Nonlinear Techies Newsletter (Mar 10)
Why you shouldn't ask for referrals
Don't ask for referrals. Do this instead.
You’ve heard that referrals can help you land a job, especially if you’re pivoting in this crazy job market. But asking a stranger for a referral? It's a H*LL NO from me.
Instead, DM them on LinkedIn and ask for a coffee chat—a quick, informal networking call with a recruiter or someone at the company.
When I've done this in the past, people have offered to refer me without me ever asking.
Here’s how to ask the right way:
✅ Prioritize people with mutual connections—same school, past companies, or industry overlap. They’re more likely to reply.
✅ Keep your message short and specific—mention any shared affiliations and say exactly why you want to chat.
✅ Don’t make them do extra work—offer time slots instead of asking for theirs, but offer to be flexible if the times you suggested don't work for them.
✅ If they don’t respond, follow up with an offer to ask a couple of questions over email. People are busy!
✅ Ping them at lunchtime or in the afternoon (Weds & Thurs work best)
I’ve used these strategies hundreds of times and IT WORKS!
Over 200M people in the US (2/3 of the population!) use LinkedIn and messages there are 3x more likely than email to get a response.
☕ So go get that coffee chat!
Use my message templates if you don't know what to write.
Tech Jobs I'd Apply to This Week
Curated US roles for generalists and career pivoters with ~2+ years of experience
Typically includes: Strategy & Ops / BizOps, GTM, Chief of Staff, occasionally Program/Project Manager, Product & Product Marketing, etc.
GTM Strategy & Ops – Plaid (Fintech, Series D, SF)
Senior Analyst, Hulu Subscriber Planning – Disney (Streaming, Big Tech, LA)
Senior Technical Program Manager, Security – Rippling (B2B SaaS, SF)
Technical Program Manager, Risk – Uber (Big Tech, SF)
Strategic Partnerships Manager – Anorak (Series A, Remote)
GTM Commercial Manager - Cervello (B2B SaaS, NY)
Creator Partnerships Lead - Whop (Creator economy, Series A, NYC)
Growth Strategist – Clay (B2B SaaS, Series B, NY)
HR Generalist – TextUs (B2B SaaS, Denver)
Associate Manager, Strategy & Ops (Retail) – DoorDash (Big Tech, SF)
Strategy & Operations – Captions (Video, Series B, NYC)
Strategy & Operations – Whatnot (Live Shopping, Series C, Various)
Product Manager – Kikoff (Fintech, Series B, SF)
Product Manager, Community Growth – NewtonX (AI & Market Research, Series A, Remote)
Customer Strategy & Ops – Notion (Productivity SaaS, Series C, SF)
Chief of Staff – Cerbo (Healthcare SaaS, Remote)
Chief of Staff – Forage (EdTech, Series C, Remote)
Chief of Staff – Roame (TravelTech, YC Startup, Remote)
This is NOT meant to be "every tech generalist job under the sun", just things that come across my desk that I want to share with you!
Other job search platforms I recommend for nonlinear techies include: YC, Wellfound, Bultin, Dice, Remote.co, and of course LinkedIn.
Have a great week!
Hannah