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20-second career tip

Say the nice thing when they're not in the room

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.

Most people save compliments for the person's face. But praise actually hits hardest secondhand — when it gets back to someone that you said something good about them when you had nothing to gain. "Oh, Jordan mentioned you crushed that presentation" lands ten times harder than Jordan telling you directly, because there's no angle to it.

So when someone does good work, mention it to other people, not just them. It travels, it's credible in a way face-to-face praise never is, and you become the person who talks well about people behind their backs — which is a rare reputation to have.

           

Heads up:

Working on your resume or know someone who is? 

Don’t forget that you can get a free resume review here.

It’ll speed up your job search (or your friend’s).

           
Illustration of Rohan Mahtani
Written by Rohan Mahtani
From Coached Weekly, issue 357.

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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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