The Value-First Announcement Post
Announce your win by teaching how you got it.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 3
- Confidence
- 82%
The Value-First Announcement Post is Javier's formula for sharing wins without bragging: attach the how. Instead of 'I'm happy to announce I got a job at Deloitte,' you explain how you got there so readers can replicate it, which reads as humble and generous and drives far more engagement. He treats every post as having a back-end strategy tied to a concrete goal rather than chasing engagement for its own sake. He also responds to every comment — reasoning that if someone spends 30 seconds commenting, you can spend 10 seconds replying — so engagers feel heard and the post keeps building.
Origin
Javier noticed announcement posts that just stated a win got little traction and read as bragging, while posts that taught the method behind the win drew engagement and goodwill. His most viral post — his career-journey story, shared by LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner — worked because it was relatable, valuable, and he responded to nearly all ~2,000 comments.
Core principles
- 01Attach value — how you did it — to any announcement so it doesn't read as bragging.
- 02Teaching others how you got there empowers them and drives engagement.
- 03Every post should have a back-end strategy tied to a concrete goal, not just engagement for its own sake.
- 04Responding to every comment makes commenters feel heard and fuels the post further.
How to run it
- 1
Lead with the win, then the how
State your announcement, then immediately add the story or strategy of exactly how you achieved it.
Pro tip Explaining how you got the position empowers others to do the same and makes you look humble.
Watch out A bare 'I'm happy to announce I got a job' adds no value and can read as bragging.
- 2
Tie it to a goal
Give each post a back-end strategy connected to a concrete goal, not just engagement.
Pro tip Engagement is nice, but design the post to hit a specific outcome you set for it.
- 3
Respond to every comment
Reply to each comment so commenters feel their voice is heard.
Pro tip If someone takes 30 seconds to comment, take 10 seconds to respond — or have someone help you do it.
In the wild
Javier posted about what he'd do at Grace Hopper, tagged attendees, got invited to speak next year, ran a prep session with the professionals he found, and when the career fair was canceled, partnered with Glimpse and Y Combinator to run his own the next day — with people needing to follow One Salting to attend.
→ The chained strategy grew his following and delivered a full career fair, all traced back to one goal-driven post.
Javier's most popular post told his career journey from rejection to corporate jobs; it was relatable, LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner reshared it, and Javier responded to nearly all ~2,000 comments.
→ The post hit almost 45,000 likes and made him well-known, even earning recognition from senior leaders at Cisco.
Common mistakes
Announcing with no value
A bare win with no explanation of how you got there adds nothing for readers and comes across as bragging.
Chasing engagement with no goal
Posting for engagement alone wastes the reach; every post should advance a concrete objective.
Is it for you?
Best for
Professionals building a personal brand who want to share achievements while giving back and driving reach.
Not ideal for
Contexts where sharing achievements publicly is inappropriate or where there's no teachable process behind the win.
From the transcript
“you want to give value to other people of number one how did you get to where you are now or how did you get…”
“if someone takes 30 seconds to comment on your post take 10 seconds to do so”
From the episode
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Jonathan Javier