[WORKSHOP] How to get more interviews

by Nancy Chu

My name is Nancy Chu, and I am PM Coach 👋
Now I help clients get into Big Tech and thrive at L6+ level (Director/GPM/Principal)
Your goal is to THRIVE in your dream company as a PM
Solving problems for your users through your Products
Roadmap to get there

1

Get employers to SEE you

2

Get employers to HEAR you out

3

Get employers to LOVE having you on the team
Today we are talking about
1. Getting employers to SEE you
Here's a talk I gave at Carnegie Mellon on this topic:
This is the deck I used for this talk.
Job Search Mindset
Speak their language
Where do employers SEE you?
A. Linkedin Profile
B. Outreach
C. Resume
A. Linkedin Profile
Q: How do recruiters see your Linkedin?

1

Search for you
Proactive

2

Review you
Reactive
Q: How do recruiters do the actual search?
Q: What do they see after they search?
Search Results page
Q: How many candidates will show up on the Search Results page?
Q: So how can you ensure that they SEE you on the Search Results page?
Rank High
Q: What will make them click on you?
Because your preview looks like you can do the job
How do recruiters see you?

1

Rank High

2

Get them to click on your preview

3

Review you
Q: How do you rank high?
🗣️ Come up with 3 data points for Linkedin to use for your ranking
How do you rank high?
What might Linkedin optimize for?
1. Relevance
2. Prediction that you will respond
(else bad UX for the recruiter)
  • Keywords
  • “Similar profile”
  • industry/location/groups/
  • Be active on Linkedin in "job search" mode
  • Updating profile, resumes
  • Applying for jobs
  • Open to work (recently vs for awhile)
  • Always responded to InMail
  • Common connections with recruiters
Q: What are keywords?
Terms that Recruiters will use to to search
Q: Where should you include keywords so you rank high?
Everywhere
Headline, About, Experiences, Skills
Q: What do you need to show so your preview looks good?
Examples of effective headline
Senior PM. Drove 40% of TikTok's ad revenue with brand ad products
Growth PM. SEO. GTM. B2B SaaS
🗣️ Work with your partner to create effective headlines
How do recruiters see you?

1

Rank High

2

Get them to click on your preview

3

Review you
  • Top of fold
  • Photo
  • Headline
  • Banner
  • About
  • Featured
  • Activities
  • Experience
Example of an effective banner
Example of a good "About" section
Q: What makes this good?
Get the employer to see you
  • A. Linkedin Profile
  • B. Outreach
  • C. Resume
Outreach Strategy

1

Find the right people

2

Request connection

1

Find the right people
Find the people are more likely to respond

2

Request connection
Q: How can you tell if people are likely to respond?
DEMO: Let's find them
1. Find people from your target company who are active on linkedin
2. Find hiring managers from your target company

1

Find the right people

2

Request connection
Outreach Best Practices
Be respectful of the recipient's time
Show how you can add value to THEM
Make things easier for THEM
Different types of connection requests
Key: use their words in your messages

Make a connection:

View more

Asking for intros:

If you're comfortable with it, would you mind connecting me to them? I can send you a pre-formatted introductory email to make things easy for you. Please feel free to cc me on any emails, and I am happy to follow up.

Connecting with recruiter:

I read from your profile that you recruit for [ ] roles in [ ] city. I wanted to connect with you in case you think my profile might be a good fit for current or future roles you seek to fill. [briefly explain your current role and strengths] Please let me know if I can help you with positions you are trying to fill.

Get the employer to see you
  • A. Linkedin Profile
  • B. Outreach
  • C. Resume
Resume Best Practices
Demonstrate how your experience aligns with the job requirements
Includes skills and keywords that match the job description
Showcase your relevant experience and achievements
X by Y by Z formula
X by Y by Z formula
Accomplished [X]
as measured by [Y]
by doing [Z]
[X] Improved user engagement
[Y] 15% boost in DAU and a 10% reduction in churn rate
[Z] by conducting market research and user interviews to refine feature specifications
Recap & Takeaways
Mindset:
Job search is about finding a new tribe
How to get recruiters to see you?

1

Rank High

2

Get them to click on your preview

3

Review you
Resume
Demonstrate how your experience aligns with the job requirements
Your next step:
Nail "tell me about yourself"

criyaco

The "Acing Your First Interview" Playbook

This is the playbook that my clients use to advanced to the next formal interview round just 15-17 min into the first screens. --- As a solopreneur, doing Sales Calls is part of my job where success is when prospects become clients. My success rate used to be ~20%, and now it is ~40-50%.  The doubling in my success rate is a result of learning best practices in how to sell, and understanding buying behavior and psychology. I also realized - a Sales Call is exactly the same as a First Interview. I am being interviewed for the first time by a prospect, which is exactly the same as you going into your First Interview either with a recruiter or hiring manager.  My prospects are evaluating whether they want to hire me in a Sales Call, which is exactly the same as a recruiter or hiring manager evaluating whether they want to advance you to the next interview. Once this realization became clear, I was able to take what I've learned to double my success rate in Sales Calls and frame it from the job interview angle. I now have a playbook that I use to help my clients double their success rate in converting their First Interviews to the next round. And the data is clear. I have multiple clients who were asked to schedule their next interviews just 15-17 min into their first screens! [https://cdn.gamma.app/ase2371waeeqbw8/0869b72e61a74dada509af1e41528760/original/image.png] [https://storage.googleapis.com/criya-prod-images/1716392941460-image.png]   Part 1 of this playbook is to make your "Tell me about yourself" more memorable. Most candidates answer with WHAT they've done in the past, ie their years of experience, where they worked, etc. This tactic doesn't hurt your chances but doesn't help you stand out.  You have the entire 30 or 45 min to tell them WHAT you've done, so you don't need to jump straight into it. Instead, you want to establish an emotional connection with the person you are meeting for the very first time - and that is done through storytelling WHO you are (and ladder it to the company/product mission), and not WHAT you've done. People remember feelings a lot more than data. So I invite you to make the first 1-2 min of the interview count. This is where you HOOK them into your world, which will set you up for success for the rest of the interview. Download now to access the rest of this playbook 😀

Hope this is helpful!
Join my PM Job Search community round table

Nancy Chu & Co. LLC

Nancy Chu & Co. LLC

Welcome to the High Vibe PM & Solopreneurship community! We support one another to demystify while keeping our vibes high! When we help each other on foundation & mindset, we will thrive, feel and sleep better.

Made with Gamma