Land your dream job in today’s market: negotiation tactics, job search councils, and more | Phyl Terry (Author, “Never Search Alone”)
1. Join a Job Search Council
Join a support group of 6-8 job seekers (like those at phil.org) to support each other, figure out candidate market fit, and overcome the inherent insecurity and anxiety of job searching.
2. Create a Job Mission with OKRs
Privately draft your own job mission with Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) for the role you’re interviewing for, as this demonstrates initiative and helps you understand the role better than the typical vague job description.
3. Negotiate Success Resources First
Before discussing salary, talk to the hiring manager about the specific resources, support, or budget you’ll need to succeed in the role, tying it back to your agreed-upon OKRs, as companies appreciate this proactive approach to ensuring success.
4. Develop a Focused Candidate Market Fit
After your listening tour, create a simple, narrow candidate market fit statement (typically 3-4 attributes like stage, industry, role level, culture) to clearly communicate your target, acting as a ‘spear’ rather than a ’net’ to attract relevant opportunities.
5. Conduct a Job Search Listening Tour
After defining your preferences, conduct a ’listening tour’ by asking trusted friends, former colleagues (reverse exit interviews), and recruiters for feedback on your fit and current market conditions.
6. Ask for Help Confidently
Understand that asking for help is a sign of confidence, not weakness, and it strengthens your reputation and independence, especially when done thoughtfully and with preparation.
7. Manage Emotional Balance Sheet
Prioritize managing your emotional balance during a job search, as it is the most important factor to manage for sustained effort and overall well-being, more so than resumes or networking.
8. Define Your Job Preferences
Clearly articulate what you want and don’t want in a job by creating a ‘Mnookin two-pager,’ as most people skip this crucial first step, leading to unfocused efforts.
9. Interview to Win, Not Just Not Lose
Approach interviews and negotiations with a mindset of playing to win, taking charge and demonstrating your value rather than being passive or merely trying to avoid mistakes.
10. Embrace Vulnerability in Job Search
Be open and vulnerable with others in a support group, as this human psychology hack can transform anxiety and fear into hope, motivation, accountability, and confidence.
11. Consider a Two-Step Career Strategy
If your desired role isn’t a direct market fit, consider taking an intermediate role that builds necessary experience or gets you closer to the technology frontier, as a strategic stepping stone.
12. Stay Close to Technology Frontier
Continuously seek roles or activities that bring you closer to the technology frontier, as this is where new job creation and long-term career opportunities are most abundant.
13. Send Monthly Network Updates
Consistently send monthly update notes to your network, even if there’s no major news, to keep them informed and invested in your job search progress.
14. Be the ‘I’ in Village
Be independent, accountable, and responsible in your job search, leveraging community support to enhance your individual effort and maximize your chances.
15. Build Recruiter Relationships Proactively
Even when employed, answer calls from recruiters, help them, and network to build relationships that will be valuable when you eventually need to search for a job.
16. Share Refined Candidate Market Fit
After your council approves your candidate market fit statement, share it with your entire network (including LinkedIn) to turn them into active listening posts for relevant opportunities.
17. Ask the ‘Golden Question’
During your listening tour, ask contacts, ‘If you were in my shoes, how would you approach this?’ to open conversations and gain valuable, creative advice.
18. Ask for More Compensation
After discussing success resources, ask for more money if the offer doesn’t meet your expectations, as historically, most companies are open to negotiation, and it rarely hurts your chances.
19. Negotiate Live with Hiring Manager
Conduct salary and resource negotiations in person or over a live phone call with the hiring manager whenever possible, as this builds rapport and increases your chances of success compared to email.
20. Perform the Gratitude House Exercise
Before your listening tour, complete the ‘gratitude house exercise’ by listing everyone who has helped you get to where you are, which builds confidence and reminds you that you’re not alone.
21. Visualize Support Before Interviews
Before interviews, reflect on your ‘gratitude house’ and visualize all the people who support you, including your job search council, to boost confidence and feel less alone.
22. Debrief After Every Interview
Immediately debrief after interviews with someone (like your council) to gain an objective perspective on what happened and counteract self-critical biases or imposter syndrome.
23. Name Your Inner Critic
Engage in the ‘inner critic exercise’ by naming your inner critic to externalize and manage self-doubt and imposter syndrome, preventing it from eroding your confidence.
24. Ask for Help Thoughtfully
Avoid asking for help poorly (e.g., not doing homework, expecting others to do work for you); instead, be prepared, do your homework, and seek advice or perspective from those with expertise.
25. Frame Help Requests as Giving
When asking for help, frame your request as seeking perspective or advice from someone with expertise, making them feel valued and ‘given to,’ as everyone loves to give.
26. Be Direct in Your Ask
Always be honest and direct about what you’re asking for, avoiding manipulative or indirect approaches that can damage trust and relationships.
27. Use Emotional Intelligence When Asking for Help
Exercise emotional intelligence when asking for help, consulting your council to ensure you’re asking the right people in the right way to avoid negative outcomes.
28. Conduct a First 90 Days Coaching Call
Upon starting a new job, conduct a ‘first 90 days peer coaching call’ with others in similar roles to get advice on avoiding common mistakes and focusing on key priorities for success.
29. Hold a Career Evolution Call
To advance your career (e.g., from Director to VP), organize a ‘career evolution call’ with people currently in your target role to understand how to bridge the gap and prepare for promotion.
30. Share Phil.org with Job Seekers
Inform anyone you know who is job seeking about the free community and resources available at phil.org, as it offers smart tools and genuine support to transform their search.
31. Read More to Enhance Thinking
Read widely, especially good books (history, science, product-related), as ‘books are machines to think with’ and can significantly enhance your critical thinking as a product person.
32. Reread Important Books for Mentorship
Reread important books multiple times, treating the authors as ‘dead or distant mentors’ to deeply internalize their insights and inform your decisions and actions.
33. Visit Art Museums for Design Inspiration
Visit art museums and engage with art to develop visual literacy, empathy, and design thinking, which can inspire better product creation and broader perspective.
34. Utilize Free Slow Art Day Materials
Access free ‘Slow Art Day’ materials (teacher, leader, participant) from phil.org to organize a museum offsite for your product team, fostering visual literacy, empathy, and art appreciation to improve product design.
35. Ask About Past Senior Hire Failures
As a senior-level interviewee, ask the company about a time they hired a senior person who failed, what happened, and how to avoid that outcome, to gauge their self-awareness and set yourself up for success.
36. Use ‘Huge Mistake’ Reference Check
When checking references, state that you’re about to hire the candidate and ask the reference to call you back only if it would be a huge mistake not to hire them, to get honest and direct feedback.
37. Back-Channel Your Future Boss
Before accepting a job, use your network to back-channel your prospective boss, asking former colleagues if they would work with that person again to gain crucial insights.