How to get hired at your dream company

We were about three years into building GoWild when someone told me something that probably furrowed my brow.

“Well, Brad, it must have been easy building?GoWild,” he said.

“How’s that?” I mused.

“Well, with all of these people you knew in the outdoor industry. It probably helped to just call these folks up and get them to work with you all.”

I felt the anger rooting, but instead, I decided to take it as a compliment.

The truth??

I didn’t know anyone in the outdoor industry when I founded GoWild.

I mean, hell, I didn’t even know the name of a single clerk at the Cabela’s near my house.

Steve? I think a Steve sold me a pistol once.

Anyways, apparently I made this look easy.

It was anything but.

Polaris is a great example of building a lasting relationship. This is from a trip Jacob and I took to visit Polaris for their internal startup, Polaris Adventures, which has been a GoWild partner for many projects over the years, both for Polaris Adventures or Polaris' brand Kolpin.

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I built my network one call at a time

When I decided to build GoWild, I went deep into the research. I consumed podcasts, books, YouTube content, magazines, TV shows, whatever I could find on the subject matter. I wanted to understand who the content creators and thought leaders were in the space.

I reached out to everyone I could find on social media. I took calls with strangers. I did all of the coffee and lunch meetings. I ended each call asking people who I should be talking to, wrote those names down and then tracked those people down, too.

And through a lot of this, I wasted a ton of time.

This process has taught me a lot of what works and most importantly, what doesn’t.

(Hint: I will not take random coffees or lunches with people anymore. Keep in mind if you do this twice a week, with driving to and from and the meeting itself, you’re losing 16 hours a month of productivity, all for a feel-good conversation that goes nowhere. Strategically vet those randos coming in hot with a coffee request.)

Today I’ve refined my reconnaissance tactics, and will actually run a micro version of this process on any company I want to work with, such as a brand I want as a client, or a venture firm I think we may be able to work with down the road. It varies per interest, but looks something like this:

How to build a B2B network within a company:

1. Google Alerts:?Setup a?Google News Alert?for the company’s name. This will report ongoing news written about the company.?Refine it?down so you’re getting quality. Read weekly to ensure you know what’s happening.
2. LinkedIn networking:?Find the company on LinkedIn. Connect / follow relevant, key players. Tap the bell icon on their profile so you know when they post.
3. Engage:?For at least three weeks, engage with their content. Don’t just comment—add value.
4. The ask:?After watching for 30-45 days, I’ll usually have some idea of who I should be talking to and I’ll have some new contacts. I will message my contacts and “Hey, I’ve enjoyed your content and love what you’re doing. Wondering if you can help. Who should I speak with about [TOPIC]?” Often, they’ll know and do an intro. If they don’t know, they often will find out for me.
5. The recon at work:?Upon the first meeting, I am now armed with knowledge of what the team is talking about publicly, their media coverage, and I am riding the coattails of a warm intro. In sales, this is as good as it gets.

“I need your advice—how can I quit?”

This recon process is one you can apply today to get a new job or win a new client, too. I’ll show you how to modify it and apply it to your needs—a new job, maybe?

Once I made the jump out of my full-time job to start my company, I started getting almost weekly questions about how to do it. When we started hiring employees, I started getting questions about how to get into the outdoor industry.

Just recently someone reached out with this question:

“What do you do when you work for a company that you used to love working for, but they’ve changed? I thought I would never leave, but now, I feel like they don’t care about us. But I also feel like I can’t leave until I line something else up because I have a family and have to put food on the table. Please help.”

This question was actually the inspiration for today’s newsletter topic—I realized how often I get this question.

While I’ve used my tactics for B2B, it totally works for personal use, such as answering this question. Here is a modified step-by-step process that could work for you to rebuild your network and claw your way into a company:

How to rebuild your network and get hired:

1. Define what you want.?Write out what you want in a company culture / workplace, and make a second list of companies that seem to have those values.
2. Google Alerts:?Setup a?Google News Alert?for the company’s name.?Refine it?so you’re getting quality, and read it weekly to stay aware of the latest news on your target.
3. Build connections:?Connect and follow their employees on LinkedIn or Twitter. Do not hit them with an ask—not yet. Tap the bell icon on their profile so you know when they post.
4. Engage:?For at least three weeks, engage with their content. Don’t just comment—add value in your engagement.
5. Get some advice:?When you build some rapport with someone, send a private message asking if they could share some advice for you. Do not make it sound like you’re looking for a job—just ask for a quick 15-20 minutes for some advice. If you’ve been engaging with them, you’ll be surprised how many people will say “sure.” It’s not about you—helping makes people feel good.
6. Recon:?For the meeting, be friendly, and tell them you admire the culture. Ask how they feel about it, and let them know you’re considering applying so you wanted the inside scoop. Do not close with an ask. This meeting is about information.
7. Find job listings:?Assuming the company passes this sniff test, find their job listings and check them every Monday.
8. Track progress:?Continue to repeat Steps 3 - 7, expanding your network. Keep track of your contacts and their feedback in a spreadsheet. This should also include their contact info, and when you met. Keep notes on things that might be important to them and use it for personal follow up. Comments like “How is your daughter? Did she figure out how to ride the bike yet?” show you are a rare breed and will absolutely make you stand out.
9. Find the hiring manager:?As you learn more about the company, sniff out who is the hiring manager and put them into the engagement mix on step 4. Build the relationship, and on their three week point (Step 4), let them know you’re hoping to find a role.
10. Time to apply:?Apply when you see it, and let your contacts know. Now is the time for your first real ask—”Can you possibly let the hiring manager know?” They will.
11. Crush the interview.?You now have a finger on the pulse of the company. Take that knowledge and your skills, and go crush the interview.

Sound like a lot of work? Sure, standing out from the banal takes something special. I promise this personalized process works way better than coming in cold to application processes with dozens if not hundreds of other applicants. Hiring managers often hate the hiring process, so if they have a warm lead who seems like a cultural fit, they’re going to go with it.

This basic process has also landed several folks a role here at GoWild. People would much rather hire someone they know—and I’m included in that.

In short, tap into your network, and if you don’t have a network, this is how you build one.

Recap

1) Do recon to learn everything you can about your target company

2) Build your network within

3) Leverage your new contacts to get to the top of the application pile