Enterprise & Mid-Market SaaS Leader | Startup Enthusiast | 3 Exits | Golf & Basketball Dad
Long rant, but may offer some insight to those looking for new jobs. Over the past 58 days, I treated my job search like a sales cycle, approaching it with the same strategy, persistence, and drive that I’ve used in my career over the years. I gave myself a challenge of 60 days to find a new gig being this is the first time I ever had to actually find a new job where I didn't end up being recruited or connected through network. It ended up taking me 57 days to say yes to a new opportunity. I acted as if I was starting a new job day one and so I started by prospecting 200-250 companies using Crunchbase, filtering through new startups and companies recently funded (shoutout to Matt Sanford for the suggestion). I also leveraged LinkedIn filters to find the most relevant job opportunities and researched the companies "that aligned with my experience" and their C-suite. To optimize my outreach, I created about 5-6 different resume samples and cover letters to test with formatting, verbiage, and using ATS sample scanners to test if my resume would pass the credentialing system or whatever it is that Rippling and those companies use to tell me my resume sucks etc. In addition, I spent 5-6 hours a day for the first couple weeks and I narrowed it down to 70 companies that I was genuinely excited about. Also, I decided to keep an excel sheet of everything (didn't have salesforce or hubspot to work with): The Breakdown: Prospected 200-250 companies. 70 cold outreach emails to the ones I was interested in (11 directly to CEOs) 9 inbound leads (companies reaching out to me) 17 initial interviews (from cold outreach responses) 10 second conversations 7 third conversations/case study interviews 4 job offers 1 company chosen Cold Email Outreach response rate was 24.3% CEO Email Outreach response rate: 36.4% First to Second Interview Conversion: 35.3% Second Interview to Job Offer Conversion: 66.7% Third Interview to Job Offer Conversion: 57.1% Total Job Offers: 4 offical job offers Inbound Leads: I had 9 inbound leads Average Time to Close (Job Offer): I said an official yes in 57 days of my goal within 60 days Subscriptions: Crunchbase, Pavillion, Linkedin Premium, Kickresume.com, ATSfriendly.com, enhancv.com,usemassive.com, hunter.io Here is my takeaway if you have read this far: For anyone currently job hunting, especially with layoffs being so prevalent, stay strategic and positive. Don’t just send out a million resumes and cover letters hoping for a response. Focus on your network, stay persistent, and be clear on the opportunity you’re seeking. I was surprised by how many people I hadn’t spoken to in years reached out to help. It’s a great reminder of the power of relationships and the impact you may not realize you have had in others lives at one point. Take a call with someone that may or may not help you, you never know. Every option is on the table and can lead to something great.
Great breakdown of your process! I’ve evaluated several executive search firms that claim to offer an alternative to the "resume black hole" approach. Each has its own spin, but one I looked at had a nearly identical method—except they were charging $15,000 for it. Granted, they would craft and manage the emails, and curate target contacts, but it just reinforces that this is an approach that works. It takes strategy, persistence, and a sales mindset to land the right role, and your numbers prove it. Appreciate you sharing the insights!
Good night! It seems we have to have a PHD in job searching these days to make any traction. Pure insanity.
Did you purchase the Crunchbase subscription for prospecting and LinkedIn Premium? It might be helpful to include the number of days spent along with a breakdown of each step. Highlighting the monetary investment, in addition to time and effort, could provide a more complete picture of the overall commitment.
Hi, thanks for sharing this, may I ask if you chose to use, or not use, the public Linkedin 'Looking for work' option over your profile picture - did you find any pros or cons to your choice in this? thanks
Dan Dougherty we have very similar stories, thank you for taking the time to put “pen to paper” My approach to The Netherlands job market mirrors your own coupled with a high “yes-to-do” ratio & immediate implementation which also led to me securing a new role with 60 days. I had a weekly target of coffees/conversations (as well as applications) & enlisted other job seekers within my trusted network to mine leads as I supported their efforts quid pro quo. As I continue to build my professional network out, i’m so thankful for my experience in sales. It takes grit, strategy & resilience to succeed.
Great overview, could you tell us the opportunity you took, Was it from one of the inbound leads or was it from one of your outbound efforts? You didn’t mention that and I think it would be interesting to know.
How many aptitude tests did you have to take?
Would you be willing to share any insights gleaned from resume and cover letter formatting?
Director of Product Management | 13+ Years of SaaS, AI/ML & Platform Product Delivery | Building Product-Led Growth Solutions and Teams | Real estate investor ok'ish at renovations
5dThis approach works for sales because sales hiring is rapidly gaining traction right now. Layoffs can only raise the bottom line so much so now companies have to actually do things in order to find more cash flow, sales is the first choice. Eventually new things will have to start being built again but I don’t think many companies are willing to spend money on that right now, particularly with looming economic uncertainty, the death of ZIRP and the (premature) promise of genAI technical headcount replacement. I am happy for anyone able to quickly find work in this job market, but I do not think many others in the tech industry will find it even remotely close to being this easy or quick to find work. For instance, my cold email outreach works less than 10% of the time, so I’ve scaled back when and how I send those. It could very well be my lack of experience with cold outreach but for sales it makes sense that it’s a solid method for penetrating the ATS defense.