Everything in one place

Every tool I've built for you, in the order you'll need it.

Bookmark this page. Work through the resources in order, or jump to the one that matches what is in front of you this week.

Each one gives you a copy to keep. Fill it in, bring it to our next session, and we will work from what you wrote.

— Mariah
Interactive tools

Tools you work in

These open in your browser. Keep them handy and come back to them throughout your search.

Next Move: Career Strategy Planner

Know what your work proves. Then decide what's next.

What it is

Next Move: Career Strategy Planner turns the work you've already done into evidence of your skills, business impact, and career value, so you can decide whether to stay, ask for more, move up, pivot, or prepare for what comes next.

What you get
  • Career Impact Brief — What your work proves today: business impact, KPIs, skills, evidence, talking points, and possible next roles.
  • 30-Day Growth Plan — The action layer: competencies to demonstrate, real work actions, conversations to have, and deliverables that build the evidence you still need.

Task to Skill: Impact Blueprint

This is not a resume. It's the raw material that makes everything else easier to build.

What it is

This is your personal career evidence file. Use it to capture, translate, and store proof of the work you actually do — so you're never starting from scratch when it's time to update your resume, prep for an interview, or make a case for a promotion.

The 2 tabs
  • Task Bank — Capture tab. Record tasks + frequency. Don't overthink it — just get it down.
  • Task to Skill — Translation tab. Add stakeholders, tools, decisions, impact, and proof.
Read the full breakdown +
The columns (Tab 2)
  • Task — Specific, repeatable work. Start with an action verb.
  • Frequency — Daily, weekly, monthly, or quarterly/yearly.
  • Stakeholders — The people or teams who relied on or benefited from this task.
  • Tool / System — Platforms, software, or systems used to complete it.
  • Decision Influenced — What changed, moved forward, or got decided because of your work.
  • Impact (So that...) — Complete: "I did this so that ___." What improved, was prevented, or made possible?
  • Proof (How measured) — The metric or observable outcome. No number? Use a qualifier: fewer escalations, faster turnaround, zero missed deadlines.
The golden rule

One task per row. Every time. Do not combine multiple tasks into a single row. If you have 10 tasks, you should have 10 rows.

Need help, have a quick question, or general feedback for improvements?

Drop it here.

Submit Your Questions
Guides & worksheets

In the order you'll need them

01

The Career Pathways Guide

You don't have to stay in the lane you started in. But you do need to know what the other lanes look like.

What it is

An interactive digital guide that maps out 70+ roles across 7 career tracks, from entry level to executive, so you can see the full picture of where you could go next.

This isn't a list of job titles. It's a breakdown of what each role actually does, how it works differently at a traditional company versus a startup, what it pays, and what skills you need to build to get there.

For every role, you'll see
  • The official title + every alternate name it goes by (so you recognize it in a job posting)
  • What the role does at a large, traditional company
  • What the same role looks like at a startup or scale-up, because they're often completely different jobs
  • The 2025 salary range based on real market data
  • The key skills you need to be competitive for that role
Read the full breakdown +
The 7 tracks
  • Sales — SDR to CRO
  • Operations — Coordinator to COO
  • Customer Success — Associate to Chief Customer Officer
  • Customer Service — Support Agent to Chief Experience Officer
  • Project Management — Coordinator to COO
  • Human Resources — HR Assistant to CHRO
  • Marketing — Coordinator to CMO
How people use this

Some people use it to finally name the role they've been doing without realizing it had a title.

Some use it to identify a lateral move into a better-paying function.

Some use it to understand what they're building toward — so they can start positioning themselves now.

All of it points to the same outcome: you know your options. You're not guessing.

This is for you if
  • You're mid-career and not sure what your next move actually is
  • You've been applying to the same type of job for months with no traction
  • You've heard "Operations" or "Customer Success" but have no idea what that means for you
  • You want to explore adjacent roles that use your current skills in a new way
  • You're transitioning industries and need to understand how roles translate
Salary data note

All ranges reflect 2025 U.S. base salary data. Tech, finance, and large enterprises typically pay at the top of the range. Nonprofits and smaller companies may pay lower. Roles marked OTE include variable or commission pay on top of base.

02

Build Your Ideal Career Profile

Start here. Know what you're looking for before you start applying.

What it is

A structured self-assessment that helps you get clear on what you bring, what you want, and what you won't settle for. Includes your compensation baseline, a professional snapshot exercise, and a built-in AI prompt that generates personalized role recommendations and a reality-checked salary range based on your answers.

What you'll walk away with
  • A complete picture of your strengths, transferable skills, and non-negotiables
  • Clarity on your target roles, target compensation, and deal-breakers
  • A ready-to-use AI prompt filled in with your real background
  • A Clarity Summary statement you can reference throughout your search
03

Salary Reality Check Calculator

That's not a salary goal. That's survival math dressed up as ambition.

What it does

You enter your real monthly expenses — rent, utilities, insurance, groceries, student loans, credit card minimums, savings, retirement, and the other costs that actually make up your life.

The calculator adds everything up, factors in what you want to have left over, and tells you the gross salary you need to negotiate for in order to cover it all.

Not a random round number. Not a guess. Your number. A number backed by 2024 federal and state tax rates, your filing status, and your actual cost of living.

Who it's for
  • The mid-career professional who has been underpaid
  • The person who has accepted offers without knowing whether the number was truly enough
  • The person about to walk into a negotiation without an anchor point
  • The person who has ever answered the salary question with a number they made up on the spot and hoped for the best
Read the full breakdown +
Why I built it

I built this because I kept seeing the same thing: experienced candidates with real bills, real responsibilities, and real financial pressure would freeze when a recruiter asked, "What's your desired salary range?"

Not because they didn't know their worth. Because no one had ever helped them do the math.

So they picked a number that felt safe. A number that sounded reasonable. A number that might help them get by. And then they called it a goal.

How to use it
  • Download both files, then start with the format that feels easiest
  • Enter your state and filing status first. These details can significantly change your gross salary estimate
  • Fill in your monthly expenses honestly. Use your actual bank statements, not what you think you spend
  • Review the Results section. If your target income falls short, use the recommended gross salary as your negotiation floor. Then go ask for that number
A note on the math

The gross salary estimates use 2024 federal tax brackets, FICA at 7.65%, and your state's income tax rate.

Pre-tax deductions like 401(k) contributions and HSA contributions are not included in the calculation, which means the actual gross salary you need may be lower than what's shown.

The numbers are designed to give you a conservative, defensible anchor — not a tax projection.

04

10 Ways to Add Metrics to Your Resume

One reframe can change how a hiring manager sees your entire career.

What's inside

If you've ever stared at a resume bullet and thought "I don't have metrics" or "my job isn't the kind you can put numbers on," this guide was made for you. Most people know they've accomplished things. What they don't know is how to measure them.

10 frameworks for thinking about your work in terms of numbers, outcomes, and impact, each with examples across corporate, tech, retail, trades, hospitality, logistics, and more. Not just what to write. How to think about it first.

You'll walk away knowing how to answer
  • What did I actually change or improve?
  • How do I put a number on work that feels hard to measure?
  • How do I write this in a way a hiring manager notices?

The truth is, every role has measurable impact. Most people just were never taught how to find it.

05

The Job Search Playbook

A curated job board guide plus a company vetting framework for mid-career professionals.

What it is

This is a simplified version of the two-hour job search method. The goal is not to apply everywhere and hope something sticks. The goal is to build a focused pipeline of companies and people who can help you get where you want to go.

For each company, find at least two people on LinkedIn: one person in the role you want, and one person in a role that works closely with your target role. That is your outreach list.

What's inside
  • A 7-step method: build your company list, find your contacts, send your outreach, prepare for the conversation, honor their time, close with purpose, and review every four weeks
  • How to use job boards effectively
  • Curated boards: general, remote & flexible, specialized & higher-compensation, and mission-driven & government
  • How to research a company before you apply, including questions to ask and financial red flags to watch
  • Researching startup financial health: funding stage, runway, and recurring revenue
06

Interview Prep Guide

A step-by-step system for the week before your interview.

What it is

Six preparation steps that build on each other — from researching the company and breaking down the job description, to building your introduction, prepping your behavioral stories, writing your questions by interviewer type, and sending a follow-up that keeps you top of mind. Includes templates, frameworks, and a pre-interview checklist.

What you'll walk away with
  • A complete company and role research plan
  • A structured 45–90 second introduction you've practiced out loud
  • Tailored questions for every interviewer: recruiter, hiring manager, peer, exec
  • Two thank-you email templates and two follow-up scripts
  • A pre-interview checklist to run through the day before
07

Practice Your Interview Stories (SOAR + STAR)

Build a story bank you can flex across any question they throw at you.

What it is

A structured story-banking guide using both the SOAR (Situation → Obstacle → Action → Result) and STAR (Situation → Task → Action → Result) frameworks. Includes prompts to help you identify your strongest stories, templates to write them out fully, and a mapping guide so you know which story to pull for which type of question.

What you'll walk away with
  • 5–7 fully written behavioral stories using SOAR and STAR
  • A story map showing which stories work for which question types
  • Confidence in “tell me about a time when…” questions — even the unexpected ones
  • Stories that connect directly to the Impact Statements you built earlier
08

How to Evaluate a Job Offer

Slow down before you say yes. Here's what to ask, what to look for, and what to watch out for.

What it is

A plain-language guide that walks you through every component of an offer — base salary, OTE, bonus and commission structures, equity, benefits, role clarity, and legal items. Includes a scoring rubric to assess the full picture and ready-to-send email and phone scripts for asking questions professionally.

What you'll walk away with
  • A full offer evaluation framework covering compensation, benefits, growth, and legal terms
  • Plain-language definitions of terms like OTE, vesting schedule, deductible, and RSUs
  • A salary benchmarking resource list to verify your market rate before responding
  • An offer scorecard to rate each category before you decide
  • Email and phone scripts for asking questions without sounding pushy
GROWING THE MIDDLE

Something missing or a link not working? Send me a note and I will fix it.

info@growingthemiddle.com
265 Hackensack Street PMB 11
Wood-Ridge NJ 07075