Good morning, friends. Today, I'm changing the name of the Career Supplement to Coached! These emails are going to be the same bite-sized career mentorship you've come to enjoy — but with a slight change in branding that better reflects what we do. |
Today's email might come off a bit cynical, but bear with me — it's for good reason. We often chase things in our careers because it's what popular culture tells us we should want. As a result, we feel inadequate and question our self-worth. |
But what if I told you that the success stories and career milestones we're often sold are not the full picture? That's the focus of Mentor's Corner today. Plus, for those in the middle of a job search, I've included some strategic resume advice in the second half of the email. |
Finally, thank you to those who've been sharing my emails with their colleagues, clients and peers. It's fulfilling to see them reach more people. If you enjoy my emails, share them with your network or follow me on LinkedIn. If you're new here, join at Coached.com. |
Estimated read time: 5 minutes 4 seconds |
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📈 Mentor's Corner Insights put together by me or coaches who usually charge $750+/hour and mentor senior execs. One practical lesson a week that will make a measurable impact on your career, delivered right to you — for $0. |
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Beware of fake career signals: They're not what you think |
Picture it: |
It's 2014, and while you're waiting at the bus station, you buy a copy of Forbes magazine (as you do), and see, emblazoned on the cover, Elizabeth. |
Young, ambitious and driven… |
Elizabeth is the youngest self-made female billionaire in history. (In fact, she might even be the first.) |
And while you should be awed and #inspired by her success, you can't help but think of how terrible your own life is. |
After all, YOU haven't founded a revolutionary biotech company. |
YOU haven't earned billions of dollars. |
And you're not on the cover of Forbes. |
"Wow, do I suck?" we think. |
Then, because you really hate yourself, you open up the magazine and take a peek at the Forbes 30 under 30 list. |
Uh-oh. |
Here's a guy called Sam. |
He's not even 31, and he's already built a crypto exchange, bought a penthouse in the Bahamas, and has a net-worth of $26 billion dollars. |
How many crypto exchanges and Caribbean penthouses do YOU have? |
I mean, c'mon… |
What is wrong with you?! |
Years later, still wallowing in pity, you switch on the TV. |
The headlines blare: |
"THERANOS FOUNDER ELIZABETH HOLMES
SENTENCED TO 11 YEARS FOR DEFRAUDING INVESTORS!!!" |
Wait a sec. |
Elizabeth? |
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Another headline comes in: |
"SAM BANKMAN-FRIED UNDER FIRE FOR SCAMMING $10 BILLION." |
Wait a minute. |
Is that you, Sam? |
 | it turned out his business literally stole stealing billions from FTX's own users |
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Ok, ok. I admit - I'm trolling a bit here (and also getting the timeline wrong by quite a few years). |
But let's be real here. |
Elizabeth Holmes and SBF were both featured in the most prestigious lists and magazines on the planet. And it was very easy to look at their careers, and think, "Wow, I'm doing nothing with my life." |
Only, both of them turned out to be frauds… |
And the accolades and success they had weren't real. |
And when you scratch beneath the surface of a lot of "influencers" and "entrepreneurs", you'll find similar webs of lies. |
(Chris Bakke points out that Forbes 30 Under 30 has collectively raised $5.3 billion, but been arrested for frauds and scams of over $18.5 billion. 😬) |
And that brings me to this edition of Coached. |
Today, I'm going to argue that when you see uber-successful people on these high-falutin lists, your first instinct SHOULDN'T be "Wow. My life sucks," but, "Hmm, what's going on here?" |
Let's go. |
💳 They're pay to play |
Do some digging and you'll quickly realize: |
Shiny lists with prestigious accolades aren't organic. They're often just pay-to-play marketing opportunities. "Pay us X, and we'll put you on the list." That's how a lot of PR works. |
 | Sahil spills the beans on how some make it on the list |
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=> Most people you see in the spotlight are paying to be there. They're often "fake" signals. |
| | | | …by the way, if you use LinkedIn, go to my profile and hit the 'Follow' button. I share a mix of practical career strategy and mid-week motivation — stuff that makes it easy to keep your career on track.
Topics coming up this week: how to become un-fireable, why asking to "pick someone's brain" is the worst way to network (and what to do instead), and mistakes first-time managers make. See you there. | alright, let's get back to my essay… |
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🎥 The fame filter |
All media to a certain extent is like a filter. The people you see are the people who try the hardest to be seen. |
These "celebs," "influencers" and "thought leaders"... they're not necessarily the hardest workers, making the biggest impact, or the genuine trailblazers in their field. They're those willing to do whatever it takes (i.e for some, that might mean lie) to get seen. |
=> Being famous often just means you're good at getting noticed, not necessarily doing well in your career. |
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📸 The Instagram effect |
The majority of photos on popular Instagram accounts are edited. |
(And if you don't believe me, google "instagram vs reality pics" and see for yourself) |
Similarly, a lot of professional posts on LinkedIn are inflated too. |
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And yet… |
A lot of us are basing our self-worth based on how we stack up to these very "photos". |
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My point: Don't let fancy lists and edited photos trick you into thinking you're not doing well. The real stuff happens off-screen. |
💼 It's not always about "brand" names |
I see people make the mistake of thinking the only good places to work at are the Facebook's, McKinsey's, and Google's of the world. And if they don't get into those, they've failed. But, honestly, this idea is way off. |
Truth is, smaller, lesser-known companies offer much better chances to create real impact. |
Imagine two product managers. One makes a huge impact at a not-so-famous company. The other? Well, you've probably seen those "day in the life" videos where some big tech employees seem to spend more time playing ping pong than doing work. |
What really matters is the work you're doing and if you enjoy it. Having a ton of responsibility and ownership at a smaller company will teach you more and set you up for an incredible career more than a brand name could ever do. |
My final takeaway… |
With this edition of Coached, I'm not trying to be a "hater". |
Far from it. |
I just want to encourage you to think differently about your goals. |
Many people believe they need to be on some award list, have lots of followers, or work at a famous company to be successful. Or, they see others with these things and feel bad about themselves. |
But when you look behind the curtains, those things are 'fake' signals and aren't even what we should be going after. |
It's time to shift those goalposts. Instead of aiming for what looks good on the surface, focus on what feels right for you. What makes you proud of your work? What kind of impact do you want to have? When you start asking these questions, you might just find that your path leads you somewhere unexpected — and way more satisfying. |
Remember, it's your career, your rules. Make sure you're playing the game you actually want to play, not the one you think you're supposed to. |
If that struck a chord, please do either one of the following: |
Forward this email to people who might need it, and tell them about my emails. It takes me ~20 hours researching and writing each of these coaching emails. Sharing it takes just 10 seconds and helps me get my thoughts out there. Leave a review on my emails! I'd love to know what part resonated most and how I can make the next one better.
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Sharing/reviewing really does help get my writing out there (and makes it all worth it). Thank you! |
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🤣 |
 | The reality of what VR is gonna look like |
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🔎 Speed Up Your Job Search One actionable piece of advice to help you hack your job search. |
How to use the STAR method on your resume |
Read the full article here. |
You might have come across the STAR method, which stands for Situation, Task, Action, Result. It's usually known as an effective framework for answering interview questions. |
But it's also effective to use when writing your resume. I'll break down what it means, as well as give you an example of how to use it in practice. |
First, here's what STAR stands for... |
Situation: What was the context of the problem? Task: What was the task that needed to be solved? Action: What exactly did you do? Result: What was the outcome?
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When writing your resume's bullet points, you should aim to touch on as many as you can. It's clearer with a real example: |
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Let's break down how it uses the STAR approach: |
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Because bullet points need to be concise, the situation and task, or the action and result, might both be the same thing. More examples here. |
🎯 You should use a tool like Score My Resume to find out if your resume is effective enough. It'll analyze each line on your resume, plus the Magic Write feature will write bullet points for you that use the STAR method. |
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If you're new here, let's get the intros out of the way. |
I'm Rohan. Six years ago, I found myself frustrated with the sea of misleading career advice online, so I started Resume Worded. The goal was simple: provide guidance that actually works. |
But resumes were only the tip of the iceberg. There was a lot of clichéd, generic career advice out there. So, I started this email series, Coached. Each week, I talk about real career strategy, informed not only by my experiences but by my conversations with industry leaders, senior coaches who train CEOs, and people with way more experience than I have. |
Every email you receive is written by me, not a ghostwriter. I'm here, on the other end, reading your replies. |
Until next time, |
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Rohan @ Resume Worded |
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What'd you think of today's edition? |
👍 I loved it. |
🤔 Pretty average, step it up. |
🤢 You didn't bring enough value. |
Here's a review of last week's email — I appreciate it Jennifer! Leave one here. |
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P. S. To make sure your career never goes off the rails, don't miss my future emails. A simple way to make sure you get each email is: |
If you're using Gmail, hit the 3 dots at the top-right corner, and choose Move to -> Primary. Or drag this email to Primary if you're on your computer. If you're using Apple Mail, tap on our email address at the top of this email (next to "From:" on mobile) and click "Add to VIPs.".
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