Alan Tung wanted to break into big tech but started to doubt himself after facing many rejections. With the help of a Career Walking Deck and CareerOS, he ended up landing at Microsoft as a Business Operations Manager 🎉
The Career Walking Deck is one critical piece of my flagship course CareerOS — the complete job search and career opportunity system. Alex from Google & I teach it live starting Nov 7th. Grab a seat in our next lightning lesson and learn more at maven.com/CareerOS.
To help and inspire fellow job seekers to build a Career Walking Deck, he has shared his personal experience in his own words below (with my minor edits).
What was your biggest challenge as a job seeker?
My biggest challenge was figuring out how to stand out in a crowded job market while also getting a real opportunity to demonstrate what I could bring to a role. I knew I had the skills, experience, and potential to contribute, but I often felt like I was not getting far enough in the process to actually prove myself.
A lot of the time, I would apply for positions that I felt genuinely qualified for, only to receive an automated rejection email without ever getting to speak with someone or showcase my strengths in an interview. When I did make it to the interview stage, I sometimes felt like I was not given enough of an opportunity to communicate the full value of my experience.
Over time, this really affected my confidence.
Receiving rejection after rejection made me question whether my experience was valuable enough and if I was presenting myself in the best way. It was easy to start doubting myself even though I knew I had a lot to offer.
One of the most frustrating parts of the job search was knowing I had more to offer than what could be captured on a resume, but not always getting the chance to show it.
I wanted a way to tell my story more effectively, highlight my strengths and accomplishments, and help interviewers see the person behind the application.
How did you first learn about the Career Walking Deck?
I first learned about the Career Walking Deck while randomly scrolling through LinkedIn. It immediately caught my attention because I’d never thought about using a presentation as a way to convey my career story during an interview.
I always thought of interviews as answering questions and talking through my resume. The idea of having a visual way to tell my story was new and refreshing because it felt like it would be more personal and memorable to my interviewers.
I also liked the idea of telling my story in a way that felt more authentic to me. Instead of reciting my resume, the Career Walking Deck gave me an opportunity to highlight the experiences, skills, and accomplishments that have shaped my career and explain what I can bring to my target roles.
Creating the deck was also a valuable reflection exercise. It made me step back and connect the dots between different experiences that I hadn’t necessarily thought of as part of my unique career story. As I built the deck, I became more confident in understanding my strengths and communicating the value I could bring to an organization.
I also customized my deck for each company and role by highlighting experiences that were most relevant to the position, connecting my skills to what the company was looking for, and explaining why I was genuinely interested in being part of that team.
This helped shift the interview from a standard Q&A to a more meaningful conversation about how my experience, strengths, and goals could align with the team’s needs and contribute to its success.
What’s the impact of the Career Walking Deck in your job search?
The Career Walking Deck has had a significant impact on my job search and confidence!
It gave me a unique way to introduce myself during LinkedIn networking and coffee chats, and made those conversations more meaningful. People could SEE my experience, strengths, and career goals rather than read about them on my LinkedIn profile or resume.
The Career Walking Deck helped me get in front of hiring teams. When I shared it with hiring managers on LinkedIn, they moved me directly into the interview process.
My Career Walking Deck gave me opportunities to interview with companies including Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Twitch, and more. I even progressed to final-round interviews at Microsoft, which was especially meaningful after experiencing so many automated rejections earlier on in my job search.
One of my favorite examples was during my interview process for a contractor role at Microsoft.
I included a 30-60-90 day onboarding plan in my deck to show the hiring manager how I would approach the role and begin contributing. The hiring manager really liked the plan and mentioned it to another leader within her organization.
On my first day of work at the Microsoft Campus, that leader came up to me and said, “I believe you are the person who created the 30-60-90 onboarding plan that I heard about.”
This moment showed me the real impact of the Career Walking Deck. I had created it for my interview, but it became memorable enough that people within the organization were already talking about it before I even started the job!
Ultimately, the Career Walking Deck helped me secure more opportunities to tell my story directly to the decision makers who mattered. I turned my resume and experience into something more memorable, which opened doors to interviews at major companies. It also strengthened my networking conversations and gave me more confidence in the value I bring.
Why do you recommend job seekers create a Career Walking Deck?
The Career Walking Deck gives you an opportunity to tell your story in a way that a traditional resume cannot. As a job seeker, you only have a few minutes to make a strong first impression. Sometimes, you don’t even get the opportunity to interview.
Preparing a Career Walking Deck gives you something tangible and memorable to stand out and start conversations with when you meet the right people.
It’s also a way to rebuild your confidence if you’ve received many automated rejection emails and feel like you’re not getting enough opportunities to prove yourself. Building your own deck forces you to step back and recognize your accomplishments, strengths, and value that you could bring to an organization.
It reminds you that you have a story worth telling!
My advice to other job seekers is to start with your story, not a template.
Ask yourself:
- What experiences have shaped my career?
- What problems have I solved?
- What am I most proud of?
- What makes me different from other candidates?
Use these answers to build the foundation of your deck. Then, tailor it to the company and role.
Before an interview or networking conversation:
- Research the company and identify 2 or 3 things they care about.
- Look through your experience and highlight specific examples that demonstrate those skills or qualities.
- Example: I included a 30-60-90 day onboarding plan for my Microsoft interview, which showed the hiring manager that I was not just interested in getting the role, but had already thought about how I could contribute to meaningful impact.
Use your Career Walking Deck proactively:
- Share it during your LinkedIn outreach, coffee chats, and conversations with people in your network.
- Keep a version that tells your overall career story, then customize key sections depending on who you are speaking with.
- Practice telling the story behind the slides. The deck should not replace the conversation, but make the conversation better.
- You do NOT need to walk someone through every slide. Just use it to highlight the experiences you want people to remember.
- Always give them opportunities to ask questions. This is how you have that open dialogue and form personal connections!
Most importantly, do NOT wait until you think your deck is perfect.
Build the first version, share it with a few people, ask for feedback, and keep improving it. The goal is not to create the most impressive presentation. The goal is to make it easier for the right people to understand who you are, what you bring to the table, and why they should want to continue the conversation.
The Career Walking Deck is one critical piece of my flagship course CareerOS — the complete job search and career opportunity system. Alex from Google & I teach it live starting Nov 7th. Grab a seat in our next lightning lesson and learn more at maven.com/CareerOS.
Thanks for reading!
I hope Alan’s personal story and experience with Career Walking Decks has inspired you to build your own.
- Save your spot in my course CareerOS which starts Nov 7th to help you land your job before 2026 ends
- See examples, templates, and resources to learn more
- Get access to premium templates & workshops through my Substack career community
You can also find hundreds of daily tips on my LinkedIn (DM me if you have any questions).
Best of luck!