CareerSprout

3 Things I’d Avoid Saying if I Were Interviewing Today.

Agree?

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Each week I share systems to help you land $200k-$500k+ job offers in tech and ultimately level up your career.

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Thanks for reading 😀

Remind yourself of these 5 things if you get “rejected” after an interview.

1. Getting the interview is an achievement in itself - proof that your skills and experience standout. Be proud of that.

2. A single rejection doesn’t define your future. This was just one at-bat. You’ll get another.

3. You might not see it, but growth is happening. Each at-bat is helping you get even more prepared for the next one.

4. The job market might be tough, but so are you.

5. Rejection isn’t failure; it’s simply a prerequisite to success.

_____

You’ll get there. And when you do, you’ll look back and see how every rejection redirected and prepared you for your inevitable breakthrough.

Think of it as a detour not a dead end.

Keep going. Your future-self will be proud that you did.

I can’t wait to see your “I’m excited to announce” post!

Thanks for reading 😀

Final note to close out 2024.

Wishing you a prosperous and joyful 2025!

5 things I’d do immediately if I got laid off today (+ the next 5)
​
First 5:
​
- Go for a walk and remind myself of how far I’ve come
- Let myself experience all the feels and not try to resist them
- Detach my self-worth from an outcome that I couldn’t control
- Go 48 hrs w/o touching my resume, LinkedIn, or the job boards
- Spend time doing anything to get me to laugh (pets, movies, friends)
​
After 2 days, I’d move onto the next 5:
​
1. Identify
​
- Identify the 1 role I’m going to target (not multiple different ones)
- Identify what I’m looking for in a manager/company/culture/role
- Identify times when I thrived/didn’t thrive and know why
​
2. Resume
​
- Write a summary to highlight my strengths/experience using data
- Include a quantifiable achievements section for each role I was in
- Include a responsibilities section for each role I was in (no fluff)
- Make sure that they are relevant to the job I’m targeting next
- Remove all graphs, tables, pictures or self-assessments
​
Length:
1 page < 5 years
2 pages < 10 years
3 pages < 15+ years
​
3. LinkedIn
​
- Include a portfolio / website showcasing my experience (if applicable)
- Make sure my ‘About’ section matches the summary on my resume
- Create a professional profile picture (smiling is okay, too 😀)
- Turn on my ‘Open to Work’ badge and ignore the haters
- Use my profile header to have a quick blurb of my exp
​
4. Baskets Strategy:
​
I’d create 5 baskets (aka lists) of people I’m going to reach out to:
​
- Basket 1: Recruiters that reached out to me in the past 12 months
- Basket 2: Past colleagues, managers, alumni, friends and past clients
- Basket 3: Recruiters, Leaders, HM's who work at my target companies
- Basket 4: Join 3 user groups specific to my skillset and engage in there
- Basket 5: Search for anyone who posted that they are ‘hiring’ for my role
​
Here's the prompt I'd use to search:
​
hiring AND “my role” (i.e., hiring AND “project manager”) -> filter by post
​
4.5 Ex*****on of Basket Strategy
​
- I would split my time across each basket vs. putting all eggs in one
- I’d create tailored messages vs. creating a generic one-size fits all
- I'd tie in what I did/achieved to what they need in each message
​
5. Proactively Prep for Interviews
​
- Study 10-15 job descriptions of the roles I’m targeting
- Create STAR examples for each major responsibility
- Include what I did, how I did it, and what I achieved
- Practice my tone, my delivery, and my conciseness
- Prepare thoughtful/well-researched questions
​
Lastly:
​
- I’d focus on things that I control such as my activity & emotions
- I'd ignore all the things that I can’t, such as landing an offer
- I’d believe that results will come so long as I don’t stop
​
Above all else, I would not forget this:
​
Finding a job that pays me what I’m worth, at a company that I admire, doing what I enjoy (in a market like this), w/o doing the above would be an exception and not the norm.
​
Did I miss anything?

5 pieces of advice that shared with me that changed my perspective on life and work.

Some context:

10 years ago, I attended a conference where Nick delivered a keynote that left the entire audience in tears.

A few years later, I randomly saw him at the hotel lobby of a friends wedding. I hesitated going up to him because he was with his friends, but I really wanted to thank him for his keynote.

I’m really glad that I did. We ended up talking for 15 mins about life, work, and faith and below is what he shared with me (the last one always stuck with me).

I hope that his advice helps you as much as it has helped me:

[1] 𝐎𝐧 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 & 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞

Always remember that even on your worst day, you’re living someone else’s best. Count your blessings each day.

[2] 𝐎𝐧 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐔𝐩 𝐭𝐨 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐏𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥:

When life hands you lemons, you can make lemonade or you can build an empire of the best lemonade stands in the world. Choose the lemonade stands, you won’t regret it.

[3] 𝐎𝐧 𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐡:

I hope people see that if God can do something beautiful with my broken pieces, then God truly has a plan for each and everyone of us.

[4] 𝐎𝐧 𝐀𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞: 

It’s easy to feel like you can’t make a difference, or that you can’t change the world. But who said you need to change the world?

The truth is, you can easily change someone else’s life. And on most days that’s usually enough. Start with making life better for the people you care about and then worry about changing the world.

[5] 𝐎𝐧 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤 & 𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞:

I think money is a wonderful tool, but it should never be the goal. Focus on making an impact and the income will follow. Income without impact is the fastest route to an unfulfilled life.

[𝐁𝐨𝐧𝐮𝐬]: 𝐌𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞:

Take it from me. You’re never truly crippled until you lose hope.

_____

Very grateful for this chance encounter with you, Nick. 😀

Holi ‘24

I know a lot of entrepreneurs who are miserable and now looking for a 9-5.⁣
⁣
I know entrepreneurs who love running their own company.⁣
⁣
I know a lot of people who LOVE working for their employer because:⁣
⁣
- They are well paid⁣
- Doing meaningful work⁣
- Achieved work-life harmony⁣
- They are mentally stimulated⁣
- Their company is mission-driven⁣
- Their company has an awesome culture⁣
- Work for leaders who support their growth⁣
- Their product/service impacts millions of people⁣
⁣
I’ve been an employee and an a entrepreneur. I can say with every fiber of my being that you can be fulfilled or miserable in either scenario.⁣
⁣
Can you be let go as an employee at any point? Yes!⁣
⁣
You can also be your “own boss” and
- Work 75+ hours a week.
- Be lonely AF.
- Stress about where your next pay check is coming from.
- Not have (good) benefits.
- Do all the sales/marketing/accounting/delivery/etc. - - - And make less than you would in the corporate world, too.⁣
⁣
The moral of the story:⁣
⁣
- The grass isn’t greener on the other side.⁣
- It’s simply greener where you water it.⁣
- Do what makes you happy. ✌🏼

Avoid this 1 mistake if you’re trying to land more interviews.

(Most people don’t even know they are making it).

The mistake: Don’t too much of the wrong things.

Often times, especially in the job search, I can almost assure you that less is more.

Our client Nikki had been unemployed since Sept ’22.

▶ We began working together on Jan. 3, 2024
▶ On Feb 8th - she received a multi six-figure offer
_____

3 things that kept her stuck from 9/22 - 12/23

❌ Chasing too many different positions 
(Customer Success, Solutions Engineer, Technical AM)

❌ She created too many versions of her resume
(Hiring Managers weren’t clear on her value prop)

❌ She was spending too much time applying
(Didn’t have many interviews to show for it)
_____

3 minor tweaks that we made that led to:

- (8) interviews in 4 weeks
- (1) $215k+ offer

_____

 ✅ Helped her identify the 1 position she was going to target
(we used an exercise called the Career Audit for this)

- This 1 position lit her up
- 1 role. 1 resume.

✅ We re-wrote her resume to include relevant:

- Keywords
- Experiences
- Accomplishments

This is when she finally felt confident about:

- Her ‘tell me about herself’ response
- What value she was bringing to the table
- The STAR stories she was going to use in interviews

✅ We showed her our outreach strategy that allowed her to finally spend less time applying and focused more on reaching out to hiring managers, recruiters, and people in her immediate/extended network:

- 8 different interviews
- 3 were referrals from friends
- 4 were from outreach to the hiring manager or recruiter 
- 1 was from applying to the job online 
- 7 out of 8 of those companies she did NOT apply to

_____

I think it’s easy to think you have to do so much more of everything when your job search isn’t working, such as:

- Applying to more jobs
- Targeting more positions
- Creating more resumes

Nikki thought the same, but quickly realized that less is more.

Often times after taking on a new client, I find that most people’s job search strategy only requires a few tweaks and I’m willing to bet that you (like Nikki) are a lot closer than you think.

You def got this!

In the dating world, they say, ‘there is plenty of 🐠 in the sea.’⁣⁣
⁣⁣
In sales they say, every “no” gets you closer to a “yes”⁣⁣
⁣⁣
The point is: Move on

If you feel like you’re not being valued by your employer
⁣⁣
- Why fight to get the attention of someone who doesn’t appreciate you?⁣⁣
⁣- Why keeping trying to convince someone who is clearly taking you for granted?
⁣⁣
I’ve talked to hundreds of people who’ve said:
⁣
“I’m sick and tired of being passed up for a promotion.” ⁣

or ⁣

“I love my employer, but I know I can get more out there.”⁣⁣
⁣⁣
Many of them have spent months trying to convince their employer to give them a raise/promotion.

Some have spent years!⁣⁣
⁣⁣
Years??? No thanks! ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
My question to them, “why are you still working for them?”⁣⁣
⁣⁣
I get it. Sometimes it’s tough to leave a really good thing. ⁣
⁣
And if it is truly THAT good - the perks, culture, leadership, etc., outweigh the low pay - then stay. ⁣
⁣
But if it’s not THAT good then at some point you owe it to yourself to ask:

What is it costing you to stay put?
⁣⁣
🔑 Each day you’re not in the position you deserve to be in, is another day that you pass up gaining more experience, making a bigger impact, and increasing your value. ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
The more you stay stagnant now, the harder it will be to move up later.
⁣⁣
💡Do yourself a favor, and test the market every now and then.
💡Go interview with a few companies every year or two. ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
You might find a better opportunity. You might not.
But at least you tried.

Being proactive > leaving your career up to chance. ⁣
⁣
If you’re going to spend 8 to 12 hours of your day working for a company that will lay you off the second things hits the fan, then you owe it to yourself to have options.
——

P.S. Here’s a pic of my client Amber who got tired of being passed up for promotions. Her (old) employer took her for granted. Google (her new employer) did not.

If you’re ready to level up your career, book a call with me (link in bio) and let’s talk.

I have 3 spots opening up in my coaching program very soon.

Let’s normalize not asking candidates to explain a gap on their resume.

I’ll speak on their behalf and say it’s for one of the following reasons:

- Laid off or let go
- Had to care of a loved one
- Tried to start a side their own business
- Took time to be a stay-at-home-parent
- Had to deal with a personal or medical issue
- Maybe they were overworked and wanted time to recharge

Their reason is usually personal/sensitive/private and when you ask them to explain it, it usually puts them in a position where they feel they need to justify it.

They don’t.

1. Their gap. Their business.
2. It doesn’t change their value either way.
3. In reality, it has nothing to do with their capabilities.

It might be a better use of your time to screen for:

- Are they humble
- Are they coachable
- Are they a team player
- Are they a good technical fit
- Do they compliment your culture
- Can they help you solve your problem(s)

You know.. the things that ‘actually’ matter.

Hiring Manager: “Well we need to know if they committed any sort of criminal activity.”

Me: Got it. Run a background check. Problem solved.

That’s it for today. That’s the post. ✌

(📸 cred: Jason Adam Katzenstein )

3 Ways we Helped Her Land a $300k+ Sr. Program Manager Offer in 75 Days at a Fortune 500 tech company.

Before working with us, Sally (that’s her alias):

- Spent 6 months searching
- 350+ apps sent out
- 3 interviews
- 0 job offers

But was making 3 crucial mistakes.

After we began working together + fixed her 3 mistakes:

- 6 Interviews
- 2 offers in under 75 days
One at $200k/the other at $300k

After Sally began working with us, we dug into her situation and found 3 areas that were keeping her stuck in her job search (they’ll probably sound familiar to you):

1: Varied experience led to lack of clarity

→ Her past experience: Customer Success, Project Management & People Ops
→ All of this mixed experience made her unclear about what to apply for next
→ As a result, she was applying for all of them … at once (big no no)
↳ Going after more than 1 position = death by a 1000 applications

2: Struggled to market herself well

→ She kept writing a new resume for each role she applied to
→ Problem with this? On LinkedIn, she could only be one person 
→ Employers told her she was a jack-of-all trades and master of none
↳ The higher up you try to go, the more a company/HM wants a specialist.

3: Couldn’t “sell” during interviews

→ As a result, she couldn’t create a clear value-proposition in her interviews 
→ She wasn’t sure which experiences/strengths/achievements to discuss
→ She’d lose out on offers to people who marketed themselves better
 ↳ Relevant & Confidently told STAR stories lead to offers

The strategy below breaks down the 3 things we did that helped her land 2 offers in 75 days, one of which increased her salary by 58% and take her over $300k+

______

If you’re in tech and find yourself in a similar situation, and want to learn how to implement these strategies,
then use the link in my bio to book a free private 45-mins call with me.

(Booking 1 week out)

See you soon 😀