The View from the Office.

I met up with Adelaide de Saint Etienne at Olio e Piu in the West Village to talk about looking for a job in what many regard as a brutal market for financial professionals. 

We split a margarita pizza and each had coffee. We were both on the clock as she was heading to her next coffee klatch and I was booked to speak with a client right after. 

The employment market is tough, but Adelaide inspired me with optimism. 

She recently moved to New York after living in Europe for eight years. She is seeking a growth marketing position in a fintech company.

Her playbook is impressive and worth copying if you’re looking:

-Treat the search like a full-time gig. Wake up at 6 a.m. Work on presentations and prep for interviews.

-Meet as many people as possible and apply to every suitable job. Keep an Excel spreadsheet of everyone you know, where they work, and an additional sheet tracking hot/cold leads.

-Make a target list of possible employers and proactively reach out to founders, VPs, recruiters, or people who work at the firms you are interested in.

-Contact someone inside and ask them to pass your CV to the hiring manager.

-Book coffee with people at interesting places even when no specific job is posted.

-Systematically search for “cool” companies in your space. Follow the companies and founders on LinkedIn and monitor hiring signals such as spinoffs or product launches. 

-Reach out to heads of platform at venture firms to learn what their portfolio companies need.

-Optomize LinkedIn by following recruiting firms. Save job postings to train the algorithm to send notifications about new roles.

-Solicit feedback from senior professionals and iterate your CV.

-Adjust the way you present your experience depending on the role.

-Seek external critiques on presentations before interviews to strengthen them.

The most impressive story she told me was how she was monitoring the LinkedIn posts of a founder and noticed that the company had spun off a division. 

She correctly assumed they might need someone to help with growth marketing and reached out proactively before any job was posted. 

My takeaway was that is what it seems to land a position in this market is applying before the job you want even exists. 

You can contact Adelaide via LinkedIn or DM me for a warm intro.