He applied to 300+ jobs in 2013 and got rejected from all of them. Two years later, he was in final rounds at Microsoft, Google, & Twitter.
The result? An offer from Microsoft with a $70k+ raise. some of the nine (9) steps, He used to make it happen.
1. Understand Who Companies Really Hire.
He used to think the most qualified candidate got the job.
That's not true. Companies don't hire the most qualified candidate. They hire the person they believe will deliver the most value. His new goal? Be that person.
2. Choose 15 Target Companies
To illustrate value, He had to narrow his focus and stop applying to random jobs online. Instead, He made a list of 15 target companies.
Then aimed to learn everything he could about:
- Their goals
- Their challenges
- Their major initiatives
3. Find 150 Prospects
He knew he needed a referral. An internal advocate would help him skip the line and maximize his value. So he made a list of 10 contacts at each company. He aimed for potential hiring managers and teammates.
10 contacts * 15 companies = 150 total contacts.
4. Start Making Contact
He didn't ask for a referral upfront and made his initial outreach about the other person:
- Engaged with their content
- Recognized career transitions
- Asked for advice and followed up with results
After a few touchpoints, he then asked for a call.
5. Identify Opportunities For Value
He used these calls to perform discovery and ask his contacts about:
- Their journeys
- The biggest challenge their team is facing
- The six-month goals for their team
look for any opportunity where he could illustrate tangible value.
6. Research, Research, Research
With his potential opportunity in hand, he will start researching. His favourite tactics were:
- Surveying customers/prospects
- Performing competitive analyses
- Gathering credible industry data
Then he will prepare my pitch.
7. Crafting A Pitch Deck
He packaged his pitch in a short slide deck and introduced the problem/opportunity and backed it up with industry data. Again
shared 2-3 ideas or solutions with an execution plan. Then sent the deck to his contact and asked for a referral.
8. Examples of Ideas
For Google, he created a personalized pitch strategy for a potential client.
For Twitter, he shared 5 ideas for monetizing their existing audience.
For Microsoft, he surveyed SMBs and turned the feedback into a strategy to help Microsoft Ads reach more SMBs.
9. Referral + Value = Opportunities
Now, he was walking into interviews with 2 things:
1. A referral from an internal advocate
2. A clear, tangible illustration of my value that directly related to the company's goals
The focus was on that, not my non-traditional background.
10. Landing The Offer
In the end, Microsoft extended an offer and he officially became a Partner Manager at Microsoft Ads.
That job took his total compensation from $70k / year → to $130k / year.
All without “traditional” experience and without applying online.
These strategies can be replicated everywhere.
You’ve gotta drill down your favourite companies, network, and get referrals. It’s possible for you!
credit: Austin Belcak
