Well, it’s my birthday. 36 years old today. That feels like a real age? My knees have felt it for years. Oh god, that was a dad joke… those are gonna come more often, aren’t they? Okay, let’s not ramble (oh god am I rambling, too?) and start talking:

• A free event about how to build your personal brand

• 36 weird career tips that no one tells you

• How Instagram ranks sponsored content in the feed

—Jack Appleby

New Yorkers: I’m hosting a free event next week all about helping you build your personal brand.

I genuinely believe every person has a unique, special story to tell, and that story should be the basis of your personal brand. And honestly? I think every professional should have a personal brand nowadays—there are just way too many career benefits to sharing your thoughts online.

I’ve partnered with Teachable and Creator Economy NYC to host a free panel about how to share yourself online. Even better, we hand-picked 4 speakers with 4 wonderfully different personal brands who’ll tell you how they built their presences!

You can RSVP right here. Space is limited, and there’s an open bar, so book this one asap. I’m also announcing something big that night, which I’m very proud of. Hope to see ya there.

36 weird career tips no one’s gonna tell ya.

I stole the 36 tips for 36 years old thing from Twitter, and I didn’t wanna just offer your basics, so let’s get real. And no, I won’t tell you which ones I’ve learned from experience.

1. Swipe left when you see your co-workers on dating apps. We know you didn’t just “think it’s funny,” you’re soft-checking to gauge their interest.

2. Don’t try to get creative validation through creative jobs. If you tie your creative self-worth to projects that require client approval, you’re gonna have a bad time. Always have a creative hobby that’s just for you.

3. Don’t be the main character at the company Christmas party. Open Bars can and will get you in trouble. Go bond! And stick around for the after party to show camaraderie. But alternate cocktails with water, and don’t be the last person to leave.

4. Join the company’s Fantasy Football league, especially if you don’t know football. The easiest casual chit chat you’ll ever have with co-workers.

5. When you hate your job, try the 5 minute journal. Write down 3 things about your job you’re grateful for—could be one co-worker, or the computer they gave you, or anything. It’ll help the sunday scaries.

6. Find one weekly club that you refuse to miss for work. Maybe it’s a book club, a cooking class, church, or a rec sports team. It guarantees that even in the craziest work week, you’re gonna find some people time. I promise, you can say “hey, sorry, I have [insert club here]” to your boss.

7. Never touch your phone while on a date. Karen’s Slack about that status report isn’t half as important as building genuine connection & showing someone you love that they have your full attention.

8. If you have unlimited PTO, take at least 3 weeks vacation every single year, even if your co-workers don’t. If you take less than 2 weeks, you’re actually giving money back to the company, since they don’t have to pay you out for vacation.

9. When a co-worker invites you to hang outside of work, say yes. Finding adult friends is hard, and remote work makes work friends even harder. Life’s easier when someone with the same 9-5 likes you. Unless, as previously stated, there are romantic undertones.

10. If you have unlimited PTO, take at least 3 weeks vacation every single year, even if your co-workers don’t. If you take less than 2 weeks, you’re actually giving money back to the company, since they don’t have to pay you out for vacation.

11. Being smart doesn’t mean anything if you can’t sell your ideas. You’ve gotta be able to pitch why your way works, especially if you wanna make more money.

12. Buy a treadmill desk if you work from home. God, they look so dumb, but to leisurely get an extra few thousand steps while buried in a few thousand emails is the craziest health hack. I really love mine.

13. Be curious about EVERYONE’s feedback, even when you disagree. You can think Steve is dead wrong, but you should care to understand why Steve gave the feedback he did. If you get his taste & thinking, you can win next time.

14. Don’t hope this email finds them well. Write your emails like an actual human being. Don’t be a LinkedIn Siri Work Robot. Let your personality show!

15. Take your boss out to coffee once a month. Off site connection time with someone more senior than you is invaluable.

16. If you talk shit about someone’s work, it’ll get back to them. Everyone wants that smoke, people love to gossip, and it’s always the person saying “don’t shoot the messenger” who’s delivering too many messages.

17. Stop working through lunch. If you’re at the office, get lunch with a co-worker every chance you can. If you work-from-home, please go outside and see some sunlight.

18. Take creative inspiration from anywhere except your company’s competitors. So many “best practices” are really just whatever every company in an industry does. You’ll learn more by looking at work from artists, movies, comedians, bands, creators, & non-related businesses.

19. 85% of early therapy gains come down to diet, exercise, and sleep. That’s from psychiatrist Phil Stutz, famously captured by Jonah Hill in the documentary Stutz. If you're struggling with work, make sure you’re covering those bases.

20. Straight up ask your boss what you need to do to get promoted. Just like that! And ask them WAY before the next promotional cycle, so you can hear their feedback, and work on their feedback, and then show them how you improved.

21. Put on real clothes for Zoom meetings. We can all tell when you rolled out of bed right before the meeting. Context shift yourself by putting on real clothes.

22. Buy yourself a good webcam. A huge % of our remote work lives are conducted over Zoom now, and the standard Macbook webcam sucks. Investing in a quality camera at a height that isn’t under your chin can genuinely set you apart from your coworkers and make you seem more trustworthy to vendors.

23. Stop working from your phone. If you’re not at your computer, it’s probably not important (and carpal tunnel is a beast).

24. Ask for $10,000 more than you’re comfortable with when negotiating salaries. That one uncomfortable “I’m looking for x amount” email could be worth thousands.

25. When someone emails or slacks you a compliment, screenshot it & save in a folder. Keep those handy for your bad days or salary requests.

26. You should always be interviewing, no matter what. I got the dream call, and said no, and regretted it. Wieden + Kennedy asked me to interview for their Nike Basketball work. THE ad agency. THE dream brand. And I turned down even interviewing because it was my first day on a new job. And that new job I took? They, I kid you not, pivoted to print (you read that right) a year after I got there. Always do what’s best for your career first.

27. Spend more money on your bed, your desk chair, and your daily shoes. 8 hours of sleep? 8 hours of work? Splurge to make that 16 easier on your body.

28. Yeah, you need to have a personal brand for work. I know we’re all tired from being on social media all day, but the benefits are just too significant. Writing on LinkedIn is the easiest way to scale your network, get better at writing, find your next boss, and track your accomplishments. If you need something to get started, I’ve got something for ya.

29. If you’re in the first 5 years of your career, go to the office. There are so many things you’ll never learn if you work remotely during career development years, especially soft skills + management understanding. Spend as much time with your boss as you can, in person.

30. Write personal case studies for every single project you work on. Use this formula: what it is, what your role was, the results. You’ll want them all for resumes & anecdotes in interviews & promotions.

31. Be the 1st person to every remote meeting. Watercooler talk doesn’t exist in remote workplaces, and every chance to small talk can build a valuable connection.

32. Spend $1000 a year to get better at your job, even if it’s your money. Maybe it’s a work certification, a conference, or a seminar. Maybe it’s something artistic, like an improv course or film class. Most companies will let you expense it if you pitch a work reason. And if not? Do it anyway, you’ll grow.

33. Do everything possible to avoid caffeine addictions. My healthiest was when I had my first and only coffee at lunch. Now? I chug a Celsius 10 minutes after my alarm hits, and a second around 4 pm, then wonder why I can’t sleep.

34. Lead with a handshake. Let them decide if you’re gonna hug.

35. Be the person who sends “I thought this was interesting” notes to your team. The person who sends the articles along always looks smart.

36. Make work the least important thing in your life. Self-explanatory.

But what’d I forget? Reply right to this email, I wanna hear your tips.

Social Cues

There are so many social big thinkers out there, writing all kinds of amazing strategies, analysis, and breakdowns. All ships rise with the tide, so here are a few reads from other places I think you could learn from.

Instagram debunks myth: sponsored content is NOT downranked in feed (Adam Mosseri). Great to hear it from the man himself—now please, make sure you’re complying with FTC regulations!

Instagram has changed it’s most annoying feature (Tech Radar). IG will no longer refresh when you open the app! That content you’re watching won’t go away!

Donald Trump expected to try to halt TikTok Ban (The Washington Post). He’s flipped his opinions on TikTok multiple times, but most recently, he’s been against banning the app.