The Challenge
Facing an unexpected layoff, Oshen needed to act quickly and plan her next steps
After keeping her position during two major rounds of tech layoffs, Oshen Davidson felt fairly secure. But like many, she was thrust into the job market—quickly let go in a surprise round three of company-wide downsizing.
"After making it through the first two rounds, I was pretty confident my job was secure because we had already downsized and became pretty lean. However, I ended up in a third round, impacting my entire team. We had three days' notice before we were no longer there.”
The sudden nature of the layoff left Oshen unprepared. Acting quickly, she knew to find a job, she would have to articulate what she’d done in her previous position.
“The first thing I did was collect my data and achievements. I took a lot of screenshots because, down the road, I knew I wouldn't have access to that information and I wouldn't be able to recall things easily. So, I spent the last three days compiling everything I had worked on over the last two and a half years.”
Once the details were compiled and the door on her position firmly closed, Oshen did what many job seekers struggle to do immediately following a layoff: she paused.
"I took November to figure out what I wanted to do because I think what generally happens is people start to panic, and they're like, ‘Okay, I need to find a job.’ And I didn't want to be applying for roles just because I needed a job. I wanted the role to be something that I actually wanted to do."
During this time, Oshen had her resume reviewed by a professional. She also lightly applied across LinkedIn and on a few sporadic company websites, but she prioritized her well-being.
"I also took that time for my mental health and to do things I enjoy. This is how I got into figure skating, something I always wanted to do but never had the time for. It was a good opportunity to prioritize my well-being and do something that would decompress and de-stress during a difficult time."
But once she began applying in December, responses were few and far between. Oshen sent out application after application, only to be disappointed by the results.
What Oshen's job search looked like before Teal
Before discovering Teal, Oshen's job search was full of manual application tracking processes and misinformed resume strategies.
Challenge #1: The work of manual application tracking
Oshen's job search lacked an efficient system for organizing and tracking her applications, leading to a time-consuming process.
She relied on a complex, color-coded Google Sheet to keep track of her job search efforts and meticulously tracked every detail of her applications—creating an intricate system that quickly became unwieldy.
"I was tracking everything in a Google spreadsheet. I had the company and the role, whether I applied on the company website or if it was on LinkedIn, and if I had submitted a cover letter. I had a checkbox for if I was interviewing or had interviewed, as well as the responses."
As her job search progressed, Oshen found herself drowning in data. The tool she’d created to bring order to her search—although helpful—was a source of constant work.
Challenge #2: Ineffective resume tailoring
Oshen struggled with tailoring her resume for each application. She felt constrained by the belief that resumes should be limited to one page—often removing valuable information.
"I think for me, the biggest thing was that I had this mentality that your resume has to be one page.”
She also found it challenging to articulate her achievements in a compelling way.
"I didn't articulate the reason why I was doing certain things. I was basically giving a bullet point, ‘I achieved X over Y in Z.’ I wasn't given any context for what I’d done."
Challenge #3: The stress of cover letter creation
Oshen found writing cover letters to be particularly stressful and time-consuming. She struggled to create a system that would allow her to customize a cover letter for each application.
"Sending and coming up with a cover letter for each job was the hardest thing. And, you know, at this point, my resume wasn’t entirely tailored to a job. But for my cover letters, I was trying to come up with a framework, almost like a standard template that I could use, and then I could easily update it for future applications."
Despite her efforts, Oshen's initial job search yielded little success. In December, she applied to over 50 jobs but only secured one interview, which left her feeling discouraged.
The Solution
Leveraging Teal's Resume Builder, Matching Mode, and Job Tracker
Oshen discovered Teal through a LinkedIn post from a former colleague who had recently landed a new role. Intrigued by the platform's positive buzz, she decided to give it a try.
"I started following Teal on LinkedIn and kept seeing all these posts. I was like, dang, this is so interesting."
Initially, Oshen was drawn to Teal's resume-building features, especially the ability to customize achievements for different roles:
"My biggest focus at that time was being able to have multiple achievements and change how I was articulating each achievement based on the role. That was my favorite feature at the start. I liked having 50 different achievements for one role, and I could just click which one I wanted to use based on what I was applying for."
Oshen leveraged Teal's Resume Builder to create a comprehensive base resume with multiple achievements for each role. This allowed her to easily tailor her application to specific job descriptions, a process that had previously been time-consuming and inefficient.
She then used Teal's Matching Mode to align her resume more closely with job descriptions, significantly improving her Teal Match Score.
"I uploaded this resume, and my Match Score was 20%, which is not good. And so for me, I was like, all right, it's not as good as I thought it was. So Match Scoring really helped me take a different approach to how I was putting together my resume for each job.
In the past, I thought if your last job had the same title as the job you're applying for, it's pretty easy for a recruiter to see that you have experience and you're qualified. But wasn't taking into consideration all of my achievements and making sure that they're quantifiable and having actual metrics and sharing the projects that I was doing and really going into detail to showcase what I can bring to the table and like the value that I offer."
Oshen also used Teal's Job Application Tracker to manage active applications more efficiently. She really appreciated being able to rate her excitement for every job saved, which helped her prioritize the jobs she applied for.
"I really liked being able to rate my excitement level. That was huge for me because there were jobs I saved, and later on decided not to apply for because I liked other jobs and wanted to prioritize them more."
Teal also helped Oshen create a compelling professional summary and a comprehensive skills section, elements she hadn't included in her previous resume versions. In addition, she learned the importance of customizing her target title for each application.
"Being able to customize my title was huge because I did that for every role. If it were something like growth operations, then I would include those keywords within that title versus content strategist or whatever it may have been."
Oshen also used the AI Cover Letter Generator to create a template that needed minimal work each time she hit apply.
In addition to the platform's tools and features, Oshen found value in Teal's blog content.
"I read so many blog articles on articulating value in resumes, answering interview questions, and other topics. And I used all the resources I found."
By leveraging Teal, Oshen transformed her resume and job search. Equipped with well-written achievements, content that aligned with each unique job, a way to firmly prioritize applications, and research-backed foundational knowledge, Oshen set the stage for a dramatic turnaround in her job search.
The Teal resume that landed Oshen 6 Interviews from 11 Applications
Why it works: Oshen’s resume starts with a direct (and always-aligned) target title and a brief but impactful professional summary that speaks specifically to her work without generic skills or responsibilities. Her career journey is clear, with bold headings that draw attention to progress and growth. Her resume bullet points also incorporate achievements, focusing on her strategies and impact rather than just job duties, while the software section showcases her proficiencies in a way that's easy to grasp at a glance.
The Impact
From one interview to multiple offers
Integrating Teal into her job search dramatically and immediately impacted Oshen's results.
"I had one interview that moved to final stages in December; it poured into January, but nothing else. Then, January hit, I started using Teal, and the number of conversations became a scheduling conflict. I had trouble keeping track of when I was interviewing with who and what phases I was in just because there were so many things going on."
The numbers speak volumes about Oshen's turnaround:
This was a significant leap from her December results, where she had only one interview from over 50 applications.
By February, her success rate skyrocketed.
"I applied to a specific role on January 31st, and then between that date and February 22nd, I applied to 11 jobs and interviewed for six of them."
That's a 55% interview rate.
Teal also helped Oshen optimize her LinkedIn profile using her Teal resume as a guide, leading to increased recruiter outreach.
"I was getting around three recruiters a week reaching out to me.”
By leveraging Teal, Oshen not only increased her interview opportunities but also improved the quality of her applications, leading to better results.
The Outcome
Landing a goal-aligned role in tech
Oshen's new job search strategy paid off, aligning perfectly with the goals she set for herself at the beginning of her journey.
Her thoughtful approach, combined with a strategic use of Teal, led to a rewarding outcome.
On February 8th, Oshen applied for a position that would become her new career home. The interview process was comprehensive and lasted about a month, reflecting the care she had taken in selecting opportunities that truly resonated with her goals.
Throughout the process, Oshen was juggling multiple opportunities, a stark contrast to her job search before Teal:
"I also had five other positions I was interviewing for. It became like a full-time job to schedule interviews."
By leveraging Teal, Oshen transformed her job search experience from a stressful, manual process to a streamlined and efficient one. The AI Resume Builder, Matching Mode, and Job Application Tracker helped her to customize her applications, prioritize her efforts, and manage her job search more effectively.
This comprehensive approach not only nearly 6Xed her interview rate in fewer applications but also improved the quality of her applications, leading to multiple job offers.
Ultimately, the story came full circle when Oshen chose an offer to work with the company that helped her acquire so many offers. She joined Teal’s Growth team as a Growth Marketing Manager in March.
With Teal, Oshen landed a goal-aligned role in tech within just three months of starting a focused job search, showcasing the impact of a well-organized and strategic process.
The Tips
Focusing on a resilient and optimized job search
Drawing from her journey, Oshen shares actionable tips for job seekers looking to navigate their search effectively:
