There's something subtle most people never even consider—but it shapes your career (and life) far more than you realize. I'll break down exactly what it is and how to fix it in today's Mentor's Corner.
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This is Coached, my weekly career notes where I share the tiny % of ideas that actually work in real careers. It takes 5 minutes to read, but could speed up your career by years. I write this myself and I read your replies.
—Rohan Mahtani (my LinkedIn). If you were forwarded this, get the next one here.
The 20-second Career tactic
I've coached people for a decade. Here's one idea that moves the needle. I teach it in 20 seconds.
Wait until you're less heated
A good rule for handling tense or frustrating situations at work is to always give yourself some breathing room before responding. When something triggers you - like getting unfair criticism in a meeting or seeing a rude email - just wait 24 hours before taking action. I know it’s tempting to fire off an angry reply, but often that’s your emotional brain in the heat of the moment.
Waiting it out, even a few hours, lets your logical side kick back in and you probably will come up with a much better response (and yes, I definitely learned this the hard way lol)
You spend ~80,000 hours of your life working. Spend 20 minutes checking if you’re doing it right. Get a clear breakdown of your strengths, blind spots, and the specific roles you are naturally built for.
People who've taken it keep saying things like "this explained everything" and "I wish I had this years ago." It'll genuinely help you make better career moves.
Mentor's Corner
Insights put together by me. One practical lesson a week that will make a measurable impact on your career, delivered right to you — for $0.
How approachable are YOU?
A huge part of your career (and life, honestly) depends on random conversations:
Airbnb started because after a design class, Joe Gebbia went up to speak to Brian Chesky, who became his co-founder.
A friend of mine struck up a conversation with someone at a mutual friend’s birthday party — they now have two kids.
Or even personally: One of my closest friends and collaborators today is someone I randomly started talking to at a coffee shop.
We often emphasize "getting after it" — don't be shy, chase down opportunities, put yourself out there. And that's important.
But there's another side to this that's criminally underrated:
How approachable you seem to others.
Because no matter how driven or proactive you are, many life-changing conversations only happen if people feel comfortable walking up and talking TO YOU.
Be honest:
On a scale of 1-10, how comfortable is it to strike up a conversation with you?
If you’re below a 3?
You’re probably nuking your chances of those random lucky interactions that could take you places, kinda like…
🤔 My 3/10 boss
An old boss I had was a really smart guy. He was really good at what he did. Nice guy when you got to know him.
But, he always looked angry.
So, nobody really spoke to the guy. People would literally say later: "I was too scared to ask him questions" or “I don’t think he’d be open to the idea”.
Think about that:
How many conversations, opportunities & relationships did his “unapproachability” cost him over his 40-year career?
100?
1,000?
10,000?
So remember…
🤔 Your scowl isn’t cheap
Unapproachability doesn’t show up as one big failure. It’s more a hidden tax. For example, someone sees you and briefly thinks of inviting you into a promising conversation…but holds back because you seem tense or preoccupied.
Now, obviously, I'm not suggesting you should invite endless interruptions or meaningless chats into your day. Too approachable can also become a distraction.
But there’s a sweet spot, especially if you’re at one extreme. Here’s how to get there.
😑 Revamp your resting face
In pop culture, there’s the term “Resting B* Face”, or RBF for short.
From Wikipedia:
“RBF is a facial expression that unintentionally creates the impression that a person is angry, annoyed, irritated, or contemptuous, particularly when the individual is relaxed, or resting.”
Obviously, that’s what we wanna avoid.
Next time you’re standing in line (e.g., waiting for coffee), glance around. Most people's neutral expression looks super pissed off. You'd hesitate before approaching most!
So, do the opposite: Be a little more aware of what your neutral expression looks like — at work, at events, at gatherings.
👁️ Craft your calling card
Question:
If someone calls your name, what do you do?
Punish them with a grunt, side-glance or a dull, “Huh” or “What?”
Or reward them by chirping back a warm, “Hey, what’s up Sarah?”
Remember: In every interaction, we’re teaching people how to treat us the next time. Want to be approachable? Make them feel good for approaching you.
🤸 What’s your body saying?
When you walk through the office, is your head up, making eye contact, greeting people with an occasional nod or smile? Or are you head-down, trying to get to your cubicle with the least amount of human contact possible?
During meetings are your arms always crossed? Are you leaning forward slightly, signaling openness? At conferences, are you slouched over, staring at your phone?
This might be Obvious-Adams but…
If it looks like you don’t want to be approached, people won’t approach you.
On the flip-side…
An open body invites people to be open back.
Because your next big opportunity often starts from someone feeling comfortable enough to say: “Hey, got a minute?”
🌍 Approachability matters on LinkedIn too
A friend who’s a partner at a big VC firm told me that the first advice they give new associates — whose entire job depends on meeting founders and sourcing deals — is to explicitly make their LinkedIn profile approachable.
For example, adding friendly phrases like: "Always happy to jam about startups in fintech." or "Love hearing from founders working on productivity tools."
It sounds minor, but these little cues signal openness, making it easier for others to reach out - which is exactly how many great opportunities start.
So:
If you haven’t yet, optimize your LinkedIn profile using this tool. It’ll help you craft an engaging narrative that’ll make more people want to reach out.
Hopefully that’s a piece of advice you haven’t heard before. If you enjoyed this:
Forward it to a friend, family member or colleague. It does truly make a difference.
If someone you know is on a job search, tell them to check out Resume Worded. It’ll make their job search a lot shorter.
Speak soon,
Rohan Mahtani
Founder at Coached & Resume Worded
Btw, I like reviews. They motivate me to keep the quality high. Like this recent one:
I LOVE hearing from long-time readers. Thank you Jannes!
You can leave one here. I’d appreciate it. Thank you so much.
🤭 In all unseriousness
Here's the dessert. Career advice doesn't always have to be serious...let's have fun!
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