I Landed a Job From a Hack I Found on Reddit

This as-told-to essay relies on a dialog with Courtney Clapper, a 32-year-old technique lead for a main retailer in New York. It’s been edited for size and readability.

I began my job hunt within the fall of 2025, a few months after graduating with my MBA from Cornell Tech. I was making use of for a mixture of roles, akin to product supervisor or digital strategist, and I knew the competitors could be fierce on this tough job market.

From portfolios to video cover lettersI tried all types of inventive strategies to face out and showcase my character, however they did not work. A easy, free AI software that locates hiring managers’ emails landed me a number of interviews — and a job.

Video cowl letters had been a nice begin for me

My first thought course of when getting into the job market was to think about myself as a recruiter, getting slammed with 1000’s of résumés full of information and numbers.

I figured it will be in my finest curiosity to offer them a sense of what makes me stand out: my character. So, I recorded myself studying my AI-written cover lettersthrowing in a joke or two, and connected the video through a non-public YouTube hyperlink.

The video tells the recruiters I can communicate and current effectively, and it offers them a sense of who I am. This method helped me land an interview at Microsoft. They particularly known as out the video, saying it made them really feel like they already knew me, which I thought was fairly good suggestions.

I nonetheless needed to strive a number of totally different inventive concepts.

Next, I determined to make one thing extra visible — a portfolio

My portfolio was within the type of a timeline. It included footage of all skilled endeavors I thought may assist me land a job, from merchandise I’ve constructed and my time at Cornell to footage of me pitching. My aim was to showcase my talent set and character whereas additionally creating one thing extra visually attention-grabbing.

I’d additionally heard of individuals getting jobs by placing collectively a slideshow on how they’d enhance the corporate, so I gave it a shot, and it did not actually get me anyplace. Neither of those methods was well worth the time dedication they required.

Referrals additionally got me nowhere. I have a stable community, and that wasn’t making a distinction. Interestingly, I utilized for a bunch of roles at Microsoft, and the one one I obtained an interview for was the one I did not have a referral for.

I got here throughout a job-finding hack on Reddit

I was studying feedback on Reddit from individuals complaining about their job-hunting strugglesand I noticed a few individuals saying they discovered success by reaching out to hiring managers straight.

Some individuals stated they cold-called, which made me assume, “Okay, that’s a little bit too far,” however the emphasis was simply to achieve out. The concept of ​​emailing them appeared low-risk, so I determined to offer it a shot.

I began by researching on LinkedIn, making an attempt to guess who the hiring supervisor or recruiter is perhaps. Sometimes it was listed, nevertheless it wasn’t one of the best methodology. Then I got here throughout a Reddit remark about Apollo AI, a free software that may find hiring supervisor emails. I discovered it to be fairly correct, so I began reaching out with my résumé and canopy letter. It was a sport changer.

The CEO of Sweetgreen responded to my e-mail

My messages initiative confirmed and, actually, in all probability simply made issues simpler for the hiring supervisor. I reached out to 3 individuals straight and obtained interviewed for 2 jobs.

I even emailed the CEO of Sweetgreen straight, and I responded by placing me in contact with the hiring supervisor to schedule an interview.

One of my e-mail reachouts changed into my present job, a technique lead position for a main retailer. This technique made issues extra environment friendly as a result of I already had a direct line of contact, so it was simple to comply with up if there was a delay.

I did not get any damaging suggestions about it and would do it once more

I was questioning if anybody is perhaps weirded out about me discovering their emails, however nobody stated something. They may discover it creepy, however they might additionally discover it resourceful.

If I had been again within the job market, I’d begin with the email strategy. The train of pondering by means of inventive approaches like portfolios and video cowl letters was enjoyable and obtained me interested by how one can current my character most successfully, however in the end, getting in direct contact was one of the simplest ways to be aggressive.

Do you will have a story to share about a distinctive job-finding hack? If so, please attain out to the reporter at tmartinelli@businessinsider.com.