In college, I spent 6 months trying to land a summer internship.
After getting rejected from over a hundred companies, I almost gave up. Then, I landed a role at an a16z-backed startup.
The best part is when I first reached out, a recruiter rejected me stating that there weren't any open roles. That was no reason to stop trying! I cold messaged the VP of sales, got him on the phone, and convinced him to create a role for me.
Here's how:
I spent 20 minutes of the time listening & asking questions to understand his needs:
"What are your quarterly goals?"
"What challenges are you facing trying to hit those goals?"
"What's something that needs to get done that never does?"
After each reply, I dug into his answers to understand exactly what he meant and try to identify the root causes of problems.
I spent the next 9 minutes sharing why I would be the right person to solve those problems.
I spent the last minute asking if we could set up more time and finding time on our calendars while I had him on the phone.
I emailed a follow-up right after and shared a few specific things I could do to solve his problems. (Shared below)
