What advice do you have for those interesting in a company that isn't actively hiring?

This comes up a lot - and I have a POV on this.

This is hard to do - but I have coached colleagues over the years to do the following when they told me that they had a "top job" in mind regardless of whether the company was hiring or not. 

1. Find the hiring manager you want to work for (in-network introductions will yeild the highest return)

2. develop a really strong point of view on the business and how you'll fit into it

3. develop a really strong personal philosophy that you stand by - this will give the hiring manager ammo to make a strong case to open up head count.

This is actually how I got my job wat Clari so many years ago.

First some background: I knew I wanted to work for Clari and about 6ish y/ago because I was a manager who felt the pain that Clari was solving for in a super compelling way. 

So, I applied through a hiring manager by connecting with him on LI and sharing my epxerience to date and shared how inspired I was by Clari's mission and GTM thesis. 

He gave me a shot and even helped me get to Andy Byrne, the CEO. 

At the time Clari was roughly 70-80 EE's.

I did my research but I really only came into the first interview armed with the ambition to work there. I didn't yet posses mature enough an understanding of how I was going to make an impact. 

When I got to Andy Byrne, the CEO of Clari AND final decision maker, he asked my to share my sales process, my philosophy for being successful and driving large deals to close. 

At, the time, I didn't have a good answer. --- I was told 'no thank you'  

So, I made it my mission over the next year to do everything I needed to do in order to win over the final decision maker, the CEO Andy Byrne. 

Here's what I did.

First, I new I needed to crush my quota and 'know' my numbers - I got maniacle about understanding my conversion rates, my territories, how I helped my team hit their numbers, how I hired, and what I looked for in candidates. I got to club, again, I got some awards and recognition. I did everything I could to not only perform, but be able to articulate why I performed well. 

Second, I developed a philosophy (I called it the Sales Uniform, a collection of best practices, and tactics that helped me win and helped me train my team) - This gave me massive confidence for my next interview with Clari (would be about 1 1/2 years later).

Then, I reapplied for Clari and when I go to Andy Byrne as the final interview in a round of 4, he asked me 

"Adam, what are the three things you consider to be important for driving success in your career as a seller?"

 ... This time, I had an asnwer!! 

I said "Andy, I think there are a ton of things that have benefited me over the duration of my career, but If I had to distill it to three things I would share that they are the 3 things I make a part of my ethos for my reps: 

1. Be incredibly resourceful - never wait for guidance, go out and figure out what you need to do to win. what ever it takes - this requires ambition an, curiosity and creativity, but it ultimately is up to you (me) to go ask the questions, get the answers, and drive sucsess. 

2. Practice 'Executive Pressence' - Being mindful about how you present yourself takes time and commitment - practice this by working with those you respect and command a strong sense of executive pressence. And yes, you can ask your lcurrent leaders for guidance on this - they often will appreciate your genuine interest if you ask how you can improve this and if they could share their thoughts. 

3. Having incredible curiosity - Sales ppl must be curious - it is without a doubt one of the foundational principals of being successful - but the caveat here is not only being curious (about business, about success, about process) but also poses the tenacity to apply learnings that your curiosity produces. 

Needless to say - I won over Andy and was offered a closing role with Clari! 

If you're interested in a company (even if they are not actively hiring), I would recommend starting to build relationships and delivering value without expectation. That includes:

1) Connecting with members of the team - research key members of the team on LinkedIn (execs, managers, peers, key cross-functional partners, recruiters) introduce yourself, show interest in the company (including "why" you are interested), and let them know you understand they are not hiring but are still interested in making the connection to explore the potential opportunity to work together in the future.

2) Lead with value - find small ways to deliver value from the outside...

• Did you read a blog post or article that may be relevant to something that company or individual? If so, share it with them proactively.

• Did you catch a bug in the product or typo in a marketing campaign? Raise it in a way that is supportive and non-judgmental.

• Do you have an idea for how their company could more effectively sell their product (new market, new persona, new approach, etc.)? Share it!

3) Stay updated on changes to the careers/jobs page - check every week or two for any changes to roles the company may be hiring for in the future

4) Look to set up "15-minute" coffee chats - reach out to see who is willing to spend 15-minutes sharing their perspective on the company, the story of how they ended up joining, and advice for what to do to be considered for a role in the future

Finally, stay persistent and do not get discouraged or offended if individuals do not respond! Focus on controlling what you can control in a way that adds value and do not take unresponsiveness personally....the timing may not be right at this exact moment, but make sure to stay top of mind for when the timing is right!