keep your options open. It can feel uncomfortable—like you owe loyalty to the company you're in the final round for. But at the end of the day, you are a business. Run your job search like one. Do not stop moving until everything is signed and you've officially started in your new role. Companies keep candidates on the back burner regularly (unfortunately). You can do the same. Reminder that you don't owe them loyalty prematurely. (Or ever—but that's for another post.)