I got a new job doing 3 things

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Here’s the route for today

🎉 3 things I did to secure a return offer

• Start preparing early

• Consistent coffee chats

• Speak up for opportunities

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TOPIC
3 things I did to get a return offer

🔵 Last week, I got a new job! Here’s how I did it with 3 things.

Context: 1 year ago, I joined my company, OMERS - one of Canada’s largest pension investment firms.

While excited by the opportunity, I knew I couldn’t afford to relax. That’s because my role was temporary, a contract meant to expire by January 2025.

And the last thing I wanted to do was redo the whole job search process again…

So while working, I did 3 things that I hoped would land me an official full-time offer before my contract ended.

Today, I’m glad to say those 3 things paid off! Next month, I will start my new full-time role as a Product Owner on our pension technology team.

But enough about me. I want to share with you the 3 exact things I did to secure a return offer at my company.

Let’s dive in.

Start preparing early

Understand hiring timelines, and know your deadlines.

I started looking for a return offer in July - about 5 months before my contract ended.

And I encourage anyone job searching to do the same.

First, envision an ideal time you’d like to get a job, and then start networking at least 5 months in advance. This means sending cold emails and booking coffee chats.

In networking, there’s no such thing as starting too early.

Consistent coffee chats

The 2nd thing I did to set myself up for success was coffee chats.

I knew my goal was to land a full-time in product management (PM). The problem? I didn’t who to talk with, or who the decision-makers were.

But that’s the beauty of coffee chats, have enough of them, and they’ll lead you to the right person.

From July to September, I was chatting with at least 1 new person in PM each week and after 20 chats, I got in touch with the hiring manager of my new role.

Had I not taken the initiative to reach out to new people, I never would have come across this new job so believe me when I say this.

I’m not saying it will take you 20 coffee chats, but they will eventually lead you to dream your opportunity.

Speak up for opportunities

The tricky thing about networking is that you can’t ask for opportunities at the start.

It comes off as too demanding, almost like you have an agenda.

But if that’s the case, when exactly do you ask for the job, the interview, or even a referral?

There’s no single right answer, but this is what I did.

Once I got in touch with my hiring manager, I spent the entirety of our 1st coffee chat asking questions about him.

I mentioned nothing about the role he was hiring for. Then, after we had a good chat, I sent a follow-up message the next day saying:

This was his response:

Closing Thoughts:

After getting the green light, I went through with the interview to beat out 500 other applicants for the job.

I wasn’t the most skilled, or experienced, but I networked like no one else and left an impression.

Networking made me memorable, and it can do the same for you.

See you next Tuesday 🤝

-Michael Ly

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
Help Me Help You

If you resonated with my story above and experience any of the following:

1. Trouble finding a job

2. Not knowing how to network

3. Getting ghosted by recruiters

4. Struggling in interviews

5. Or anything else related

Then fill out this survey! It only takes 1-2 minutes.

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