The Challenge
Finding remote work in a saturated and tough job market
When Morgan Luce lost her job in tech in December 2022, she had no idea how long it would take her to find her next remote role.
Previous experiences taught her to rely on her well-established network and good standing in Vermont's small tech community to find new opportunities.
“In the past, I'd been fortunate to find success in the local job market. Vermont boasts a small but vibrant tech scene, and everyone seems to know everyone. That said, having a good reputation in the tech community goes a long way. Thankfully, this made finding new employment relatively easy for me.”
But the market had shifted. And the desire for remote work drastically changed the effectiveness of her local network when applied to the scale of the national job market.
“I'd witnessed for months the tech market gradually declining, and I could see RIFs occurring across various industries. However, I never would have thought at that time that it was going to take me four months to find a job.”
The move toward predominantly remote work and a shaky tech industry introduced surprising hurdles—slowing Morgan’s job search.
“I figured it would take me a month and a half, two months tops. That could not have been further from the truth.”
Not only was the market flooded with good candidates, but the sheer number of applicants for each position meant fierce competition at a time when many companies were often tightening budgets and scaling back on hiring. Everything simply took longer.
For Morgan, finding the next job wasn’t going to be straightforward or fast. That meant adjusting expectations based on important lessons learned early on.
“Fast forward to looking for remote jobs; you have to be a lot more aggressive in your approach and really consider the job application process as that funnel. If you’re applying to 10- 15-20 different jobs, hopefully, you'll get something out at the other end, but you're not going to hear from all of those companies, and you just have to be realistic with those expectations.“
What Morgan’s job search looked like before Teal
Before Teal, Morgan's remote job search was inefficient and produced limited results. Her routine? Strategic but taxing.
First, she'd find the best jobs for her experience on job boards, professional networking sites, and industry-specific platforms. Then, after she determined she'd be a good fit, she manually customized her resume and cover letter for each potential role.
But while this approach was sound, it was also meticulous. It took several hours for just one role. In fact, Morgan could spend an entire day applying for a single position.
Painstakingly tailoring every document significantly limited the number of applications she could manage every week.
“I have a strong attention to detail, which can result in spending a bit longer on tasks while I refine them. Additionally, considering the market conditions, I felt the added pressure to ensure finesse with my applications. As such, it would often take me a few hours to put together a tailored resume and to craft a cover letter.”
Morgan also used basic tools like job boards and a simple Google job search tracking spreadsheet to manage her applications.
But, these tools did little to simplify the process.
At the end of the day, how long did it actually take Morgan to apply for one job without Teal? The answer is a clear reminder of the inefficiency of conventional job search methods in today’s market.
"Six to eight hours, depending on the role."
Morgan realized that to be successful quickly, she needed a way to apply for multiple jobs a day in far less time.
The Solution
Leveraging Teal for resume-role alignment and broadening the job search with expanded titles
Morgan discovered Teal through a comment thread within a LinkedIn post. But Teal didn’t write the post; it was a comment written by a customer advocating the tool.
“There was a thread about seeking guidance on tools to manage the job search. Someone responded and said, ‘You should try this product, it has been really helpful for me.’ It was then that I first heard about Teal and was encouraged to check it out.”
About that time, Morgan also realized she needed to change more than just her tech stack. She expanded her search to include QA manager roles to boost her chances of success with a broader range of opportunities.
“About two months into my job search, I realized that my approach wasn't working. I’d been targeting Engineering Manager roles but was often quickly disqualified due to my limited hands-on development experience. I wasn’t getting the results that I needed, and it became evident that I needed to adjust my strategy.”
Morgan used Teal's Resume Builder to create different versions of her resume tailored to both engineering manager and QA manager roles. Without Teal, she spent a lot of time manually reviewing and vetting job descriptions. But with Teal’s Job Description Keywords and Resume Job Description Matching tools, she could quickly optimize her content with the right keywords and details for every job, speeding up the process.
Before Teal offered AI generation for professional summaries, resume bullet points, and cover letters, Morgan used other AI tools to assist with tasks like resume refinement, cover letter creation, and interview preparation.
Morgan also used Teal to maintain the application requirements of her unemployment benefits—cutting down the time it took her to apply for a job to sometimes just 15 minutes.
“Once I got set up with the platform, I was surprised to see a huge reduction in the length of time to submit an application. I could get it done in about 10-15 minutes, easily. I can confidently say that if I were working in a more traditional way without a tool such as Teal, it would have taken me far longer.”
The true value of Teal’s tools and features became apparent as Morgan started applying to more jobs and tracking her applications within the platform.
The Teal resume that landed Morgan a job at Calendly
Why it works:
Morgan's resume is a great blueprint for showcasing the right information. The professional summary is brief, includes years of experience, and highlights the top skills she'll bring to her next role. The first half of her resume details the most relevant positions, with the older roles closer to the bottom. Each resume bullet point also starts with a powerful action verb to show how Morgan got results.
The Impact
Faster applications and better organization
After integrating Teal, Morgan immediately noticed a shift in how she approached her applications.
With the help of Teal's Resume Builder, she quickly customized her resumes to align with different job descriptions. And what once took several hours took minutes—allowing her to apply to more positions.
“I had this folder on my computer that had different versions of my resumes, and it was just so hard to manage. This tool really helped to simplify the process and removed the stress of needing to manage this all myself.”
Teal also helped Morgan take a proactive approach to her job search. Even when companies didn't have openings in her field, she could organize them in Teal's Company Tracker, like a CRM, but for job seekers.
Teal Job Application Tracker changed Morgan’s process, too. Instead of the manual spreadsheet she used to rely on, the Job Tracker provided a clear and simple way to manage where she applied, including the dates and details necessary for follow-up.
“It was such a huge part of the job hunt, it provided such a significant time savings and really helped organize the effort for me.”
The Offer
Landing a remote tech job at Calendly
Morgan credits the targeted resume she created using Teal as a pivotal factor in landing her position at Calendly.
"I discovered Teal and used it to create a separate resume that was then targeted specifically for QA manager positions. It was funny; the evening after I created that resume, I saw the position posted for a QA Manager role at Calendly. I wasted no time and immediately applied for the position."
This quick action, in part due to Teal's simplified resume customization, was vital to a fast, successful application. Morgan was able to store all her career information in one place within Teal as a base resume. This base resume made it easy to tailor two documents for specific roles—ultimately allowing her to land what ended up being the best-fit position.
"It was a stroke of serendipitous timing [the near-perfect alignment of the role posting just after creating the QA manager-focused resume]. I'm grateful that Teal provided me the opportunity to mold my resume to be what I needed it to be, as it enabled me to target other roles more easily and have greater success in the job search. ”
Using her Teal resume, Morgan's move to Calendly came with a noticeable improvement in her compensation and benefits.
“One of the enticing selling points included with the Calendly offer was the comprehensive total rewards offering, which, in addition to the competitive pay, included a quarterly bonus, equity, a technology stipend, flexible PTO, well-being perk, 401k with 100% employer match up to 4% with no vesting the requirement, and more.”
Morgan also saw a six percent increase in her base salary. When factoring in the total rewards package, she realized her total earning potential increased by around 21%.
While Morgan's new total compensation package is top-notch, Calendly has proven to be an ideal fit for her due to its alignment with her values and professional aspirations.
“When considering what I wanted next in my career, I sought out a few things specifically.
I wanted to be a part of an organization with strong values evident through their actions, to make a meaningful impact, and to avoid being just another cog in the wheel of a well-oiled machine. I also prioritized seeking out a leader from whom I could learn and grow.
Calendly has not only met but exceeded my expectations in these areas (and more!) and has proven to be a great fit for what I was seeking. I’m delighted to be a part of this team!”
The Tips
Tracking results and identifying meaningful career opportunities
Beyond leveraging digital tools like Teal, Morgan shared some thoughts on the more personal aspects of career management and the job search.
Reflecting on her experiences, Morgan stressed the importance of maintaining a detailed record of achievements and impact from past roles.
Some general guidance for anyone reading? Track your metrics—outside of your workspace—in detail.
"When I was laid off, I initially struggled to recall my accomplishments and their impact. I knew I did a lot of things at my last organization—I mean, I'd been there for three and a half years and was promoted twice—but I suddenly found myself unable to recall the specific details. I’ll admit I did a bad job of keeping track of this previously. I ended up jotting down a list of all the projects I accomplished that I could remember and spent time considering, ‘What was the impact of X?’ My former colleagues also assisted me with compiling and refining this list. Learning from that experience, I now keep a brag book in my personal Drive to ensure I’m better prepared going forward.”
Morgan also highlighted the significance of clearly understanding your career goals and what you'd find fulfilling.
"Spending time thinking about what sort of role, industry, and company you're looking for is so important. Understanding what is important to you will help you know when you're getting close to attaining that goal."
As Morgan Luce navigated her job search, she learned an important lesson: It's not just about finding a job, but finding the right one that aligns with personal and professional goals.
With Teal, Morgan reduced the time and stress of applying in a tough and saturated market, allowing her to focus more on opportunities that matched her skills and goals. Her final advice for job seekers? Leverage tools that simplify the process, tap into your network, give back where you can, and always keep sight of what makes work meaningful and fulfilling for you.
Calendly helps individuals, teams, and organizations globally automate the meeting lifecycle by removing the back and forth with scheduling. Calendly enables companies to close deals, hire candidates, build relationships, and grow their business—faster. More than 20 million users across 230 countries use Calendly to simplify meetings and collaborate more effectively and efficiently. Learn more about the product and how it can take the work out of connecting with others so you can accomplish more by visiting their website. Interested in joining them? Calendly is hiring for a variety of positions! Visit their Careers page to learn more about their current openings and life at Calendly.
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