David Fano

Founder & CEO at Teal - Here to help, empowering people to build fulfilling careers | Past: CGO WeWork, Co-Founder CASE, Adjunct Columbia University

I’ve worked with tens of thousands of professionals on their careers—whether as a hiring manager, senior executive, founder, or now through Teal, where we’ve helped over 3 million people grow their careers with confidence. From reviewing resumes to building hiring systems, I’ve seen every side of the job search—and I’m on a mission to make it more transparent, equitable, and empowering.

That’s why I started Teal in early 2020. We’re building a career growth platform that uses AI and modern technology to simplify the job search, personalize the experience, and give individuals the same tools companies use to manage talent. We’ve helped people land new roles, negotiate raises, and gain clarity in their career paths—at scale.

With over 20 years as a technology practitioner and entrepreneur, I’ve led across product and service businesses, from B2B enterprise to consumer applications. I co-founded CASE, later acquired by WeWork, where I held executive roles including Chief Product Officer and Chief Growth Officer. I helped scale global operations—opening over 2 million square feet of space per month, often at 60–80% occupancy—and built products and teams that touched every part of the business.

Throughout my career, I’ve built productivity tools, physical products, and large-scale consumer search experiences. I’ve hired thousands of people and shaped the policies and systems behind how companies build culture and grow talent.

Now, with Teal, I’m bringing that expertise to individuals. If you want practical, honest insights on job searching, resumes, and how AI is transforming the way we work—follow me here on LinkedIn.

We believe that everyone should have the resources to build a meaningful career.

Teal helps you navigate change and drive your career with confidence and purpose. Invest in yourself and we will be there with tools and support every step of the way.

🤖 Stop letting ChatGPT write your resume for you. It's making you sound like everyone else:

I see it everywhere. Job seekers pasting their entire work history into ChatGPT and asking it to 'write a professional resume.'

The result? Generic, bloated copy that sounds like it was written by a robot. Because it was.

AI doesn't know what you actually accomplished. It doesn't know the nuance of your work. It just rearranges words into something that sounds impressive but says nothing.

Here's the truth: AI is powerful for analysis, not authorship.

Use it to refine what you've already written. Not to write it for you.

Here are 4 AI prompts that actually help your job search:

1️⃣ Extract keywords from job postings

Prompt: 'Here's a job posting: [paste posting]. Extract 20-30 relevant keywords and skills I should consider including in my resume.'

AI will pull out the terms that matter. Then you manually weave them into your bullets where they naturally fit. Don't just stuff them in.

2️⃣ Get better action verbs and metric ideas

Prompt: 'Here's a bullet from my resume: [paste bullet]. Suggest 5 stronger action verbs and 3 types of metrics I could add to make this more impactful.'

❌ Before: 'Responsible for managing social media accounts'
✅ After AI suggestions: 'Grew social media engagement 45% across 4 platforms by launching data-driven content calendar and A/B testing post formats'

You write the bullet. AI helps you sharpen it.

3️⃣ Condense a long career into a tight summary

Prompt: 'Here's my 15-year career history: [paste brief overview]. Write a 3-line professional summary that captures my expertise and value proposition.'

AI is good at compression. Use it to distill your story into something scannable. Then edit it to sound like you.

4️⃣ Simulate recruiter questions to find weak spots

Prompt: 'Here's my resume: [paste resume]. You're a recruiter for [target role]. What 5 questions would you ask me based on gaps or unclear points in this resume?'

If AI can't figure out what you did, neither can a recruiter. Use the questions to identify and fix weak bullets.

AI is a tool. Not a ghostwriter. Use it to analyze, refine, and sharpen your work. But the story? That's yours to tell.

Write your resume with smart AI assistance → https://lnkd.in/gJSNk4FN

👍 To let me know you want more content like this.
♻️ Reshare to help someone make their next job move.
🔔 Follow me for more job search & resume tips.

CEO of Teal | Building the AI That Helps People Navigate Their Careers

Stop Using ChatGPT To Write It

❌ 'I don't have time to tailor my resume for every job.'
I hear this constantly. 
Here's the truth:

You're right that traditional resume tailoring takes forever.

An hour per application? Who has time for that when you're applying to 50+ jobs?

But here's what most people get wrong:

Tailoring doesn't mean rewriting your entire resume from scratch.

It means showing the 10% of you that's 100% relevant to THEM.

Think about it:

You've done a lot in your career. But a hiring manager doesn't need to see all of it. They need to see the specific experience that solves their problem.

When you don't tailor, you're asking them to connect the dots.

When you do tailor, you're handing them the answer.

Here's how to do it in 10-15 minutes:

1️⃣ Read the job description and highlight 3-5 key requirements

2️⃣ Adjust your summary to speak directly to those priorities

3️⃣ Reorder your bullets so the most relevant ones come first

4️⃣ Swap in keywords that match their language

5️⃣ Remove anything that doesn't support your fit for THIS role

That's it. You're not rewriting—you're reorganizing and refocusing.

The other objection I hear:

'I shouldn't have to tailor. Recruiters should figure out if I'm a fit.'

I get it. It can feel subservient.

But here's the reframe:

Tailoring isn't about being at their mercy. It's about staying in control of your narrative.

YOU decide what story they see. YOU position yourself as the solution.

That's power—not weakness.

Tailor your resume in minutes, not hours → https://lnkd.in/gJSNk4FN

👍 To let me know you want more content like this.
♻️ Reshare to help someone make their next job move.
🔔 Follow me for more job search & resume tips.

Resume Tailoring Takes Too Long

Throughout my career, I have focused on ways to support the technology community and help its people grow. I serve in a variety of capacities including:

- Training and Speaking: Creating and delivering talks and workshops on a variety of topics including agile processes, career development, communication, mental health, personal branding, and team growth
- Conference and event organization: Leadership, marketing, sponsorship management, speaker identification, content creation, day-of logistics, and master-of-ceremonies duties
- Individual career coaching and mentoring: Specializing in helping people transition into tech or change directions once established in their careers
- Connecting: Finding ways to bring people together and connect them to one another and to organizations in ways that benefit everyone involved
- Volunteering: I have been involved with Per Scholas, DogFoodCon, and Columbus Digital Service

Technical Recruiter | Tech Community Manager

Veeam Software

• Connect and engage with community members and end users via user groups, events, and social media.
• Meet and collaborate with influencers (Veeam Vanguards) to co-host and create video/podcast content, identify writing opportunities, give technical talks, and discuss how to grow the Vanguard program.
• Present introductory technical sessions about Kubernetes, Azure, AI, and ransomware mitigation.
• Conduct data analysis and peer review of Ransomware 2024 Report for LATAM, APJ, and EMEA
• Write technical documents including product feature overviews, blogs, user tutorials, and release notes.

Technologist, Product Strategy 

• Create and execute a marketing plan to grow Kasten’s KubeCampus Kubernetes Learning Platform and Kasten user groups into a community of over 25,000 members.
• Plan, project manage, and host 25 - 250 person community Kubernetes Learning Day events for KubeCon EU, KubeCon NA, and WeAreDevelopers World Congress in collaboration with Kasten’s marketing, social media, events, product, engineering, and design teams.
• Build partnerships with other technical businesses and organizations such as Microsoft, Red Hat, CNCF, and DevOps and Cloud Computing user groups to support and create content for Learning Days, KubeCampus Labs, blog posts, and speaking opportunities.
• Write and deliver webinars and blogs about learning through community, getting started with Kubernetes and Cloud Native technologies, community news, and effectively leveraging KubeCampus.
• Propose and deliver talks internationally on a variety of professional and human skills for technologists.
• Monitor and support the broader Veeam ecosystem through participation in Veeam community forms,
collaboration with product teams, and collaborating community managers from Veeam’s team.

Community Manager, Kasten by Veeam 

Microsoft

• Manage relationships with technology influencers (MVPs) by gathering feedback on products, the award program, and the broader tech community. Learn and monitor trends, initiatives, ideas, challenges, and solutions. Report this information to program leadership to influence change.
• Identify and source tech community experts who may be good MVP candidates, inform them about the program, recruit them, and walk them through the nomination and award/reaward processes.
• Identify MVPs for speaking and hosting engagements at events such as Microsoft Ignite Table Topics, Reactor activities, and monthly virtual meetups.
• Participate in and host virtual meetups and events, including monthly social gatherings, new MVP orientations, award celebrations, Microsoft Build, and MVP Summit.
• Validate and review MVPs and their contributions to determine whether to award/reaward them.
• Schedule and host in-person MVP lunch meetups at community and MVP-run technology conferences.
• Propose and deliver talks internationally on a variety of professional and human skills for technologists.

Community Coordinator - Microsoft MVP Award Program

Rocket Companies

• Manage external tech community outreach efforts while also guiding developer advocates and internal and university community managers in their roles for a new, experimental Developer Relations team.
• Lead the Developer Relations team, establishing and tracking metrics for success, coaching team members, and leading all strategic planning efforts.
• Coach social media team on connecting to technologists.
• Create and manage strategy, guidelines, and process for virtual and in-person conferences and events.
• Mentor Associate Technical Community Managers as they establish their brands and become speakers,
exposing them to the tech community, discussing future goals, and teaching them to navigate events.
• Stream a Twitch series for Rocket DevRel that highlighted the Rocket team members and their peers.

Tech Community Manager

SaltStack

• Create a Community Management Plan for a DevOps/SecOps organization that allowed Salt’s open source contributors to collaborate more effectively with internal software development teams. In under a year, the community grew and became more cohesive, active, and positive. 
• Participate in release planning, release playback, and standup meetings with the rest of the Salt Open Engineering team, write user stories for community deliverables, and deliver regular progress updates and demos to the internal engineering team and open source contributors.
• Design, implement, and manage new programs including Community Open Hours, Pull Request and Documentation Jams, Test Clinics, and Formula and Documentation Working Groups.
• Monitor and moderate community communication channels including Slack, IRC, and Google Groups. 
• Host, record, edit, and transcribe community event videos to post on YouTube.
• Implement weekly Twitch streams on testing, triage, and research and development.
• Write blog posts, documentation, Salt Enhancement Proposals, and Community Wiki updates.
• Manage the Salt Enhancement Proposal process which allowed changes to the Salt project.
• Work with Marketing to move user groups, conferences, and other events to digital platforms in the United States, South America, and Europe. 
• Represent Salt at general tech community events including conferences, podcasts, user groups, and Twitch streams with the goal of introducing the broader tech community to SaltStack.
• Track OKRs including contributor numbers, attendance numbers, and other community statistics.

Community Manager

•	Created and presented content including blogs, podcast interviews, social media posts, talks, and workshops aimed at software developers and other technical professionals.
•	Promoted company IoT, Machine Learning, and Data Solution projects at conferences and events.
•	Advised consultants on how to become involved in the tech community.
•	Coached coworkers on creating and submitting talk abstracts as well as guiding them through the talk creation and delivery process.
•	Tracked activities and outcomes using Confluence and Salesforce.

Innovation & Product Evangelist

•	Collaborated with clients to create hardware and software solutions with a strong focus on IoT and Machine Learning in the healthcare, startup, and non-profit industries.
•	Led client kickoff meetings, standups, sprint planning, and retrospectives.
•	Managed project scope by documenting and monitoring changes and seeking stakeholder approval.
•	Utilized Confluence, Jira, and Microsoft Office to track project status, features, and progress.

Product Owner

Dog Food Conference

•	Manage marketing and social media efforts for a local Microsoft + Open Source conference.
•	Expand conference to include human skills, open source integration, keynotes, and social events.
•	Identify, select, and coordinate speakers for over 80 conference sessions each year.

President

Test Double

•	Expanded company reach into new markets through regular speaking engagements.
•	Participated in company leadership meetings to discuss and resolve issues related to company growth, employee engagement, and consulting client challenges.
•	Managed and mentored developers through one-on-ones and creation and tracking of professional goals.
•	Assisted employees with being selected to speak at conferences by helping them create talk proposals, prepare content, and create related blog posts.
•	Led initiatives to increase diversity and inclusion within the company.
•	Analyzed existing hiring and qualification processes and tools. Implemented changes to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the recruiting process.

Support Agent: Employee & Community Engagement

Improving Enterprises

•	Co-led the Columbus branch of an international software development consulting company, specializing in enhancing the local office’s marketing and recruiting efforts.
•	Managed all efforts to engage in and support the technology community through conference sponsorships, user group hosting, and planning networking events. 
•	Created content for social media, blog posts, marketing campaigns, and recruiting campaigns.
•	Spoke at client sites, tech conferences, user groups, and non-profits on topics including professional networking, communication, career growth, interviewing, personal branding, diversity & inclusion, and mental health.
•	Assisted consultants in creating conference talk proposals and presentations, blog posts, user groups, and internal training classes and helping them find ways to become involved in the community.
•	Communicated with clients to discuss their business problems and hiring needs, then worked closely with the rest of the leadership team to address those challenges.
•	Participated in company leadership meetings to discuss and make strategic business decisions, resolve personnel issues, scale the organization, and grow its reputation.
•	Identified, interviewed, and hired software development team members including Developers, Data Specialists, UI/UX Professionals, DevOps Engineers, BAs, PMs, Scrum Masters, and Agile Coaches.
•	Analyzed, increased, and improved recruiting and hiring efforts and implemented changes to candidate tracking and interviewing.
•	Conducted new-hire orientations and ongoing check-ins with employees.
•	Diversified employee engagement, retention, team-building, and recognition activities to ensure that they were inclusive for all employees.

Director of Community Outreach & Talent Management

CloudDevelop Conference

•	Lead social media and promotional efforts of a cross-platform cloud computing conference.
•	Assist with day-of event coordination.

Marketing Lead

My career has focused on the human side of technology. I have experience in tech recruiting, developer relations, tech community management, training, marketing, consulting, event planning, talent management, candidate sourcing, and employee engagement. I am an international speaker who excels at connecting and communicating with tech community members and guiding them to individual and organizational success. I'm adept at helping technology and businesses work together effectively. I've supported a variety of industries from startups and small businesses to government agencies.

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David Fano

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taplio

The Battle

David Fano

Cassandra Faris

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Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}David Fano's LinkedIn Performance

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