Job Search Retro: Growth Lead

Nick landed a Growth Lead role at a seed stage tech company.

Hedgy Member Background

• Most recently completed his MBA at a top business school.
• Prior to that was a Product Analytics Lead at both late stage and public tech companies.
• Of the three companies he completed final rounds for, introductions came from: Hedgy, a direct referral and a cold application.
• Received multiple offers from both early and late stage companies.
• Growth role at his new company is a mix of customer success, data science and product.

Key Insights

Narrowing your search earlier

• Nick's biggest takeaway? Starting with a focused role search would have accelerated his entire process. A narrow focus streamlines referral requests and provides clearer market feedback on your candidacy strength.
• Many MBA graduates naturally explore multiple career paths simultaneously. However, if initial outreach isn't generating momentum, consider focusing on one specific role type first. This targeted approach functions like A/B testing your positioning—broad initial searches make it difficult to identify which elements of your profile need refinement.

Interview and case study preparation with ChatGPT

• Similar to another Hedgy member (Anoop), Nick leveraged ChatGPT to enhance his interview preparation strategy. He would input case study prompts and company materials, then request alternative question variations to expand his practice scenarios.
• His most effective technique involved practicing responses aloud using ChatGPT's voice feature, then requesting feedback on structure and originality. When companies provided specific evaluation criteria, he incorporated those parameters into his practice sessions for more targeted preparation.

Getting his foot in the door with companies

• Across 12 interviews, the majority of opportunities came through referrals rather than cold applications. Nick found his MBA program's career coaches most valuable when they facilitated specific alumni connections at target companies, rather than providing general career guidance.

To AI or not to AI in interviews

• An interesting contrast emerged in AI tool usage during interviews. While some candidates (like Hedgy member Jeff) successfully highlighted their proficiency with tools like Claude Code, Nick's target roles in growth and analytics explicitly discouraged AI assistance during the interview process.
• This difference stems from role requirements: Nick's roles emphasized creative problem-solving (e.g., "How would you increase usage of X product?") rather than technical accuracy or sheer output. Another example highlighting the evolving landscape of AI usage in interviews.

This post is part of our job search retro series where Hedgy members who have recently started a new job share learnings from their search. If we can be helpful as you navigate your search, email us at founders@hedgy.works