The Unwritten Guide to Job Searching: How to Find a New Job in 8 Hours

Job Searching Can Be Painful

Job searching may be one of the most painful experiences in the modern world.

From finding the right company, the pain of networking, and having to fill out those terrible forms with all your resume information, job searching is generally awful. But it doesn’t have to be.

This guide was specifically written to be as straightforward as possible with real examples (e.g., what to say in a LinkedIn message) and even includes a time breakdown.

The goal of this guide is to help you find your next role the right way. It is battle tested and borrows inspiration from real-world experience and modern-day studies.

One note is everyone (and I mean everyone!) has different philosophies on getting jobs. Some start with soul searching, others start by outlining a perfect day, and others talk to their moms. This article captures what we have found to be the most straightforward, effective way to find a job you’ll enjoy in as short a period of time as possible.

Step 1: Make a List of 60 Companies (1 Hour)

Your goal in this session is to write out 60 companies you’d want to work for within an hour. That’s a company per minute. This is a pure brainstorm but will give you something very actionable afterwards, and will teach you about what you value. Here’s some prompts as you go about this:

1. First just write down all the companies you’d be interested in working for. You’ll get to ~30 really quickly.
2. Next, think of where friends and family work, and use this to supplement your list. You’ll get ~10 here.
3. Third, do some searching for companies like the companies you have listed already. I’d recommend using ChatGPT for this with the prompt “What are 30 other companies like [insert your list]”… You’ll get ~10 here depending on how choosy you are from the list the AI bot makes.
4. Lastly, search for companies that have recently raised money that are located in your area, like a Series A or Series B fund. I recommend using Crunchbase. Choose companies that are doing things you’re interested in. You’ll get your last ~10 here.

When I wrote this list for myself I found that it was composed almost entirely of product companies that I respect (which is one of the major reasons I have ended up working in physical products). It was a great personal signal to me what kind of company was best for my strengths/interests. Others who have done this get tech companies, medical centers, insurance companies, or whatever else they’re interested in. Life is too short to work somewhere you don’t love. Starting with the company is always the right first step.

Step 2: Look at Open Positions at these Companies (1 Hour)

The purpose of this step is only to see if your list of 60 companies are hiring. That’s it.

You don’t apply for jobs here. You’re simply looking to see if there’s open positions. This is an important step because often companies just aren’t hiring. In my experience if there’s no open positions then getting a job there is nearly impossible.

Here’s the criteria by company size:

• Small company (under $25M) – need more than 5 open positions
• Medium company ($25M-200M) – need more than 10 open positions
• Large company ($200M+) – need more than 10 open positions IN THE SAME OFFICE

If they don’t have this, just move on. They’re not hiring. You can also use some discretion if, for example, they’re only hiring for shift workers in their warehouse and you typically work in an office.

Your list will really dwindle here, and that’s the point. Depending on your industry and macro environment you’ll likely cut your list down to ~10 companies. Again, you’re not looking to see if they have positions open that you’re interested in, merely just seeing if there’s open jobs generally.

Step 3: Decide on Your Title (30 Minutes)

Here you need to decide what you want your job title to be. Here’s a quick example from my own job search a few years back:

I was looking for a job while in my second year of MBA school, and had a meeting set up with the CFO of Traeger. Inevitably it came up in my conversation with him what I wanted to do for my career. Here’s what I said:

“I do consumer insights and strategic planning. That means I do market research to better understand the consumer, and use that research to help with product, marketing, and sales decisions.”

And you know what’s funny? When Traeger created a position for me after that meeting, my title was “Consumer Insights & Strategic Planning.” Literally the title I said. Once I started I saw in their latest board deck that they had called out a need for better consumer insights. And it helped that the CFO was over strategic planning and could also use some help.

The lesson here is you just need to be specific in what you’re looking for. Many of my MBA classmates at that time were really vague – they wanted to work in product, marketing, finance, etc. and said they could do anything. But the truth is that companies have specific needs and if you hit on a hot button then you may get a position created for you or stand out in a sea of applicants for an open position.

How do you decide your title? Choose a title that is slightly uncommon, but very descriptive of what value you bring. Read job descriptions related to that title, and preferably talk with people with that title (more on that later).

Here’s some uncommon job title inspiration: Think of the problem to be solved with your position. If you want to be a designer, for example, and know most of the work will be for their website, you may want to say you’re an Interactive Designer. Get it? You’re just being more specific with what you do.

Step 4: Reach Out on LinkedIn (2 Hours)

At this point you need to network with people at the companies left on your target list. The best / most common way to do this is to send LinkedIn messages (or otherwise find people’s contact information and send them an email/text). This is the hardest part for people, and I understand why. It’s SO EASY to just apply to open positions. But resist! 80% of jobs come through personal connections.

The most important takeaway from this article is you must make a personal connection with someone at the company before ever applying for a job. Nothing matters more, because the best roles are recruited and staffed by the “informal” system (networking) NOT the formal system (applying on the website). Referrals and connections are the “secret sauce” of recruiting.

Nearly every company has a formal system where the hiring manager can identify if someone is a referral. At my last company we’d get a personalized link to send to applicants, which then flagged it in our system that this person was a referral. At my current company we’ll use our project management software to alert for a referral. The holy grail of getting a job is to have someone at the company send a note to the hiring manager advocating for you personally.

Almost always referrals are given an initial first interview, and that’s your foot in the door!

And here’s the thing – you don’t need to be best friends with the person who referred you. It can be a 5-minute conversation.

So reach out to someone at the company before applying. No exceptions. Here’s a sample LinkedIn message you can send:

Hi there! I came across your profile, I’m actively looking for a job at your company (it’s on my top 10 list). Any chance you could connect for 5 minutes to tell me more about working there?

You’ll send this as a LinkedIn connection message. You don’t need LinkedIn Premium for this. Just send the connection note and don’t overthink it.

In my experience about 1 in 3 people will respond back. Therefore, I would message at least three people per company. It doesn’t need to be someone in your field, someone your same age, or anything else. Just find three people with interesting jobs at your top 10 companies and message them. That’s it.

Step 5: Have “Info Interviews” at Your Target Companies (2.5 Hours)

Hopefully at this point you’ve set up some phone calls. What do you say during them? Here’s what I recommend:

1. Have it be conversational. Don’t be scripted. Break the ice and remember they are a person just like you. They’ve been in your shoes before!
2. Prepare a handful of questions, but use them for inspiration based on where the conversation goes. Easy questions include asking how they got into their role, what they like/dislike about their current company, or what interesting projects they’re working on are the right route here.
3. Tell them you’re looking. End the conversation telling them you’re looking to move companies and are interested in working at their company. Tell them what you do specifically (from step 3). Always ask if there’s someone else in their company they’d recommend talking with. Lastly, ask if they’d be willing to refer you for a position.

That’s it. Hopefully you end these conversations with a referral link and another person to talk with at the company. Remember that the point of this is 2-fold: (1) to build a network of advocates who will refer you for the position, and (2) to find out if this really is a company/team you want to work for.

One side note: if you’re really interested in working for a company and there are no current opportunities, you should be methodically talking with everyone there until there is. You might be surprised if you’re walking their halls and networking with people how opportunities will arise.

Step 6: Apply for the Job (1 Hour)

Hopefully at this point you have a referral link and someone willing to vouch for you at your 10 target companies.

To apply for a job the best advice I can give is to simply remember that a human is reading your application. Even if they don’t require a cover letter, write one anyway and submit it with your resume. Make it fun and interesting. While the hiring manager is looking for competency in any role, they’re also looking for someone they’ll actually like to work with.

Also remember to send a note to your referral saying that you’ve applied. This is helpful so they can advocate for you and follow up with you.

And lastly if it’s one of those companies that requires you to input every line of your resume onto one of those terrible forms, you should really reconsider applying to work there! Yuck.

Conclusion

These six steps, done in this order, will help you find your next job. As a reminder they are:

1. Make a List of 60 Companies
2. Look at Open Positions at these Companies
3. Decide on Your Title
4. Reach Out on LinkedIn
5. Have “Info Interviews” at Your Target Companies
6. Apply for the Job

If you’re in the job market or even passively looking, just remember that you have valuable skills to add to the right company. The process is a bit cumbersome, but with this approach it’ll significantly improve your chances of getting a job.

In my experience, which has been a discovery journey of this path of over 15 years, I can say this has led to some of the most fun and fulfilling jobs I could have ever imagined.

Lastly if you’re looking for resume help, how to write a fun and interesting cover letter, and advice with what to do during and after your interview, make sure you’re subscribed and we’ll cover that in our future articles.