How I Landed Two Job Offers Without Applying

I landed two job offers from the fastest-growing startups in the world.

I didn't apply for any specific job role or to a hundred others via easy-apply on LinkedIn. I did it with the power of networking and personalization, and in this article, I'll share my step-by-step framework with you.

Start here: Imagine you're a key, and your dream company is the lock. Just like a key must perfectly align and click to open a lock, you want to align with the company's values and be valuable. No matter how many keys you try or how determined you are, if you're not the right fit, that lock won't budge. Your fit determines whether the door to opportunity swings open or remains firmly closed.

Keep this analogy in mind while you read through my journey.

Understand thyself.

The first thing I uncovered was my skills and the value I bring to any organization. I knew that I had experience running my startups and had experience with building products from the ground up. I understood technology, had an extreme passion for talking to users, and could formulate hypotheses around value creation for customers that product development and growth naturally were the right fit for me.

I also had a unique insight into the market: There were three buckets of talented people.

1. People with only tech backgrounds.
2. People with only business backgrounds.
3. People with both tech and business backgrounds.

The first two groups are simpler to identify, suiting specialized positions like backend software engineers or business growth managers. Yet, these individuals may lack the essential mix of technological expertise and business insight. These extraordinary individuals possess genuine know-how in developing tech products and launching businesses.

Since I could write code to build tech applications, had a degree from one of the world's top universities in business, and had experience building my startups, I uniquely found myself in the third bucket, and I knew that every fast-growing startup needs people from the third bucket to lead their product development and growth functions.

Once I understood my value proposition and my core skills, I started scouting for companies that had the potential to be the next Facebook and aligned with my personal life vision.

Here is what you need to do:
Find what you're good at and use that as a banner to pitch yourself. Know your best skills and what makes you unique for a job more than anyone else, like a software engineer who's great with code and loves tackling problems, as shown by an impressive portfolio of projects. Or a new marketer who loves the field, shares studies on favorite companies, and writes articles on marketing topics.

Hunt Companies.

Once you've identified your personal value proposition, the next step is to find companies that you're passionate about joining and will resonate with your value proposition.

I only wanted to work in product-led startups that showed early signs of product market fit and had a top-tiered team executing at lightning speed. I was looking to join the next Facebook.

So, I used LinkedIn and Crunchbase to find companies where I wanted to work. I checked their websites, read up on their values, researched their product, analyzed their idea, and checked out their team and funding. My goal was to come up with ten startups I wanted to join with a clear path of how I would add value.

Here is what you need to do:
Find companies that align with your interests and unique value proposition. It might be a consulting firm, a large tech company, or a small startup - you should be clear about how you will add value to the organization.

Personalized Messaging

Once you've figured out the companies you're targeting, head to LinkedIn and spot the folks currently working in the department or role you're interested in. Let's say you're eyeing a product manager spot – that's when you reach out to product managers, heads of product, or even the Chief Product Officer (CPO), all with a message tailored just for them.

It's important to know that on LinkedIn, connecting with anyone is possible, but if you want to increase your chances of success, it's crucial to personalize your connection requests. With so many random requests flooding our inboxes, standing out is the key to success.

At this initial stage, your message's goal is simple: to get the other person to accept your connection request. Here's a basic template to guide you:

"Hi Steve, I'm Raheel, a product manager with a deep-rooted passion for startups. I align with your company's mission to build a colony on Mars. As a firm believer in galactic travel, I'd love to learn about your approach and process for building software that will power our journey to Mars."

The message is less than 300 characters and is perfect to get the other person interested enough to accept our invitation and reply to us.

If the other person accepts and replies to your message, then you send the follow-up message:

"Hi, Steve! Thank you for connecting. I aligned with XYZ's values and believe what you are working on to be extremely valuable as galactic travel is poised to take off in the next 5-6 years. As a product manager, I believe in forward-thinking product development that aligns with one of your core values. Given my solid understanding of the industry and experience building highly technical products, I believe I can add value to your product team. Since you're the CPO of ZYZ and have deep expertise in the field, I would love to get your insights into your product development philosophy and how you're thinking about building a team of talented individuals to achieve your goals faster. Are you available for a 15-minute call on Monday at 10 am EST?"

This message is personalized and serves as a signal that you've done your research and is someone with a clear ask that is hard to say no to!

What you need to do:
Remember, people are busy, so don't stress if they don't reply. The key is to stay persistent by sending them valuable information. Share ideas that could boost their progress, and gently keep reminding them about the great things you could bring to their team.

Call. Interest. Close.

Once you get them on a call, you're halfway there. On the call, your job is to understand everything about the company and dig deeper into its business needs. Once you have a clear idea of the company's priorities, you can adapt your value proposition to match their business needs and share interest in joining the company.

For example, whenever I got on a call with a key stakeholder, I asked questions about everything related to their business and current priorities. From daily problems to long-term growth plans, I tried to uncover every detail through our conversation. Again, since I was prepared and interested in them and their company, the conversation flowed naturally, and I didn't have to make up random questions to fill the silence. These conversations were interviews without the formalities that go along with interviews. The other person will ask you questions, so treat each conversation with extreme care and precision.

Near the end of the call, make your pitch and let them know you're interested in joining their company and would love to kickstart the process. They'll refer you to HR or connect you with other team members for further informal interviews. Certain companies conduct case studies, and if you're prepared, you'll excel.  

After each call, follow up with a thank you note and the agreed-upon next steps. If you don't get a reply, keep following up every week.

I do not doubt that you will receive a job offer within the next two weeks, provided that everything goes according to plan.

What you need to do:
Approach every talk like an interview and be extra prepared. Make every conversation count by demonstrating how you'd bring value to the company.

Important to Remember

Major players like Google, Facebook, McKinsey, and Accenture have organized interview systems, making the process unique. However, the good news is that since these giants receive an overwhelming number of resumes for each position, the chances of scoring an interview on your own can be slim.

The smart path is through a referral, and how do you secure one? Well, it's through the framework I just outlined.

Conclusion

So let's recap:

1. Identify your value proposition, know your strengths and the value you will bring when you join an organization.
2. Create a list of companies you want to join and learn everything about them.
3. Reach out to people in that organization through personalized messaging via Linkedin. Your goal is to get on a 15-minute call with them.
4. On the call, understand their priorities and communicate how you will help them address them.
5. At the end of the call, show interest in joining their company. You'll either get a referral that will kickstart the official interview process or will get connected to more team members to kickstart the unofficial interview process.

You'll also get a lot of rejections, but that's part of the process. Don't worry about hearing no: understand their rationale, learn from them, improve, and move in. Remember, you're only looking for that one, YES, that will get you your dream job.

I don't believe in applying directly through career pages or the easy-apply feature on LinkedIn because these companies get hundreds of applications. I built a startup in HRTech, and trust me when I tell you that recruiters do not read these applications. The best way is to connect with the right people and convince them to give you a shot.

With my strategy, I guarantee you will land a job much quicker with a higher salary. Many of my friends have found success with this approach, and I'm sure you will also find success.

Good luck.

Til Next Time.
Raheel