HOW I TURNED THREE JOB REJECTIONS INTO TWO JOB OFFERS

This is the story of how I turned a job rejection into a job offer. I’ve utilized this strategy three times in the last year. I was rejected three times. The first rejection, I turned into a job offer, and at a higher position than they rejected me for, but I took a position with another company for significantly more money. The second rejection I didn’t follow up on after the interview; it wasn’t a great fit. The third position is the narrative I outline below.

I share this so that job seekers can recognize that they have many more options other than the prescribed route of online application portals on company websites or job aggregator sites. My hope is that some of you will utilize some creative solutions for how to route around the dead-ends which inevitably crop up in the job search process.

MINDSET

When reading personal development literature, you will see lots of authors discussing ‘Mindset’ and how it is the key to success. This story is a great example of that. Mindset dictates how you perceive every event that happens in your life, and how you will react to it.

At the top, I want you to read the narrative thinking with two mindsets in mind:

1) Internal Locus of Control. Who is in control of the events as they unfold?

2) Differentiation. How am I differentiating myself from the standard candidate?

My process is as follows:

JOB APPLICATION OUTLINE

1. Research company — competitive position, momentum
2. Informational Interviews — re: culture, compensation, daily activities Purpose: Am I a fit for this company and will I thrive in this role?
3. Develop Org chart and cultivate internal weak connections — Who are the decision makers, hiring managers
4. Formally apply*
5. Interview*
6. Develop internal champions
7. Receive Job Offer
8. Negotiate
9. Accept Offer
10. Begin work

*If stuck at steps 4 or 5, differentiate your candidacy through medium and message of communication.

JOB SEARCH CONTEXT

I was searching for a sales job with a real product and company with a base salary and performance-driven variable pay. Basically, commission.

Searching for sales jobs online is a disaster. The vast majority are for multi-level marketing positions, companies with no proven strategy or infrastructure, and small businesses who pay only commission and churn through candidates hoping to find a superstar even though their product is a commodity and the only way to success is through sheer force of will stacking up volumes of cold calls, impressions, and pitches and pushing product on low-information buyers. No thanks.

I was looking for a company that had sufficient resources to support onboarding, a base pay level sufficient to pay my bills, and a product that brings real value to the client. My strengths are creative and persistent marketing, networking, and a consultative sales practice I invested in and honed in my last business.

I had been job hunting randomly for four months. As a serial entrepreneur, my resume doesn’t check most HR boxes, as I lack industry specific metrics and provable results like much of my competition for each job. “No industry experience” is the number one reason my resume gets tossed. Because of my unconventional background, I needed to find a way around the Human Resources department, gain direct access to hiring managers and decision-makers, then show them the quality of my candidacy. I’ll walk you through my latest successful job hunt, in hopes that it widens the range of possibilities in how you conduct your job search. DON’T FOLLOW ALL THE RULES!

THE SELLER CONTEXT

Ultimately, applying for a job is a sales operation. Which means if you are trying to get a sales job, you are in luck. In this case, you are the seller and the product. I am trying to sell a potential employer on myself as an employee.

THE BUYER CONTEXT

The perspective and culture of the company you are applying for is hugely important. I was applying to a series B-funded startup looking to triple their headcount this year in a small non-coastal city. World-class talent is difficult to find. Fortunately, I had a solution for them!

ON CONFIDENCE

As aside here. I will come across in this essay and through the application process as supremely confident. Some might say arrogant. My confidence stems from over ten years of building and running my own businesses, crafting marketing strategies, thousands of sales interactions, reading and studying business and sales, etc. My confidence comes from a thousand failures, boths small and large, and my ability to move through them, learn from them, and continue on. Regardless of the outcome of any individual sales interaction, I will be fine. My family will be fine. I love learning and applying that learning, so I am confident in my ability to adapt to new situations and thrive. That has been the theme of my life from when I was six years old and my family began moving around the country.

KNOW THYSELF

The hardest part of this process is finding a target, the job you want to have. At least, it is for me. Because my work history is broad, it is hard for both me and HR personnel to know in what segment I would thrive.

To confirm my hunches, I spent some time and a small amount of money with mycareerassessmentsonline.com and confirmed with some testing done with another job application process. In total, we went over DISC, Myers-Briggs, Enneagram, Strengths Finders, and Strong Interest assessments to find what types of work would be a good fit. If you don’t know where to start, start with yourself.

From there, you have to find the type of job, in the right company, in the right industry for you. I would weight these right to left. Industry matters more than company, which matters more than role. I want an expanding industry, then a winning company, then I’m looking for the right role. But if I have a company and industry that is winning, I will compromise on role (as long as I am confident I can be successful) and bet on getting into the right role quickly once on the inside.

THE NARRATIVE

I found a company I was interested in working for. They checked all the boxes from my initial research. Looking at their website, I found a job I was qualified for, and the compensation was awesome. I applied.

Two weeks later, as usual, I had heard nothing. Hearing nothing is the most common result of applying online. Never expect to get a great job by merely applying. It has never worked for me.

I crush LinkedIn during this stage of the process. I build an organizational chart using titles of personnel who work at the company, and reach out to employees who can give me insight into the company. Typically these are people already doing the job I am applying for, reporting to the job I am applying for, or working adjacently to the job I am applying for.

The lower you go in the org chart, the more likely you are to get a response. Executives are busier and much less likely to carve out time for someone cold-emailing them.

THE INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEW

My goal is to conduct a series of informational interviews with employees of my target company. I want to understand the following:

1. Company Culture: What’s it feel like, and who is an ideal type of person to work there? Are employees happy and productive? Are top performers getting paid? Is the company winning?
2. Fine tune my org chart. Make sure I know who the decision-makers for my application are; determine the email format for the company so I can cold-email anyone in the company instead of depending on LinkedIn mail, which is iffy.
3. Gain a clear understanding of the role I’ve applied for. Am I really qualified? Do I really want to do the day-to-day work involved in this job? I am searching for a great fit.
4. Learn the relevant vocabulary. Most interviews are gut-level decisions by the hiring manager. As a salesperson, you understand the concept of mirroring. Learning the industry jargon and lingo allows you to sprinkle your conversation with code words that signal you are a fit. Be careful, though! Screw this up by mis-using a term, and you’re chances are zero.
5. Build insight into compensation in preparation for negotiation, should we get that far.

I was able to get a sales director for a different department on the phone through LinkedIn. Fifteen minutes later, I had gotten great information, plus an extra nugget: he was driving home at 4pm on a Friday.

Now what? I’ve had a short call with an employee and no response to my online application. The most important information I got from my call was names of the hiring manager and his boss. Time to go rogue.

Photo by Corey Motta on Unsplash

At this stage, I consider myself ‘behind the eight ball.’ I tried the front door, and there was no answer. I feel fully justified getting creative, and a little more aggressive. I believe completely in product differentiation. I don’t want to sell ‘better’. I want to sell different. Time to position myself as a different type of candidate.

At 4:30pm on a Friday, I decided I would just walk through the front doors, ask for the hiring manager, and introduce myself. My goal was to schedule a formal interview.

I pulled up, and walked in. Note, security was lax. Some companies have front desk personnel, keycards, etc. Different tactics are required in those instances, most likely by developing internal champions who will work for you inside or invite you to private events. I’ve had success with those situations as well.

I simply walked up to the first person I saw, and asked for the person I was trying to meet. I was passed around a little bit before it was recognized that both people who could help me had left for the day. The people I was talking to asked what I was looking for them for. I was completely honest, I had applied for a sales job and hadn’t heard back. I am looking to schedule an interview. I was directed to other hiring managers and got about twenty minutes where I learned more about the history of the company, what their needs are now, etc. Also met more salespeople who work there.

Because I had researched the company on LinkedIn, when I was introduced to a hiring manager for a different department, I already knew his whole background. I peppered my comments with a few little nuggets, and my broad business readings over my career allowed me to make intelligent and insightful comments regarding the company’s position and strategy.

Remember, this in-person meet and greet has four objectives for me:

1. Gain a scheduled interview with the hiring manager.
2. Broaden my weak ties within the company, so that I have the opportunity to develop internal champions
3. Gain more information about the company, it’s culture, and it’s competitive position. Is it winning? Will sales be pushing a boulder uphill, or riding a monster wave?
4. Make a good impression on everyone.

By the time I left, I had half a dozen business cards and some more insight into the hiring manager and process. But no interview. I learned the hiring manager was flying to Vegas the next morning early for a conference.

CONVENTIONAL TACTICS

Back home, I connected with each of my new contacts through LinkedIn and email, thanking them for their time and insight and emailed the hiring manager directly as I now had his work email address.

I received an email the next morning from an EVP telling me he was certain I would receive a phone call the next week.

Naturally, no phone call the next week, or the week afterwards.

DON’T TAKE IT PERSONAL

The number one rule of sales. I am simply not a priority for the hiring manager. He has a thousand fires going every day, an actual job to do, in addition to filling this opening, which may or may not be a priority. I could be the perfect candidate and it still wouldn’t be a priority, through no fault of my own. And no fault of the hiring manager either. That’s just life.

Photo by Carlos Cram on Unsplash

GUERRILLA TACTICS

Okay, it’s time to turn up the heat again. Two weeks have gone by, and I’ve heard squadoosh. On Thursday, I realize that the University of Tennessee is playing their first round basketball game in the NCAA tournament the next day at 2:30pm. Because my target company’s new offices are a conversion of an old sports bar, the first floor is literally a sports bar with televisions and everything. I also had learned that every Friday, they have happy hour.

UT basketball was a hit this year because the team was really good, and we are located in Tennessee. Having dropped in on the happy hour two weeks earlier, I got a better sense for the company culture and guessed they would be watching the game, even at 2:30pm on Friday.

My plan was to run to Costco and buy a bunch of snack food to bring and storm the castle again, hoping to meet the hiring manager and get an interview.

$150 worth of chips, dip, pretzels, party platters, sandwiches, plates, napkins, salsa and spinach dip later, I roll into the parking lot at 3pm.

Bingo! I guessed correctly! The doors are open, the music is pumping, and I can see the game on the televisions inside. Let’s roll.

I pack all the food into a box and start walking in. I recognize the CEO/founder of the company in a chair on a front patio. This is no time to be a wallflower. I approach with my box overflowing with food.

Me: “Hey! I brought some food! Can I party with you guys?”

CEO: “What?”
M: “I brought some food, can I party with you guys?”
C: “Who are you?”
M: “I’m Kevin Cherrick.”
C: “uhhh.”

M: (approaching with a smile and hand outstretched to shake) “I’m sorry, my name is Kevin Cherrick, I applied for xyz job and I’m looking to score an interview. I figured you guys might be watching the Tennessee game, so I brought some food. Is it alright if I come in?”
C: (Shaking my hand): “uhh, sure, you brought food!” (as I walk through the door) “Hey, (random guy’s name), this is Kevin, show him around. He brought food! …. Man, I like your style!”

Score. The big error with going rogue is overplaying your hand and annoying/pissing people off. The CEO has just confirmed my hunch, this is a hungry, entrepreneurial startup looking to take the world by storm. They won’t be turned off by my assertiveness and persistence as long as I play it right.

I start unpacking my food and laying out the spread. It’s 15 feet worth of food. I make sure presentation is impeccable. Once I’m done, I start inviting people over to eat and introducing myself. I immediately get brought over and introduced to the hiring manager who has been ignoring my application and emails for a month.

He is nice and warm. “Oh, you emailed me right?” Yes, that is correct. “Email me again just to get to the top of my email and we’ll get you scheduled for an interview.”

This is not going to work. Lots of people will tell you in person to do something online. NEVER fall for this. You’ve worked to get in front of a decision-maker. You must get an appointment for a definite future. This is all part of being in sales, and if you don’t do this, you don’t deserve to get hired as a salesperson anyways. The hiring manager had his phone in his hand.

“You’ve got your calendar on your phone, right? Let’s go ahead and make an appointment now.”

Woman overhearing the conversation, “Oh, he’s good.”

Hiring manager: “Sure!”

We make the appointment. I am then introduced to the hiring manager’s boss, the Chief Revenue Officer. We have an easy conversation about my background and the company. I end the conversation before running into the rocks of dead spots in conversation. Don’t want awkward silences.

I work the room briefly, reconnecting with the folks I had met two weeks earlier, remembering names, re-introducing myself, and hopefully ingraining a positive impression and cementing a good reputation.

The CEO wanders over and we talk briefly in a small group. He remarks twice about my bringing food and crashing the party, “This is a baller move.”

After 90 minutes, I bounce. I don’t want to hang around too long. I got what I needed: an appointment.

I send my thank you emails and connect with new connections on LinkedIn.

CONVENTIONAL TACTICS PART TWO

For my interview, I’m back on target. I dress conservatively and play the interview completely straight. I spend an hour with the Chief Revenue Officer. We have a great discussion. Understand, this is a sales call. I work to control the conversation through asking questions. But the CRO is a pro. He straight ignores questions he doesn’t want to answer and discusses the subjects he wants to. Respect.

At the end, I ask for feedback and how I’m doing. Never leave a sales call in the dark. You should always have either a definite ‘yes’ or ‘no’ or definite plans for a future.

The CRO says, “It’s very likely we will…show interest. You definitely check most of the boxes.”

I follow up on the areas he feels I am missing and how important they are. He says the next steps are for me to sit down with the CEO. For hires at this level, the CEO needs to meet and vet everyone.

Back home, I email everyone I met and thank them, yadda yadda yadda.

The next morning I get an email from the CRO saying he spoke to the CEO about me, and they are looking for time on the schedule I can meet with him and to stay tuned.

Everything is going swimmingly. I am confident, holding my phone with me all through the week waiting for a text message or email to meet with the CEO.

Five days later, April 1st, disaster strikes. I get a phone call from the hiring manager. They’ve decided to go in another direction. May be other opportunities for me in the future, keep a lookout on their job openings website, blah, blah, blah. I stumble through polite niceties and get off the phone.

I’ll be honest. For 30 seconds, I am reeling. I sit down in the kitchen. I was waiting to meet with the CEO. Now I’m out of the process.

But this is my fault. This is what I get for losing control of the process and waiting around for someone else to take some form of action.

However.

A professional salesperson never accepts the first ‘no.’ From what I know about this company, I would thrive working for them. They would make lots of money and be materially improved if I am part of the organization. It’s a true win-win. But, for reasons unknown to me, they don’t recognize that. It would be immoral for me to allow the story to end here.

I literally email the hiring manager who called me. Here’s the actual email:

Subject: April Fool’s Joke

I’ll admit, you really got me on that one! I was disappointed for a few minutes. I knew you guys have a hard-charging culture, but that is vicious!

In all honesty, thank you for your time and consideration. What feedback do you have so that I can improve my candidacy for future opportunities?

Thank you,

I email the CRO more straightforwardly and express my disappointment given his email of the previous week. I ask for a phone call to understand what happened. The next day I call and leave a voicemail. The day after that I call and don’t leave a voicemail. I am nowhere.

Friday I text the CRO asking for a call so I can improve. This is the exact text:

“Good Morning (name)! In every process which doesn’t complete, I do a review to understand where things went sideways.

Can you do me a favor and setup a time for us to speak on the phone so I can find out what changed between your email of March 27th re: setting up a meeting w the CEO and (Name redacted)’s phone call on 4/1 letting me know you have decided to go in another direction?

Thank you so much! I use this information to improve for the future.”

He texts back and agrees to speak. He says to call him on his cell Monday, Lunch-ish. I am not confident. The lack of a definite time means my call will be easy to blow off. I start developing my next plan of attack. Because I am not out of this.

ASYMMETRIC INFORMATION PROBLEM

The problem, essentially, is they don’t know how awesome I am. The process hasn’t allowed them to recognize what a boon I would be to their organization. It’s a common situation, and difficult to overcome, because, at some level, your counterparty has to be open to being persuaded and informed. It’s easy to be too aggressive, or give up too quickly. Tone of communications is everything.

At this stage; I have a number of communication methods I can use: phone, text, email, LinkedIn are conventional. In person and old-fashioned snail mail are ways you can cut through the noise of digital communication. We all get so much email and robo-calls it’s easy to ignore the common ways to get in touch. You have a chance to further differentiate yourself and increase your ‘open rate’ if you use old-school methods. Who gets mail at work? Nobody.

I purchase bright green envelopes and stationary. I plan out a drip-campaign of handwritten letters I will send to the CEO, CRO, and hiring manager.

The question is not, “who is going to let me. It’s who is going to stop me?”

Never accept the first no.

But I wait until I see if I can get the CRO on the phone Monday. I plan out my list of questions.

First, what changed between Wednesday and Monday? I was planning to meet the CEO and now I’m out. What happened? I ask not only because I want to know if there is any chance to save this deal, but also to improve for the future if there is some inadvertent mistake I made. Always seek to learn and apply going forward.

My second question is “Do you like me?” This sounds shallow, but it’s just a fact that people want to work with and do business with people they enjoy being around. Did I overplay my hand somewhere? But you can’t ask that question. Instead, I ask a stand-in, “Do you see me as a good fit for the company culture?”

People are much more comfortable discussing “fit” and “culture” rather than you personally. Still, you must pay attention to the tone and how the answer is delivered. You will most likely need to read between the lines.

I plan to pivot to other positions within the company if I cannot overcome the objections to the candidacy for the job I applied for. I research other departments that I think may be a fit. I write down questions regarding their growth plan for headcount in each department.

THE FOLLOW-UP CALL

Amazingly, the CRO answers the phone when I call at lunch-ish. I begin by congratulating him and the company on their achievements and events they held the previous weekend. Simple building rapport stuff, easing into the conversation. Opening with, “What happened!?!?!” is not the right move.

After a minute of nice chit-chat, I make the turn, “I was disappointed to receive the call last Monday, given your previous email. Can you tell me what changed?”

This is impersonal. Not “what did I do wrong?” or “You misled me and screwed me here, what the heck?” Just, “what changed?”

The CRO said the CEO felt they needed industry experience for this role. Of course. That old bug-a-boo. While I disagree, this isn’t the format to have the discussion, and I’m not speaking to the decision maker anyways. Move on to the culture question.

When I asked whether he saw me as a good culture fit, he responded quickly and enthusiastically, “very much so.” Great news. I’m still in the game. We pivot to other departments and he says he was thinking about me for two other departments. He encourages me to stay “in constant contact” with the hiring manager.

I come out of the call encouraged. They aren’t against me specifically, I just got beat out for that position. Sometimes that happens. I pivot to another position in the company to target.

I email the hiring manager and summarize the CRO’s communication to me. I email the CRO to thank him for giving me that feedback. The phone call lasted less than 10 minutes.

GUERRILLA TACTICS PART TWO

I’m out in the cold again, however. No sales jobs are posted, the hiring manager isn’t responding, and I don’t have a pathway forward. Time to blaze a trail, and that can only be done by using unconventional tactics.

I purchase three 5’x7’ cards of a Winston Churchill quote I am fond of on Etsy. Churchill is the man, and if you haven’t read the three volume biography, The Last Lion, you should.

I frame them at hobby lobby in $4 frames. I include a small card in which I write:

“The other candidate would have accepted ‘no’ for an answer. Kevin Cherrick”

I wrap each package in brown paper, and finish with twine. I address each one with black Sharpie, one each to the CEO, the CRO, and the hiring manager.

The following Tuesday, I enlist my nephew to go in and hand-deliver the packages. I insist he get pictures of whomever he gives the packages to.

He comes back, and tells me it created quite a stir. They asked him who sent the packages, and he responded, “I’d tell you, but I’d have to kill you.” Perfect.

THE OFFER

The next day, I receive an email, a docusign document titled ‘Job Offer’.

To be honest, I can’t believe it. Just a cold email. I realize later I had missed a phone call a little earlier. The voicemail is from the hiring manager telling me they were sending an offer over for ‘what they have available right now.’

There is no open position on their careers website. I am not coming in with a class. They are bringing me in solo.

I’m ecstatic to get an offer. I can’t believe I turned this thing. Two weeks ago I had a straight ‘no.’ Now I have an offer just begging to be signed. Good base salary. Stock options. Full benefits for me and my family.

However, just as a pro never accepts the first no.

Never accept the first ‘yes.’

THE NEGOTIATION

I have to negotiate the offer. No matter what the offer is, I feel I have to negotiate on principle. It’s the easiest way to make the most amount of money. This is no time to lose your nerve.

No matter how much you read online that negotiating a job offer is expected, it still feels like a risk. Now I have something to lose. Previously, I had nothing, and was almost always behind the eight ball strategically. I’ve pursued this company for 6 weeks and now I’m going to negotiate?

Hell yeah. Remember, getting the job is the culmination of one process, but the beginning of a professional relationship. You are always training people how to treat you, and what to think about you.

Even now, I won’t take the first offer. I know my value. But how to proceed?

I wait until the next morning and text the hiring manager, who had left his cell number in the voicemail of the previous afternoon.

I ask to come in and meet with my prospective colleague, another informational interview, to get more info about how he’s been so successful.

He responds that they are crazy busy, maybe the following next week.

I reply that I’d like to get this finalized. He responds, “Oh, you mean you want to come in before you sign?”

Yes. That is what I want to do. It’s a little tricky for a few reasons:

1. I don’t know who has authority to negotiate. Does the hiring manager, or is it the CRO?
2. I really don’t know the base salary range they are operating from.
3. I don’t know what the On Track Earnings expectations are, the quota for the position, the details regarding the commission portion of my compensation.

In short, I’m in the dark. Meeting with the person currently performing in the role is my attempt to get more information so I can negotiate from a stronger position.

The advice my network gives is to ‘tell them what I need.’ but I don’t like that positioning. It’s weak. As an employer, an employees budget and financial choices are none of my business, and none of my concern. I pay more for the candidate I believe will give me more value. So I prefer to demonstrate my market value and show how I am superior. At some level, I’ve already done that. It’s why I have an offer.

All that being said, I need to get this deal done. I am confident that I will kick butt, make myself and the company lots of money, and that it will grow quickly this year giving me the opportunity to prove myself, internally network, and create new opportunities for myself and the company. I expect to be promoted within a year. I really just want to get to work.

But. I can’t just accept the first yes. I have to negotiate.

I spend two hours with my future colleague. We get on very well. I listen in on a sales call with a prospect. I come away even more excited to get started. I will slay in this role.

I see a VP I had met at happy hour, and I go say hello. He compares me to a fungus that they just can’t get rid of. Whatever you want to think, I’m here and ready to go!

The hiring manager comes over. He doesn’t have time to meet. I tell him I’ll wait until he has a spare minute, shouldn’t take 15 minutes. He has a last minute presentation that day he hasn’t started on. I press. The VP gives the eye to another bywatcher as I press for a specific time to talk. Again, I don’t allow indefinite future plans. I press for a commitment.

Finally, the hiring manager pulls me into a soundproof booth they use for sales calls.

“Are you going to join us?”

This is no time for games. I am completely upfront. Yes. I’m going to join. I really enjoyed my time with my future colleague, can’t wait to get started and am going to make the company a lot of money.

I tell him what I want, but tell him I’ll sign if they can’t move. He gives me his word he will go to bat for me. I ask about timeline. He says he’ll get back to me by the end of the day and discusses moving my start date up from the original date. That’s promising.

I don’t feel great about the negotiation, it was all kinds of screwed up. Negotiation strength comes from one place, your BATNA. Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement. If they were to pull their offer, my BATNA sucks. You work to improve your BATNA, but at the ultimate moment of negotiation, you go with what you’ve got. This is no time to bluff. Still, I made the attempt.

At 3:45pm, I get an email from docusign voiding my original offer letter. Reason for voiding, ‘changed’.

That’s a little scary, but obviously a necessary step if they were going to move in my direction.

I stare at my phone waiting for the updated offer. Five minutes. Ten minutes. How long does it take to change two digits? An hour goes by. Now I’m sweating. Have I screwed this up? 90 minutes later, I get a new offer letter. They moved a little. Not what I asked for.

I sign inside of a minute. A wave of relief washes over me. I know I’ll double or triple the base in the first year.

I text the hiring manager and CRO thanking them for the offer, and restating my excitement to get started with them. They are very warm and welcoming in response.

Now I can finally start texting my friends and family who have been following along on this job search for months, thanking them for their support.

This has always been a team sport. My wife’s support has been unflagging. She never questioned my tactics, my spending decisions, or my capability. She believed in me and knew I needed her belief, not her questioning.

This is the second time in a year, I’ve turned a solid ‘no’ into a ‘yes’ using the same playbook.

I share it because I think more people need to understand they have agency and options beyond the conventional when applying for a job.

ANALYSIS OF MY STRATEGY

The Front Door — This is playing by the rules set out for you. It’s what everyone does. As long as you are a superior candidate, this may work for you. You have a 4.0 from Harvard Law, were editor of the law review, clerked for a supreme court justice, won moot court? Sure, enjoy being wined and dined in Cambridge by the best law firms in the country. You aren’t reading this. Otherwise? You’ll need to use:

Guerrilla tactics — Recognize the lay of the land, and the competitive situation you are in. If you fail to win on conventional metrics, present your strengths in such a way that direct comparisons are impossible. Learn what hiring managers and your target department in a company REALLY care about. Route around Human Resources.

Switch tactics based on perception of positioning- You can’t be too aggressive. As your positioning in the application process changes, change your tactics. Don’t wait until halftime to make adjustments. Adjust possession by possession.

Aggression is defined by tone — You are worried about coming across as too aggressive? The difference between aggressive and assertive/confident is tone. Read your target, adjust your approach, document your strategy so you can balance your assertiveness.

Creativity and persistence — This is differentiation, and pure will. Sales staff love this.

Internal Locus of Control — You are in control of your situation. No matter what your counterparty does, you control how you react, and what you accept. Define your world.

‘Framing’ — How you perceive a situation. You get a rejection. You can perceive this as a personal rejection, or you can perceive it as a barrier the company has established to test your mettle. You decide when this process ends.

Differentiation is King — No one remembers 1% better. They remember 100% different. When you differentiate, by communication channel, by what you communicate, by your experience, by how you dress, speak, etc, you create a new category of one. If they want to buy that category, you are the only option. Note: This DOES NOT mean you peacock like some kind of pickup artist. Your differentiation reaches your target in a way that resonates with their needs and culture. Be creative.

Read the Situation. Understanding the client (target) and their culture dictates what tactics you utilize. This is the biggest mistake you can make. My tactics outlined above wouldn’t work for a high process job, where following the SOPs is what defines success. The tactics above were chosen, and worked, because I understood the target company’s culture and needs.

Play the Long Game

You cannot manipulate your way into a ‘win’ because the win is a job offer. It is an ongoing relationship, meaning you must be transparent about who you are and how you work. Faking a persona or a good fit to get a job will blow up in your face. In this case, I am an extremely ambitious, hard-charging, creative and persistent salesperson. That’s how I am presenting, and that’s who they are hiring. This is a relationship, not a transaction.

Get Experience

If you want to break into a new industry which has competitive hiring filters, and you are not a blue blood candidate, you must consider alternatives. You want to be an investment banker, but you didn’t graduate from the Ivy League? You may be able to get a foot in the door (ANYWHERE!) with a regional bank in Cleveland, Jacksonville, or Albuquerque. You will probably still have to work in the mail room and earn your way up. That’s fine. But you need to be able to develop your industry networks somehow.

Look at second tier cities and firms, then get aggressive and differentiate.

THE WRAP UP

I hope you are able to get at least one takeaway from this example. If you have your own success stories to share, I’d love to hear from you. Email me at kevin.cherrick@gmail.com.