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I published the following essay five years ago on Medium, which 20,000 product leaders have read…
Over forty years, I have developed solid job-hunting skills, mainly because I searched for a new job every five years or so. These skills gave me the confidence to look for a new job whenever I became unhappy in a position and couldn’t figure out how to improve it. Too many employees become dissatisfied with their job but don’t dare to make a change. I hope this essay helps product leaders build the skills and confidence to find their next great job.
In late 2004 after a two-year break, I began a job search. My time off left me rusty, and companies wondered whether I was ready to work again. I started my job search reluctantly.
Job-hunting is both time-consuming and inefficient. From past searches, I remembered the frustration of applying for jobs and never getting a response, along with the debilitating series of “NOs” once you begin interviewing. As a past hiring manager, I remember posting a job, then the painstaking work of sifting through 200 applications for qualified candidates. I️ also recalled dedicating 1–2 days/week to “smiling and dialing” for additional candidates. It’s a frustrating process for everyone.
Below, I outline my approach to finding that next great job or, more precisely, establishing and extending your network so that your next opportunity will discover you. The three keys to success are:
1.) Figure Out What You Seek
2.) Make the Job Come to You, and
3.) Be Realistic About Timing
Here’s the story of my job search.
Half the battle in job-hunting is figuring out what you seek. Candidates must identify their passion, purpose, and ideal role in a company.
I started by creating a list of companies that interested me, then searched for themes within the list to help identify my interests. The following groups of ideas jumped at me: entertainment, education, and productivity/creativity software. I also noticed that almost all companies were consumer- and internet-focused. And although it’s not apparent today, many companies were startups with a proof-of-concept ready to scale. At the time, I believed this stage was my sweet spot.
Here’s the list of companies I created in 2004, organized by theme:
Education
Leapfrog
Pearson Education
TED
Entertainment
Second Life
Netflix
Pandora
Productivity/Creativity
LinkedIn
InsiderPages
Snapfish
Ofoto
SmugMug
I also spent time with many peers, friends, and mentors. There were a few memorable conversations that helped focus my search:
After beginning my career in marketing, I transitioned into product. I loved building things and eventually grew into VP Product roles at multiple consumer tech companies. At the time, I thought the next step in my career was to become CEO. I️ had office hours with Irv Grousbeck, a fellow Amherst College alumni and entrepreneurship professor at Stanford Business School. Halfway through our conversation, he said, “Gib, can I tell you something you may not like?” He continued, “You’re too nice to be a startup CEO.” The feedback resonated with me — I thought myself too thoughtful and deliberate to be a startup CEO. Irv gave me the license NOT to take this next step and to focus instead on finding another VP Product role.
I also met Ron Hoge, another Amherst College alumni. His advice: “Gib, you’ve talked about building an industry in the past. But it takes twenty years to build a company with that much impact, and you keep joining early-stage startups, scaling them, then selling them to larger companies.” He continued, “What if you join an established company you believe is good and help to make it great?” This advice stuck with me, and I began to look at companies that were more mature than the startups I had joined in the past.
Based on these conversations, two months into my search, I could describe what I was looking for: a VP Product role at an emerging, high-growth consumer internet company focused on entertainment, education, or productivity. The description gave me sufficient focus but was also broad enough to include opportunities I might not have considered at the start of my search.
Letting go of the “apply and see what happens” mindset learned from our early academic careers is hard. Finding the right school was simple: we applied to many schools and then chose among those that said “yes.”
In job-hunting, this mindset causes frustration. You apply for a job, get no response, then hear lots of “NOs” when you finally land an interview. And unlike school applications, few job opportunities pop up simultaneously — it’s hard to line up choices in parallel. For all these reasons, finding a great job requires a different mindset and approach.
In my job search, I focused not on finding and applying for jobs but on extending my network to set up an active perimeter where I received alerts when high-potential roles triggered my network. Instead of applying for jobs, I pushed myself to set up two high-quality conversations daily. In doing this, I made the job search an optimization problem. Each week I would sit down and think about all the people I needed to meet in the next few weeks, then begin the outreach to schedule meetings with them.
It didn’t happen right away, but I eventually achieved the two conversations a-day pace. This effort helped extend my network to get the word out about what I was looking for, but my meetings with folks like Irv and Ron also gave me meaningful insight into best-fit roles.
When I started, I began by creating lists of people I thought would be helpful, including:
Recruiters (especially recruiters within VC firms)
Venture Capitalists
Entrepreneurs
Individuals within companies on my target company list
Experienced leaders who know and care about me (mentors like Irv and Ron)
Other individuals (usually connected to me via college or grad school) had great judgment about products, people, and businesses
Peers from my past companies, and
VPs of Product at other companies
I contacted dozens of folks on my growing list to set up meetings. I began with the ‘friendlies,” then slowly advanced to connections I didn’t know. When I met, I’d learn more about their career, company, industry, and where they thought I might find potential roles. At the end of each conversation, I’d reiterate the focus of my search and then ask for the names of 2–3 folks they thought I should meet to expand my network further.
I became efficient at email correspondence and scheduling. Unlike the inefficient job application process, I maintained a focus and pace mainly within my control. I began to enjoy meeting and learning from new people in my network, and each conversation provided insight into potential future roles.
Over time, I discovered job opportunities before they became public. Through these many conversations, I developed insight into companies and roles and could communicate my passion for them. From time to time, I applied for jobs, but I️ maintained low expectations and always tried to connect with the hiring manager through my growing network.
In some of my past job searches, I was impatient and became easily frustrated. The result was settling for roles that weren’t a great fit. This time, I remained patient and outlined what I thought was a realistic timeframe for a VP-level role: 4–8 months to find a job that excited me. Based on past searches, I knew it would take time to figure out what I wanted and for the proper role to open up to me.
Beyond two conversations per day, I did a few things to improve the odds of finding a job. I learned to give “tiny updates” every 4–6 weeks to my expanding network. While my network wanted to be helpful, there’s a substantial “out of sight, out of mind” phenomenon, so it’s important to remind folks what you seek. There are many pretenses for these reminders — “Here’s an interesting article you might like,” “Congratulations on last quarter’s results,” or similar tactics. The critical communication reminded me t“I️’m looking for a VP Product role in a high-growth consumer internet company focused on entertainment, education, or productivity.”
Managing the process of extending my network, with its two conversations/day and “tiny updates,” was complicated. I relied on a spreadsheet to track my emails and noted whether folks had responded and the date of my last update. Most of my correspondence was individual “cut and paste” emails that I lightly personalized. As I extended beyond “friendlies,” I took a more aggressive approach, saying to myself, “you don’t get what you don’t ask for.” In most cases, I needed to send 2–3 emails before getting a response. Employers require grit; I viewed the job hunt as a persistence test.
One aspect of my search helped me stay patient: I carved out time each day to do what I enjoyed. My “take care of yourself” activities include learning to surf/snowboard, tutoring kids at the local school, and training to become a competitive triathlete. An hour or two each day for these activities, I have helped even out the inevitable highs and lows of the search. The result: I presented myself as a more confident candidate despite being on the sidelines for two years.
There were a few memorable conversations during my job search that helped me fine-tune the specific companies and roles that best fit my skills and experience:
I interviewed for a VP Product Role at Planet Out. I had the e-commerce experience they sought and appreciated their efforts to build a more diverse, inclusive society. Still, it became apparent that I couldn’t generate passion for the role. In hindsight, pursuing this opportunity feels random, but the search is full of seemingly random vectors — it takes discipline to stay focused.
I met Geoff Ralston, who was Chief Product Officer at Yahoo!. In talking with him, it was evident that he was searching for a more technically-oriented product leader. (I’m an English major.) At the end of the hour, he said, “We need someone stronger technically than you.” It was a helpful articulation of poor fit.
After five months of searching, Gracia Huntington, a Netflix recruiter, pinged my acquaintance and indicated that Netflix was looking for a new VP of Product. This friend remembered my “tiny update” and forwarded the job specification, then introduced me to Gracia. Netflix had just begun their search — the previous VP of Product had left a few months before — and the interview process proceeded with pace. Netflix did backchannel checks, and members of my network played back a standard message: “The role is perfect for Gib.” My peers also described the pace and diligence of my job search, convincing Netflix that I was ready to work again.
Fresh from my “You are not technical enough” conversation with Geoff Ralston, I determined what Netflix wanted and finally asked, “I just want to make sure you understand that I will be the only English major in the building.” Neil Hunt, the Chief Product Officer at Netflix, responded: “I think that’s good; we’re looking for someone different for this role.”
The job fit the bill. Netflix was a good company, filled with bright people knowledgeable about creating customer and shareholder value. There was a vision that once the company got big on DVDs, it would invent a new worldwide streaming industry. Although Netflix had less than two million members then, there were many clues that the company would someday become great. I had used the DVD-by-mail service for years, and loved it, as did many of my Silicon Valley peers. There were a lot of 7 a.m. meetings between Neil and me, but I eventually got an offer and joined the company. It took me six months to find the job.
I recognize that my job search was unusual. On the downside, I was rusty from a two-year break. On the upside, I had substantial VP Product experience with startups, I could dedicate myself to a full-time job search, my wife had a high-paying job, and we had saved enough money not to worry about paying the mortgage. This financial cushion allowed me to be patient.
I think the following tips are relevant for anyone at any stage in their career:
Spend the time required to identify and articulate what you seek. Be specific, so your network thinks of you when they hear about an opportunity. Then remind folks of your desired role every 4–6 weeks so that when recruiters contact them, they’ll refer you.
Focus less on applying for jobs and more on having two high-quality conversations per day. (If you are employed while seeking your next gig, you can reduce this goal to 2–4 discussions/week.)
In building towards two meetings/day, focus on building connections with VCs, recruiters, entrepreneurs, peers with similar jobs, and contacts on your target list of companies. Use loose ties (neighbors, alumni, past colleagues, and acquaintances via shared activities) to extend your network continually.
Set a realistic timeline. While it may be 4–8 months for a VP role, it’s likely 3–6 months for a Director role, 2–4 months for a Manager role, and 1–3 months for an entry-level position.
Take care of yourself! Engage in activities you enjoy to help maintain your patience and confidence.
These job-hunting techniques gave me a degree of control as I faced the inevitable peaks and valleys of my job hunt. And in the end, they helped Netflix to find me. I hope they will help your next great job to discover you.
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Thanks,
Gib
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