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20-second career tip

Make asks while your win is still warm

About Rohan

Hey, I’m Rohan!

I write thoughts about life and career strategy a few times a month.

I run Coached, the behavioral science lab, and Resume Worded, the best software for job seekers.

A good place to start is our free 3‑minute, science-backed personality test.

People think there’s a “right time” to ask for things at work: during a review, in a 1:1, when budgets get set.

There is, but it has more to do with what just happened.

If you’ve just shipped something important, fixed a messy problem, or had a client praise your work, that’s a very good week to ask for more scope, headcount, a title conversation, or the project you’ve wanted. Your value is unusually easy to see.

The reverse is true too. If you just missed a deadline or something you owned went badly, you probably don’t want to make your biggest ask three days later just because your review happens to be on Thursday.

Managers have recency bias like everyone else. So use the calendar for the formal process, but time the actual conversation around when the evidence for your case is strongest.

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Illustration of Rohan Mahtani
Written by Rohan Mahtani
From Coached Weekly, issue 366.

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This is Coached Weekly, my 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 (no AI). —Rohan Mahtani (LinkedIn)

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