Job Search Retro: Partnerships Lead

Alexa landed a Partnerships Lead role focused at a late stage fintech company.

Hedgy Member Background

• 6 years of previous partnerships experience at insurance tech companies.
• Was focused on partnerships roles at a wide range of startups with a need to be based in LA or remote friendly.

Key Insights

Instant (applying) vs. delayed (referral) gratification

• Alexa either applied or was referred to 115 companies resulting in 17 interviews. 16 of those came through referrals.
• Early on, applying to dozens of jobs felt like she was making progress because there was some instant gratification in seeing the submission notification. However, she realized these did not lead to actual conversations.
• Her uncle has a saying that the best network is your network’s network. So this is exactly who she relied on. Often finding ways for 2nd degree connections to refer her to target roles. Even though this is more work and takes longer, it was much higher converting (i.e. the delayed gratification).

Startup roles can be a moving target

• On several occasions, Alexa would be mid interview loop when someone on the team would share they had changed the scope of the role. This meant she was no longer a great fit as they’d be looking at a different profile of candidate.
• Anyone who’s been at an early stage company knows priorities can change quickly and while frustrating, it’s best to go into these interviews with the mindset that a role’s scope changing (or being tabled entirely) is a possibility.

Pivoting a “no” into an offer

• A credit to her partnerships background, on two occasions Alexa was able to turn a “no” into a paying opportunity.
• In both cases, both she and the team felt there was a mutual cultural fit but the team was looking for someone with a different set of experiences or skills. She was able to pitch the companies a short term trial (e.g. 90 days, < 40 hours a week) at a rate prorated off the expected salary. This had the dual benefit of leading to a potential transition to a full time role while also bringing in some income while her job search continued.

Partnerships interviews

• Particularly for startups, a lot of sales/partnerships will focus on a person’s ability to source and develop a pipeline of customers.
• Expect to have conversations that focus on how you would find these customers, how you would get in front of them and ultimately strike a deal.

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