Help and how-tos

Where: Start my story button on the home page

1. Click Start my story.
2. Enter your name, email and a password, and tick the agreement box.
3. Open the confirmation email and click the link.
4. Choose Add a résumé, Build a résumé, or Start with a framework. The framework asks three quick questions: one chapter, one proud moment, and what comes next. Skip any you like.
5. When you save something, you see your Squiggle and a private portfolio draft. Nothing is public until you publish. If you leave before saving, setup waits for you next time.

Where: Story → Add or import

1. Open Story and choose Add or import.
2. Choose a PDF, Word, or text file.
3. Review every item that was found. Nothing is saved until you tick it and confirm.

Where: Home page → Try the full demo

1. Explore the demo or open a sample portfolio or résumé. Samples are for viewing only and are never copied into your account.

Where: Story → Career timeline, or Portfolio → Portfolio builder → Career path

1. Click Add a chapter. The form opens on the page you are already using, with your own story.
2. Enter a title, organization, type, start and end dates, and a summary in your own words. Use the organization for the company, client, school, or group attached to this chapter.
3. In Portfolio builder, leave Include on my Squiggle when I save my portfolio checked to select the new chapter for your draft. Uncheck it to keep the chapter in My Story only.
4. Click Save chapter. If you added it in My Story, open Portfolio builder → Career path and check the chapter you want to include.
5. Review the preview and use Publish changes to share the selected chapter. Adding a chapter alone does not publish it.

Where: Portfolio → Portfolio builder → Career path, or Story → Career timeline

1. Find the chapter by its title, organization, type, and dates. In Portfolio builder, click Edit chapter; in My Story, click Edit.
2. Update Title, Organization, Type, Start, End, or Summary. Summary is the chapter description visitors can read when they open its point on your Squiggle.
3. Click Save chapter. These are shared chapter details, not a separate portfolio-only description. If the chapter is already included on a published portfolio, saved edits can appear there immediately.
4. Use Career path controls for the Squiggle label, shape, strand, and inclusion. Review and publish those portfolio choices separately.

Where: Story → Wins & Moments, or + Capture a moment

1. Click + Capture a moment on any page, or open Wins & Moments.
2. Write what happened in your own words. Add tags if you like.
3. Save. You can edit or delete it any time.

Where: Story → Story hub

1. Choose Career timeline, Wins & Moments, Pitch & Bio, or Stats & Review.
2. Use All Story tools to return to the cards.
3. Check-ins, review sheets, and kind notes are in Wins & Moments under Check-ins and kind notes.

Where: + Capture a moment → microphone

1. Record up to 60 seconds.
2. Edit the written version before saving. The recording itself is not kept.

Where: Story → Stats & Review → Annual review

1. Year recap summarizes a year.
2. Tidy up finds possible duplicates to merge or ignore.
3. Refine squiggle helps you reflect on your path. Add or edit chapter details in Story → Career timeline or Portfolio builder → Career path; choose the public path in Portfolio builder.

Where: The squiggle button, bottom left of every page

1. Tap it to see one next step based on what you've saved, plus a link to Help.
2. The button bounces gently once per visit so you know it's there.

Where: The squiggle button → Nostrali chat

1. Open the squiggle drawer and pick a starter question or type your own. Nostrali is your AI writing assistant, not a human coach, and answers from your saved story.
2. Start a new conversation or reopen a saved one from the drawer. Only you can see them.
3. Use Save as moment to review a reply before it joins your story. Free includes five messages in total; Pro continues the conversation.

Where: Practice → Transferable skills

1. Click Look for patterns.
2. Keep or dismiss each suggestion. Every strength links back to your own moments.

Where: Story → Pitch & Bio

1. Open a format card, choose your moments and tone, and click Draft with Nostrali. Nostrali is your AI writing assistant, not a human coach. Career translators, posts, and video scripts are also on the page.
2. Review the source moments and edit your draft. Check every fact and replace [X] only with a verified figure. AI drafts save automatically; Save new version keeps edits without replacing the original.
3. Use Saved drafts to reopen your work, or All pitches and bios to choose another format. Nothing is published or sent by drafting.

Where: Practice → Interview practice → Interview prep

1. Enter the role you are interviewing for, or click Practice for this on an interview under Coming up.
2. Star common questions and draft answers. Drafts save automatically.
3. Use Print practice sheet for a paper copy.

Where: Practice → Tell me about yourself or Interview prep → Rehearse out loud

1. Click Rehearse out loud on your Tell me about yourself answer or any interview story, then pick a 60-, 90-, or 120-second target and record. Rehearsals shows your past results.
2. See length, pace, filler words, and any number that isn't in your saved moments. Audio is not kept.

Where: Portfolio → Portfolio builder

1. Choose Essentials, Visual style & portrait, Career path, Unique elements, Projects & media, Proof, impact & praise, or Page arrangement. Find Styles, accent colors, and fonts in Visual style & portrait; your logo stays in Essentials.
2. In Career path, add or edit chapters and check only those you want public. Identify each by its organization, type, and dates.
3. Use Unique elements for your Career iceberg, Work footprint & territory, services, and other story elements. In Page arrangement, move, hide, or rename individual sections. Photos and video controls are in Projects & media.
4. Review your selected chapters and proof in Preview. Open Publish & share to publish or turn Make public off, then save to take your portfolio offline. Save keeps your edits.
5. My live portfolio opens the published page; use Portfolio builder to change it.

Where: Portfolio → Portfolio builder → Career path

1. Each chapter lists its saved organization beneath the title, followed by its type and dates.
2. Match the company, client, school, or group and period before checking a chapter or choosing Edit chapter.
3. If an organization or date is missing, click Edit chapter and add the real details, then Save chapter. No company or dates are filled in for you.

Where: Portfolio → Portfolio builder → Career path

1. Check the chapters you want on your portfolio. Uncheck a chapter to leave it out without deleting it from My Story.
2. Choose Squiggle or Timeline. For a Squiggle, review each chapter's label, shape, strand, and dates. Overlapping work, volunteer, and personal chapters can appear as separate strands.
3. Review the preview. Selecting chapters changes your portfolio draft; use Publish changes to update what visitors see.
4. Keep Make public off if you are not ready to share. Chapters you have not included remain outside the public portfolio.

Where: Portfolio → Portfolio builder → Proof, impact & praise → Impact

1. Add an impact by hand, start from a saved result, or use Find impacts in my moments with Pro. It looks for existing figures in saved moments, not new claims or calculated results.
2. Use Add & review on a suggestion. Check its source, figure, label, and context, then confirm the wording. Suggestions are not shared automatically.
3. Choose any combination of Show in Squiggle chapter, Show in full Impact section, and Show near the opening. For chapter impacts, choose a career chapter and include it in Career path. Visitors see them when they open that chapter.
4. Save your portfolio to keep your changes. Move to bank removes all three placements without deleting the impact. Editing its wording hides it until you confirm again.

Where: Portfolio → Pitch links

1. Click New pitch link and say who it's for.
2. Pick up to three items to lead with.
3. Under What this link shows, choose Full portfolio, Focused or Custom to leave out anything that isn't relevant.
4. Copy the link, or pause or turn it off at any time.

Where: Portfolio → Portfolio builder → Unique elements → Career iceberg

1. Pick up to nine moments, reorder them, and choose a style.
2. Download it as an image with your QR code.

Where: Portfolio → Portfolio builder → Unique elements → Work footprint & territory

1. Switch on Work footprint & territory. Add cities or countries, then use the arrows to change their order.
2. Choose Map view for numbered pins or Stop list for a list that wraps. Map area can fit your places automatically or show the United States, Northeast US, North America, Europe, or the world. In Map view you can hide the list under the map for pins only.
3. Add your own title and subtitle. Most cities, states, and countries pin on their own. If a place can't be found, add the state or country (for example Springfield, MA); it stays in your list either way.
4. Choose Prepare territory image, then Download image. Long lists get a taller image so all stops fit. Published portfolios include their link; an unpublished draft does not.
5. Save your portfolio to keep your choices. Move Work footprint & territory in Section order and visibility to change where it appears. A downloaded image is a separate file, so taking your portfolio offline cannot recall copies you have shared.

Where: Résumé → Résumé builder

1. Choose New résumé to start from your saved Story, upload a document, or begin blank. Review imported content before saving.
2. Use Tailor for a job to create a separate job-specific copy, preserving the original. Switch versions to reopen saved work; use Make primary for your main résumé. Edit or move sections to suit the content.
3. Use Nostrali's AI writing suggestions with your selected saved evidence, then review every proposed change. It must not invent figures, employers, or outcomes.
4. Open the design and download controls; use Change template to expand the style choices. All templates are available on Free; Free includes one master résumé and one job-tailored copy. Additional copies require Pro.
5. Preview the pages, then download PDF or Word. Your résumé stays owner-only unless you explicitly share a copy or include it in a partner review packet.

Where: Résumé → Cover letter

1. Name the role and company, then write the opening, middle, and closing with the guidance beside each box.
2. Optionally use Draft with Nostrali from your saved moments, review the draft, paste the job post to spot missing keywords, and download as PDF or Word.

Where: Portfolio → Portfolio builder → Share & Toolkit → Story sheet

1. Review the sheet and use your browser's print option.

Where: Career Moves → Research

1. Set up a Google Alert for companies or roles you care about, using the steps shown.
2. Use the prompt generator to research companies with ChatGPT, Claude, or another AI tool, or copy the weekly prompt to schedule it there.
3. Pro members can create a one-click company brief. It does not search the web, so check current details before you use them.
4. Save companies you like to Opportunities and people to Contacts.

Where: Career Moves → Outreach

1. Use the outreach guides and add your pitch link to a message.

Where: Portfolio → Kind words

1. Create a request link and send it to a colleague.
2. Keep the notes you like and choose which appear on your portfolio.

Where: Track → Opportunities

1. Add the role or project, company, and date, and note which résumé you shared. You send materials yourself outside No Straight Line.
2. Use Edit to change the role title, company, or date. Move the opportunity through stages and log interviews.
3. You can also use Add to Opportunities on a logged presentation in Coaching & Recruiting. Enter the exact role title; it is not guessed from your headline. A presentation log is not proof of sending or delivery.
4. If it ends, note why it wasn't a fit, from either side, and the lesson to carry forward.

Where: Track → Coaching & Recruiting

1. Redeem the partner's seat code, then choose that partner in Coaching & Recruiting. Seat access alone does not share your work.
2. Select a published portfolio link, saved résumé, saved pitch or bio, or a combination, and send for review. Résumés and pitches are snapshots; editing the originals does not update the submitted copies.
3. Decide separately whether to allow forwarding. Anyone with an active forwarding link can view the selected packet and may pass the link on.
4. Turn forwarding off to disable the link, or withdraw the submission to remove its review snapshot too. Unpublishing the portfolio does not revoke résumé or pitch snapshots. Copies already shared outside No Straight Line cannot be recalled.
5. Read partner feedback after they send it. See each logged client company, optional recipient name, and date, then add it to Opportunities if you want. Client reactions, recipient emails, and the partner's message stay private to the partner.

Where: Track → Contacts

1. Add people you reach out to, with a follow-up date.
2. Follow-ups due this week show at the top, and the Track menu shows a number when something is due.

Where: Pricing → For partners

1. Coaches, recruiters, employers, universities, and career services use the same partner offering. Choose 5, 10, 20, or 50 seats, or contact sales for more than 50. Beta access is free; paid checkout is not open.
2. When paid purchasing opens, packs are one-time purchases. Each code provides 12 months of Pro from redemption and must be redeemed within 12 months of purchase.
3. Manage codes and editable invitations in Account → Partner Hub → Manage seats. Copy the subject, message, or link and send it using your own email or messaging service. No Straight Line does not send the invitation.
4. Each person redeems their own code without adding a card. Their account and everything they create stay under their control.

Where: How it works → For partners

1. A partner sponsors access, not access to a person's story. Authorized seat managers see seat totals, name, email, redemption date, and last active date.
2. Only a person's separate submission shares their chosen work for review. It does not open their account, contacts, private notes, or other writing.
3. Candidates see logged presentation company, optional recipient name, and date. The partner's copied message and client reactions remain private to the partner team. Candidate and partner opportunity stages and notes remain separate.

Where: Account → Partner Hub → Candidates & presentations

1. Open a candidate's chosen review packet. Record review status and feedback; the candidate sees feedback only after you send it.
2. Create a forwarding link only when the candidate allows forwarding. Review your draft, recipient, and company, then use Copy message and log. This copies the message and records the presentation; it does not send email or confirm delivery.
3. Send the copied message yourself. Copy subject and Copy link only are separate controls. Open counts and first and most recent open times do not identify readers or prove delivery.
4. Read Interested, Request details, or Not a fit reactions and any optional note in the hub. These stay private to the authorized partner team, not the candidate.
5. Use Add to Opportunities to track a client presentation in your own account and enter the exact role title. Your stages and notes do not update the candidate's tracker.

Where: Partner Hub → Company Portfolio & Branding

1. Open your existing portfolio builder to edit your company's public page, logo, services, packages, prices, and booking links. Review before publishing.
2. A published company portfolio and its logo can appear on your forwarded candidate packets. Keep your public details current.
3. Use the hub's company writing links for Pitch & Bio and the existing career tools. They remain available to you without opening clients' private work or copying it into your story.

Where: Account → Settings → Your plan

1. The person's saved work is not deleted when sponsored access ends.
2. They can purchase Pro for themselves when payments open, or continue on Free with the Free plan limits.

Where: For partners

1. Affiliate revenue sharing is deferred. Partner Hub access and seat purchases do not create a commission entitlement.
2. Any future affiliate program will have separate enrollment, disclosure, and payment terms before it opens.

Where: Account → Settings

1. Profile and goals sets what you are working toward.
2. Reminders sets the day for your weekly win prompt.

Where: Account → Settings → Your data

1. Download everything in one click, or permanently delete your account.

Where: Account → Settings → Compensation strategy

1. Choose Talk compensation with Nostrali. The squiggle drawer opens with an editable question. Nothing is sent until you send it.
2. Describe your role, level, industry, and location. Separate base pay, commission or OTE, bonus, benefits, and equity. Bring a current range from a posting, recruiter, or dated source; Nostrali has no live salary data and does not calculate market worth.
3. Ask for negotiation wording grounded in your saved wins and the facts you provide. Review every suggestion. Compensation conversations use the same five lifetime Free chat messages; Pro continues chat subject to daily safeguards.
4. Details you type are sent to the AI service as part of your private conversation, not published or shared with partners. The retired calculator's historical checks remain private, exportable, and deletable in Settings.

Where: Sign-in page → Forgot password

1. Enter your email and follow the link we send.

Where: Account → Settings → Feedback

1. Choose Idea, Problem or Question and send.