See structured guides for each stage of your career journey
OR
Browse our library of career tactics below👇

A powerful hack for your search is to build a list of companies you are interested in.   You will be surprised at how this simple tactic changes the dialog in your search and helps your network: Better understand where you are focused Quickly think through their conections for introductions they can make More easily introduce you When you have your account list, you will more quickly find connections to companies and accelerate your search. I want to help but when executives aren't specific I struggle. You get 2 minutes of my brainpower. Make the ask specific." Top Seed-Stage VC How to build your company list Get clear on the criteria  for your target companies Start with a small list.  Target 10-15 companies to start.  You don’t need an exhaustive list.  The goal is to show a thoughtful set of companies to guide suggestions of people who want to help you.   Build your initial list from Whispered’s Company Insights Filter by size and stage of company Further narrow by Geo and Space Prioritize breakout companies Review descriptions and confidential insights Don't overthink it: It is more important to put A LIST together than have the list be perfect on day 1. As you go forward as you get negative information on companies you can remove them and as folks suggest new ones you can add them. "If you are spending more than 1 week on your initial company list you are overthinking it." Whispered Founder Add to the list from conversations:  It is amazing to observe but when you list a few companies it gets people’s minds thinking and you’ll often leave a call with 3-5 new companies to research and potentially add to your list.  After sharing 1-2 companies you are interested in (see below), always ask “What other companies do you think could be interesting?” How to use your company list Here are several tactics we’ve found highly effective to leverage your company list: Share your 1 pager  / company list after a call.   It gives the person a simple ask and prompts them to think of connections they might otherwise not Highlight 1-2 example companies in conversations with recruiters .   They often make connections for top candidates to companies they don’t have active searches for.  It is a great excuse for them to nurture relationships Share a few portfolio companies on your list with talent partners .   They love to hear which of their portfolio companies candidates are interested in.  This often prompts them with ideas of connections they can make and they are very open to sending your resume to a company.  You’ll often find this sparks deep insights from them about the company’s trajectory and leadership.  These are great to add to the Company Insight Database  and the dialog builds your relationship with the talent partner. Put on your 1 pager :  Link to your target company list to highlight how you are focusing.  Airtable is great because you can create one public view to share - and another view with more info, just for yourself.  Integrate into your talk track : Have 1-2 companies to cite as mnemonics to help people understand and remember where you are focused.  A great tactic is to use a sample target company to highlight the value you drive. “When I spoke to recruiters during my last search, I’d consistently highlight my excitement to work at Zapier.  I’d explain how my experience with high-velocity, data-driven companies would accelerate their sales model.  After a few weeks, someone in my network connected me to the CEO of Zapier and we had a great discussion.”  Whispered executive Network in to companies on your list: Don't worry if there is an open role. We've consistently seen companies create roles for senior executives who have a sincere interest in the company and can communicate the value they bring. As you research who you know at a company you'll also be surprised at how many people you can check in with that you hadn't thought about beforehand. Use your interest in the specific company as an excuse to reach out. "For each company that you are interested in, write a really nice email explaining why you are a really good fit for that company and send that to the person that you know and then they can just forward that on." Nick Mehta  on Who Got Me Here podcast

People sometimes ask " why does Whispered charge candidates ?"   We give away our content to help as many people as possible.  If you are early in your career, use our free guides to focus your search  and apply through the backdoor  for posted jobs. But as you get more senior, roles increasingly aren’t posted .  You need access to proprietary databases, career connections, and unposted roles to accelerate your search.   The amount we charge candidates allows us to: Invest our time in building Whispered Invest in building systems to amplify your search Purchase data to target your search and give you an information advantage Spend time helping our members (and giving free advice to others)  We work for candidates like you, rather than the companies evaluating you.   We believe executives need help in their search Our founders felt the pain of executive job searches and we’ve built the model that each of us would have paid for.  We designed Whispered around our beliefs that: You need data to excel at your job search:  When you leave your company you no longer have LinkedIn premium or tools to target companies.  We’ve built our company database with multiple premium data sources to help executives find breakout companies and avoid toxic ones. You can learn from experience:  We observe many mistakes executives make in their search from lack of focus to not leveraging recruiters , talent partners  and investors .  As you work out loud on your search, our team provides guidance at key points.  You search better with others:  Searching for your next executive role can be lonely.  Whispered has built the community to support your search and we work together to make connections for you. Connections can accelerate your search:  Our founders love connecting people and invest their time to connect you to connect you with others who can accelerate your career. You get what you pay for:   Recruiting firms get paid by companies and don’t work for candidates.  Most recruiters help where they can but can rarely coach candidates  beyond a single call. Execs don’t have anyone in their corner until Whispered who partners with you to accelerate your search. Whispered drives value by accelerating your search The average tenure for a GTM executive at a VC-backed company is 17 months !   Every month you are out of a job or in the wrong job it is costing you.   “Not being in the right role isn’t just an inconvenience—it comes with real costs. There’s a financial toll, as you’re not maximizing your earning potential. Professionally, you miss out on growth opportunities that could set you up for future success. And emotionally, staying in the wrong position can lead to stress, burnout, and a lack of fulfillment.”   Ashley Artrip Whispered’s model helps you: Position yourself: So many candidates struggle because they don’t have clarity and can’t communicate themselves succinctly.  Whispered helps you nail this Hit the ground running:  It can be stressful starting a new job search, particularly if you are in a role today .  Whispered helps you gain clarity early, develop a target list of companies, and leverage the right strategy for your situation.  Accelerate your search:   Whispered accelerates your search through introductions and unposted roles .   “Seeing a few extra opportunities and get connected faster, that alone is worth the cost of Whispered.  If I find a job 2 days faster because of you, at my level, that pays for itself.”  Whispered member Collaborate with other candidates:   Whispered’s community allows you to share opportunities and insights on roles with other candidates. “The power of seeing that other candidates are going after the same roles, offers a unique perspective from the candidate perspective.  It allowed me to get deeper understanding of processes I was in.”  David Zwerin Pick the right company:  Whispered helps you find breakout companies  and get connected to them.  Whispered also helps you avoid wasting interview cycles on the wrong companies. We know that cutting weeks (or months) off of your search, enabling you to identify more opportunities, and helping you find the breakout companies (and avoid the toxic ones), is worth much more than we charge.  We hear it consistently from members. We price our model to align with your success We only work with “A Candidates”  and those we believe we can polish into As  and we look for executives that we believe can be successful with our coaching and are looking to invest in their career. We charge a single one-time fee for Whispered which is good as long as your current search lasts.  We feel this model aligns incentives best because: We help you do your search better but don’t do your search for you:  Candidates who work-out-loud and hustle get huge value from the Whispered model.  But because your search success is ultimately up to you, we don’t work on a success fee approach like recruiting firms. We provide databases and (mostly) async coaching:  Whispered provides a complete system for executives looking for their next role.  This system isn’t about live coaching - If we sold live coaching, Whispered would be MUCH more expensive .  We help you find a role as fast as possible:   Often we help people find jobs with a single introduction (definitely not guaranteed).   W e don’t want to make more money by charging monthly if your search drags out .  "Not only did I find my role fast with Whispered, but the interview process was also expedited as I was able to use the Whispered network to come in as a trusted referral to the C-level.”  Hannah Duncan Wendt Bonus: We love keeping our alumni involved:  Many Whispered alumni are our best contributors and stay involved in the community after their search. Compare Whispered to…. Whispered is designed to accelerate executives' careers with tactics, databases, introductions, and async advice.  This allows us to keep the price low and help as many executives as possible.  Compare Whispered to: Exec/Career Coaching:  Coaches can cost upwards of $400-500 / hour to help you get clear and focused on what you want next but they don’t guarantee outcomes either. Resume Review:  Resume review services often cost more than $1,000 for several hours.   Communities:  There are lots of communities for job searchers.  These provide much-needed support during the search process. Networking with Recruiters  and Talent Partners :   Doing this is free and we give you the cheat sheet on how you can engage these valuable nodes.  While recruiters and talent partners are valuable, they aren’t working for you but rather the company.  Whispered on the other hand, is working to turbo-charges you with connections to these nodes, helping you position yourself well, and data to leverage them.  “Whispered is defining a new category.  It's democratizing access to information that previously is private in order to better serve the job seeker, which in turn benefits companies as well.”  Leading career advisor People pay for all of these models but none help you find your next role and accelerate your search.  That is what Whispered is designed for … and why we charge.

Smart people love roles that allow them to grow and always get excited about the following roles: Chief of Staff COO Business Development BizOps Operating partner General manager (coming soon) The great thing about these roles (that they can develop in so many ways and don’t force you to specialize) is also their biggest drawback.    In your 20s you want to add to your tool-belt.  If you can get one of the roles above with a great mentor, go for it! It can open up doors.  But, in your 30s you need to start to specialize and build a skill set.  If you don’t, you will discover yourself left-behind with an ambiguous background that is hard to market on your next search and definitely hard to build an executive career around. These are also VERY difficult roles to search for because: They often aren’t posted The roles are very ambiguous (as you’ll see below) Any time one of them gets posted, they get TONS of applications More often than not, these roles are promoted from within vs. hired externally.  If you are sharp and early career, don’t hesitate to take on one of these roles!  But, think hard as you get later in career, as it likely means a custom job search for subsequent roles. “Generalist operators are also a recruiter's worst nightmare”. Top Exec Recruiter Below are detailed thoughts on each of these roles Chief Operating Officer There are four different flavors of COO.  See this terrific article by Allison Pickens .  Below are the flavors Allison details and what background each takes. Chief of Staff:  This is more a early/mid-career role.  See our coming article on Chief of Staff roles.  This is typically hired at Series A. Operations Lead:  Generally these come from finance and .. increasingly RevOps Journey Officer:  When you need a more coherent customer journey and consistency of approach across marketing, sales, and customer success.  This also is titled as CRO instead.  Sales leadership experience (owning a number and succeeding here) is critical for this flavor.  This is often hired around Series A/B Runs the Biz: When you want to focus on the product, evangelism, and vision of the company. This COO type manages many diverse functions and may have the President title.  This one is often the most nebulous and its availability will depend on what other strong executives are already at the company.  This role is typically at later stage companies. Business Development There are similarly many flavors of business development roles, including: Channel:  These roles can also be growth partnership or distribution roles.  They are truly partnership roles Strategic sales:  This is really just sales… if you want to do sales, go do sales Licensing:   This is also just sales role.   “The BD function is either a 10 out of 10 in the value they deliver, or nobody knows why they are there.  There is rarely anything in-between”  Jeff Macomber Chief of Staff Chief of staff roles are by nature super-ambiguous.  They can include components of: Program/project manager Exec assistant Right-hand man/woman (this is what most people who apply for these are hoping for) And there are so many other flavors…. These roles are often 24-7, tour-of-duty roles even when you are working with a top-notch executive.  We advise people to be cautious of these roles if you are: over 30  have a child want work-life balance These can be dynamic with the right executive committed to exposing you to new situations early in your career.  But if the executive leaves, the role will likely change a ton or be eliminated. “I realize that a lot of my friends had career breakouts basically became the ‘right hand’ for a billionaire”. Jeremey Giffon on Invest Like the Best Podcast BizOps BizOps folks are sharp and can learn a lot about a business but at some point, unless you want to be a 60-year old bizops person, you will need to specialize.  BizOps is a great role for early career but if you find yourself in it in your late 30s/40s you are in danger of being behind your peers because: You haven’t specialized You don’t have deep experience leading a function You haven’t built the muscle of managing bigger teams with non-McKinsey folks You haven’t owned a number (in most BizOps roles this is the case) Finance and RevOps roles are natural transitions for BizOps folks.  Some considerations on both: Finance:  If you love numbers and strategy / planning finance is a great next step RevOps:  If you love systems and processes RevOps can be a great fit Operating Partner Operating partner is a role SO MANY of us execs aspire to.  But it isn’t always a great role - so firm dependent - and is often an end-of-career role.  See our article on Operating Partners .

If you are job searching, it is scary to turn down a role. It often means you are starting from scratch in your search and don’t have anything to feel optimistic/excited about.  But as this article explains, you need to have the filter and courage to decline roles that aren’t the right fit (and do this right when you know). If it is not a “hell YES” then it is a NO.  Know your criteria You should have clear filter criteria for your next role.  We don’t recommend too many criteria - focus on just 2-3 or you may find yourself too picky.  Some criteria to think about include:   Understand what roles and companies  you are focused on Know the types of organizational structures and leadership that fit well for you Be clear on which locations work and don’t (remote, hybrid, in-person, travel expectations) Know what level and compensation  you are willing to accept What type of culture are you seeking Operating model and routes to market  If a role is a small stretch and you know you are a preferred candidate , feel comfortable talking with the hiring manager to see if they can adjust to fit your criteria - often for great candidates companies will uplevel a role.  But for many things like location, these aren’t flexible.  If an opportunity doesn’t fit your criteria, it is hard to say no but if you don’t you can waste lots of cycles on roles that you wouldn’t accept anyway.  Here are some great quotes from Whispered members to help you have the courage to pass on roles you know aren’t a fit. “From my perspective having the courage to turn down one when you don’t have the next one is tough, but valuable to know your criteria and not go too deep on the opportunity that won’t be a fit” “I think, for me at least, it is the fear of "what if this was the last one" that gets to me afterward.  I was having dinner with someone recently who just posted  about his imposter syndrome, and it made me think about how I view my own.” “Earlier the better, it’s like a sales cycle. Got to remind yourself that it’s a 2-way interview. The deeper you get into the process the more you get to “try on” the culture and role. Don’t settle. You know that this will be your work “family” for years to come.” How to decline a role How you decline a role matters too.  Here are some tips: Do it early and be clear on the reason:   Companies respect if you are clear in your criteria, but if you wait until very late in the process it can burn relationships with the recruiter and company. Refer others:  If you are searching collaboratively (like Whispered) offering up a candidate who may be a better fit is a great way to politely withdraw “Usually if I back out I do it gently enough that I could refer someone else or open the process again. I have done that for a job I accepted too. The goal is always leaving with “let’s stay friends”

If a role is posted , you CAN get a foot in the door. Don’t just rely on the front door (applying online) Instead master the backdoor strategy of how to leverage your network to break through the noise of hundreds (if not thousands) of other candidates. “[All highly successful people] treat life, business, and success… just like a nightclub. There are always three ways in. There’s the First Door, where 99% of people wait in line,hoping to get in. There’s the Second Door, where billionaires and royalty slip through. But then there is always, always… the Third Door. It’s the entrance where you have to jump out of line, run down the alley, climb over the dumpster, bang on the door a hundred times, crack open the window, and sneak through kitchen. But there’s always a way in. Alex Banayan When to use the backdoor strategy This article focuses on how to apply for posted roles.  Generally roles above director aren’t posted  but if they are they will typically get thousands of applications.  You will need these strategies to stand out.   For executives focused on more senior roles, there are other powerful strategies for your job search .   You can also use these backdoor strategies to network in to unposted roles and to start dialogs for roles that don’t exist.  It is important thought that if an unposted role is listed by a recruiter, we don’t recommend back-door applying as circumventing recruiters can damage your relationship with them and potentially put you at a disadvantage for the role. Backdoor tactics The goal of applying through the backdoor is to get on the hiring manager’s radar via the best reference you can.  If you can’t reach the hiring manager, getting introduced to the internal recruiter is a great alternative.  Use the following strategies to give yourself the best shot at making the connection and getting noticed: Make sure you are qualified:   The backdoor strategy won’t help for posted roles if you don’t have the experience and can’t nail the interview.  Do your homework:   You are putting a lot of effort in and asking a lot of your network.  Make sure you make each ask impactful by: Reading all you can on the company (articles, podcasts by their execs) Network in to junior folks at the company first to learn about their pain points Always write a personal note Submit a form on their website to understand the prospect journey Research connections on LinkedIn.  Other tools include relationship mapping tools like Commsor . Ask a broad group of people for help:  While you want to prioritize people you are close with (see below) it is a good strategy to ping 10-15 connections.  Not only is this a way to find more connection paths but it is also an excuse to rekindle a relationship,  even if they can’t make intro.  Anyone you connect with can share you search  to see if they know other companies on your target list . Make it easy for your connections to help:  Here are some ways that reduce the barriers for them to help you: When you make the ask include the link to the job Be concise and clear on your ask Include why you are qualified for the role and highlighting your specific interest in the company Send an easily forwardable note Backdoor strategies can’t help you get the job, just get the interview.  Once you get connected to the recruiter/hiring manager, the rest is up to you.  Here is how hiring managers and recruiters evaluate candidates . “There are like 500 people applying for whatever job you are applying for.  You have got to be all over it….   If you get a meeting with that company, I would spend 10 hours prepping for that call because you have to blow them away.”  Nick Mehta  ( see podcast at 25:30 ) If you can’t get connected to the hiring manager / recruiter, a backup strategy is to get submitted via the company’s internal referral program by an existing employee.  Generally these applications ask people to rank if you are in the top 5-10% of talent so try to get submitted by someone who has worked with you before.  These applications will always get a closer eye from recruiters. Who to leverage When you backdoor a role, prioritize people on two dimensions: How well they can speak to your skills:   Have you worked with them before, do you have a personal relationship with them How close they are to the department you are interested in:   For startups and early stage companies  this is less important since everyone knows everyone.   For mid and later companies, recognize that people in engineering don’t often know people in sales for example. Following are key contacts (in rough order) to leverage for your backdoor strategy: Contacts you know well at company Contacts you know well who used to work at company Investors  can be powerful for early stage companies Talent Partners  provide a powerful reference for early stage companies Recruiters  typically work better for unposted roles or trying to build  Finally, Invest in your network for long term success. Don’t just ask for help when you need it. It is important to build your network and brand  so that when you need to network (backdoor) into a company it is an easy request.

One of the most stressful parts of a job search is waiting and wondering.   Are you the preferred candidate or a stalking horse? Are they just busy or slow-playing you? Should you send another check-in email? Signals to Guide You “At some point in the process, when you become the preferred candidate, the nature of the conversation with the hiring manager/recruiting team switches from transactional to a candid conversation. This is where the hiring manager will be available to speak with you on a frequent basis.” Matthew Parker From working with many top executives, we’ve learned the signals to watch for You know you are a top choice candidate if the company/recruiter is they: Proactively reach out to you Ask where you are in other processes Talk to you about start date Discuss the next interview  Shift the conversation to casual / culture topics Discuss benefits and perks Ask you to provide references Introduce you to others while you are in office Inquire about your career goals Talk like you are already on the team Reply to your thank you email;) You know you aren’t a priority candidate if they: Don’t share a clear next action Reschedule your interviews consistently Have delays in responding to you Despite all these signs, It is stressful knowing where you are in a process.   Even when people on the hiring team give off overt and subtle signs that they want to you to join, you are not guaranteed to receive an offer. Companies may have other internal alignment /scheduling issues that slow their response, giving on a negative message when you are a top candidate How Whispered helps executives collaborate Whispered creates an environment for executives searching for similar roles to collaborate , including: Sharing unposted roles Sharing experiences from interview processes Sharing insights on companies In some cases, multiple Whispered executives can be in the running for a role.  We find candidates collaborate and can learn a lot from each other about the process.  This allows them to: Calibrate the signals they are receiving Know if they are preferred candidate Adjust how they position their level of interest in a role “That is one of the biggest beauties of Whispered, to know of and speak with other candidates who are interviewing for the same role. No more black boxes!” Whispered Member

Companies reach out to us regularly with help on roles.  As Whispered isn’t a recruitment firm (we help executives) we don’t do searches for them.  But we can help with: Introductions to Whispered executives Suggestions of other executives in our network Guidance on how to structure a role for success Introductions to recruiters specializing in their role / search We’ve observed that few companies immediately engage a recruiter but these are the key moments where it makes sense. When you start to think about a key executive role This is an amazing time to engage a recruiter.  This can help you avoid many of the mistakes described below.  Additionally they can outreach / find passive candidates and keep the search confidential (see all the reasons not to post an executive role )  When you lack internal capacity for an executive search During high growth times (i.e. 2020/2021) many companies were growing faster than their internal recruiting teams could keep up.  This was coupled with a lack of talented candidates on the market, limiting the quality and quantity of inbound executive candidates. When you want to fill a role fast Recruiters (particularly the big firms) have deeper candidate databases where they maintain relationships with active and passive candidates. They can move quickly and aren't constrained by internal deadlines. When you want to see a broader candidate pool Internal recruiting teams are often stretched then.  They are screening tons of inbound applications while at the same time trying to manage processes, close candidates and outbound at the same time.  When companies have unique roles and want to broaden the talent pool, recruiters excel here. “Recruiters are in the market every day, actively talking to candidates across their specialty and can give a good gauge on candidate sentiment and what they are seeing in the market currently.   Sometimes our clients have a very clear picture of what they need, what they think they need, or what their VC has told them they need. More often than not, they are surprised by a candidate they would not have even thought to look at. That’s where recruiters can be especially valuable, riffing off of the original idea of the perfect candidate to find someone who may be better in the end.”  Steve Leppert , Founder Collaborative Talent When you are hiring a new executive role If you are seeking a senior executive for a role you just created, it may be time to retain an executive search firm. When an executive search falls outside your area of expertise, an executive search firm can plug the knowledge gap with its domain know-how. When you have tried and failed Many companies try searching for executive candidates internally first.  If they fail to find and close the right candidate, this is a common time to engage a top executive recruiter.  Some of the reasons executive searches fail include: Compensation:   Companies want to pay lower than market.  Recruiters can help with benchmarks Over-restrictive criteria:  Some companies only want candidates who have worked at X and Y companies.  Recruiters can guide on other backgrounds.    Ineffective recruiting process:  When companies don’t know the problem they are solving with a hire they often design obstacle courses to assess candidates.  Recruiters can guide the requirements early and advise on the right interview approach. Unique executive dynamics:  Often there are unique aspects within your leadership that make it hard to hire.  Recruiters can hold top executive candidates hands through the process. Brand challenges: If your company has a bad reputation in the market it may be hard to source directly. Recruiters can reach out anonymously and engage candidates in a process. They can also speak positively about your company in a way that is difficult to do yourself. Run out of candidates:   If you have exhausted your network of connections for possible referrals, it is time to access another network. Executive search consultants are among the most well-networked people in the business. Are you ready to engage a great recruiter? Whispered maintains a directory of top recruiters by seniority and areas of expertise. Learn more about how Whispered can help your company find great talent .

This article provides a deep-dive into the considerations around becoming an operating partner at a VC/PE firm.  It is part of a broader series by Whispered  on Career 2.0 options . The operating partner role is attractive because it exposes you to both operating strategy and investing.  But often these roles end up being short-term.   “Operating partners need to be assertive on how the role can drive impact.  If you can do that, the role can be long-term and highly compensated.  However, many roles are not structured for long term success.”   Top Operating Partner The operating partner role has grown dramatically in the last 10 years due to the explosion of investment firms, as well as the recognition that these firms need to differentiate themselves on more than just availability of capital to invest.  The latest VC Platform survey on operating roles  showed that nearly 40% of VCs globally now have some flavor of operating team.  Coming into a firm at the partner level is not realistic for many people, especially for those who don't have any prior relationships with the firm.  There are, however, many operating (aka “platform”) staff roles that provide operational guidance to portcos.  While the platform role is different at each firm, the following articles provide some context around the general areas of responsibilities typically covered by individuals and teams in this role: Elevating Startups: The Pivotal Role of the Platform Associate in VC Everything You Need to Know About the VC Platform Role Why Head of Platform Continues To Be One Of The Most Important Roles At A VC Firm What the role looks like Typically the operating partner role is focused on helping portfolio companies with strategy and best practices around a specific function (i.e RevOps, sales, marketing, product, recruiting..).    You may also be asked to help provide input on executive searches within the portfolio for roles where you have expertise as well as help to build a community of execs in that role across the portfolio (think manage a slack channel and have monthly calls). The operating partner role can vary widely depending on firm type: Early Stage (Seed+A):  These are often the first institutional investment in a company.  Someone in an operating / platform role will need to have “zero to one” startup experience rather than with scale. Mid-Stage (B+C):   Operating partners with VCs are typically “helper” roles designed to differentiate the firm as a potential investor in what is an increasingly overcrowded market of firms. Often these are individual operating partners that roll over more often. Late Stage / PE (D+):  The key about the role is figuring a way to drive impact with portfolio companies.  The role exists because it’s hard to make a return without improving the company where it is typically a control position and lower growth.   Late stage and Private Equity firms tend to have a long-term committed strategy and operating groups composed of multiple people. Develop original content and POVs for the firm on your specific function. Network deeply within that function’s other communities so the firm and it’s portfolio companies have great access to talent pool In addition to the stage of the firm, we’ve observed the structure of the operating partner role can vary on several dimensions: Part Time / Full-Time / Partner:   Operating partner roles can range from an entrepreneur/expert-in-residence (short term, usually focused on helping you find your next role, may/may not be paid) to an operating staff role (paid position but serves at the direction and prioritization of the partnership) and a full operating partner (paid of the investing or management company structure, which gives you more authority, autonomy) How many companies you work with:  Some roles can focus on a small group (< 10 companies) and can go deep with them while others can support a broad portfolio of companies (i.e 100+) where you stay high-level and strategic. Size of Operating Team: At most VCs you might be the only operating partner, or there will be just a few, versus large PE firms can have 25+ person operating teams with more specialization. Note: Visit our VC database to see a list of firms with deep operating teams. Diligence vs. Portfolio focus:   Some operating partners work with deal teams to assess and help close deals while others purely work on improving portfolio company operations. “On the diligence side, operating partners serve multiple roles to support deals: (1) sourcing through their own network or area of expertise (2) serving as a functional expert to give a deeper read on the possibility of success for a company and (3) selling themselves, and their firm, as the right firm to work with via the opportunity to partner together. Tethering between these three is an important facet of being a successful operating partner.”  Aaron Cort , Head of Marketing, Growth & GTM at Craft Ventures Firm Operations/Marketing:   Some operating partner roles can include a healthy dose of content creation and events. This may be less interesting so you’ll want to get alignment early on in your conversations about how much of this they are expecting you to do. “Being involved in deal processes increases your value.  When you help a firm improve their operations, all investors on the cap table benefit.  When you help them close a deal all benefits accrue to your firm.”  Karan Singh , VP of RevOps @ LaunchDarkly, former Operating Partner Considerations on the role Pros: Variety:  You meet many new companies, see a variety of business models and projects.  This can open new windows and perspectives. Comp (Sometimes):   This role can pay well and at, the partner level, can include carry .  Note that part-time operating partner roles also can pay very little as they are just a place to spend time while searching Career Stability:  This can be stable career-wise (more so than investing partners) if you find the right fit. Network:  Supercharge your network. You meet 10x more talented and experienced people than in a typical operating role - across industries, growth stages, and areas of subject matter expertise.  There is also an amazing community of VC operators who tend to be collaborative since they all face similar challenges.   Pattern Recognition:   Working with investing partners you will “get a PHd in how to assess companies.” Candid Information:  Get the inside story on companies you might join.   “In my role I have earned my place as a trusted "text or Slack me anytime" advisor to 50+ NYC based CEOs of Seed / A / B / C companies.  Where else would I get that level of access and closeness? If I were to go back to operating, I would have the advantage of a "try before you buy" experience with a lot of different CEOs and companies.”  Jason Gelman , Operating Partner @ Primary Ventures Cons: Skills Get Stale:   You aren’t getting your hands dirty with current vendors and tech Hard to Keep Score:  It can be hard to know what "winning" looks like and how your work impacts VC fund outcomes because they are so long term in nature.  The highs are not as high as your best day at a startup (and your lows are not as low). A Partnership Not a Company:  There is no single metric (like revenue) that everyone in the partnership rallies behind.  In the partnership structure, each partner can have their own side quests that they view as equally important.  Culture can help with alignment here, but under stress, a partnership will act very differently than a company. 2nd Fiddle:  You are definitely lower in the pecking-order to investing partners.  You will be first in line for any budget cuts. IC Role:   Coming from leading a large team may be an adjustment.  You will have little opportunity to manage people and instead have to influence others – both inside the firm and within the portfolio.  If you love management and leadership this may not be for you. Help Not Always Wanted:  Operating companies might not want your help – in fact, they may view you as a spy for the investor and actively avoid your help. Limited Resources:  Resources (budget, time, staff) are very limited relative to corporate budgets.  Your internal data, systems and processes are likely to be below what you’re used to working with in the corporate world.  This can be an opportunity for you to demonstrate your leadership, but it can also be a headwind to making progress in your area of focus. Spread Too Thin:   It’s easy to get spread thin between helping multiple portfolio companies, helping on executive searches, helping with diligence, and building a community of executives across one function within the portfolio. Other considerations The best operating partners and platform staff have deep startup experience at companies similar in stage and type because they have “seen this movie many times before”. Thus, they know what go-to-market strategy to advise, how to spot areas of improvement from looking at data, and even have a network of connections if help with recruiting is needed.  Revops is a great background for an operating partner.  You get to think strategically about the entire GTM funnel and it is very numbers driven Different firms have different models.  Some have the investing partners and operating partners working on same team while others have a separate operating team. Be careful to make sure your role is focused on portfolio companies rather than improving the operations of the VC itself.  This latter bucket can be a dead-end (trying to manage a bunch of partners).  This is particularly prevalent for marketing folks Operating partner is rarely a path to an investing partner role.  With fundraising tighter, investing partners are even less likely to share the pie. How to get an operating partner role These operating partner roles aren’t typically posted.  Here are some tactics to find them: Experience with firm: If you have worked with the firm in the past (where they invested in your company and worked with you) Experience at the relevant stage: Firms look for experience in companies at the scale of their investments. If you have only operated at early stage companies, you will struggle to get an operating partner role at a late-stage PE firm. Partner Relationships: You know a partner well and they have an established operating partner program Apply: It is rare to see a great operating partner role posted but you can track platform specific job boards such as SoYouWantToWorkinPlatform  or VC Platform  Project: Do a project for a portfolio company and rock it “Doing some advisory calls / project based consulting work for a VC portfolio company  and doing a great job earns you a reputation where your name gets bubbled up to the firm and other portcos.”  Jason Gelman , Operating Partner @ Primary Ventures How to evaluate operating partner roles Below are a few signals that an operating role might be a fit for the firm you’re talking to: The firm is an “active” investor, meaning they try to earn board seats, own significant amounts of the company and try to provide value beyond just capital. The firm is early in their latest fund cycle.  VC funds have a life cycle of 7-10 years with firms earning the majority of their operating fees (eg revenue) in the first 3-5.  Firms that are hiring an operating role shortly before a new fund or in the early years of a fund cycle have more dollars to put towards the role and programming. The firm has a past history of hiring operators or has existing platform staff such as a head of talent, chief of staff, COO. Look for strong alignment on operating and management philosophy.  This alignment or lack thereof can be one of the strongest predictors of whether the role will be a long term fit for you.  Ask questions about what their philosophy is in how they manage their companies and what they expect their operating partners to do and how.  Do they have strong rationale for why they are hiring an operating partner or are they doing it because other firms are doing it?

When you are thinking about your career, it is important to: Be clear on what stage is your “sweet spot” Communicate that clearly to others This table (and the 🐶 analogies below;) will help you clarify what stage to focus on.   When you are communicating your stage focus to others, we recommend using FTE ranges because people typically don’t know the financing or revenue details of a company Stage Round Revenue FTEs Focused on Typical Roles Hired at Stage Startup Pre-Seed $0M <3 Product-market fit Founder mode Early Seed <$1M 3-10 Channel-market fit Founding AEs Early A <$2M 10-30 Channel-market fit VP Sales Mid B $5-20m 30-150 Scale VP Marketing VP People Mid C $15-25m 150-400 Scale CRO VP RevOps VP Finance Mid D $25-100m 400-1k Efficiency CMO, CFO Late E+ $100m+ 1k+ IPO CISO What stage fits you? Startup (Everyone has a dog and someone makes cookies every Friday)   Hungry generalists who are uncomfortable being bored and secretly enjoy a little chaos. They probably did poorly in school (despite their high test scores), but instead got really into arcane subjects like Russian History or never left the computer lab.    Early (There's too many dogs. How can we decide who gets to bring a dog in? Also, who ate all the friggin cookies that clearly had my name on them)  Can the person succeed in chaos/lack of structure? The person needs to be willing to wear multiple hats, work hard, iterate, fail fast, pivot, etc. None of this intimidates them…they thrive in it.  They flourish in lack of structure, are resourceful and scrappy and can develop processes and drive operational efficiencies.  They can juggle multiple buyer personas and KPIs.    Mid (We can't bring dogs in anymore because of the "chocolate incident". Somebody writes a negative review on Glassdoor about how there used to be cookies) can this person take lessons they learned and develop repeatable processes for scale?  As the company is maturing, there are more leaders and departments so this person will need to have the ability to work cross departmentally and be flexible/welcoming to feedback.  Executive team that can scale globally and through an acquisition is important, so things get more complex. Many of your early-stage leadership can't hang here, so you'll need to figure out what to do with them.  Late (There is now an "Official Cookie Policy") Bureaucracy kicks in. People have to be good at advocating and communicating business strategy with clear business cases/justification. There’s a lot of managing up/managing sideways/managing down, etc., more so than at the earlier stages.  It starts to take a long time to get things done here. Departmental silos and knowledge gaps start to materialize. Don't know what you want in your next role?

“I’ve been surprised how few legit senior candidates are building relationships with talent teams at VCs.” Top GTM Recruiter The key role talent partners play Talent Partners work at VC and Private Equity firms and play a critical role in helping their portfolio companies find the best talent. Talent Partners can help you with: Company Introductions: If you find a portfolio company you want to get into (even if they don't have a role), getting connected through the talent partners is a great strategy as a) they get credit for making the introduction b) the company interprets the introduction as an endorsement from their investor. Connections to Recruiters: VCs have deep relationships with recruiters and know which are seeing the best roles / run the best searches. Top recruiters get >40% of their clients from talent partner referrals so they will always welcome candidate referrals. Unposted Roles:  They work closely with portfolio companies and know all current (and upcoming) executive roles at these companies. "Every VC has a job board but be aware that they typically don’t list exec roles. These boards are most often just pulled from their portfolio company job boards. True executive roles are rarely posted ." VC Talent Partner How talent partners work In many ways, VC talent partners operate like recruiters - many were recruiters in a past life!. Read our article on recruiters first  as most insights also apply to VC talent partners. Here are some additional highlights: High bar for talent: Similar to recruiters, VC talent partners have a quick eye for backgrounds. They are looking for top 10% talent and if you don’t have the right background, VC talent partners may not be a channel you should spend a lot of cycles on. Do your homework: If you have a call scheduled with a talent partner, make sure to research their portfolio. You can use the Whispered Company Insights for this (filter by Investor). Know the companies that are aligned with your focus and come prepared to share why you are interested in them. Have a list of target companies : Many firms source talent for existing portfolio companies AND hot companies they are trying to invest in, so talent teams may be aware of opportunities beyond their portfolio too. A tight-knit community: There are ~50 firms with talent teams. All of them are in a Google Group together;). They know each other well so, if you can build a strong relationship with one, they will often introduce you to the talent teams at other firms. Unlike recruiters which can be more competitive (since they are competing for placements) talent teams are focused on helping their portfolio companies find the best talent. Always have an ask: In addition to specific companies in their portfolio, VCs have deep relationships with recruiters and know which are seeing the best roles. They can be an excellent way to connect with recruiters. At the end of a good call with VC talent partner, try asking “are there any recruiters/talent partners you think highly of who I should meet?” Connecting with talent partners We don't recommend cold-invite/emails to Talent Partners, they are swamped. Here are the best ways we’ve found to get connected with them (in order): 1 - Investing Partner Talent partners respond quickly to the investing team as that is what pays the bills. If you are close with an investing partner  use this channel 2 - Portfolio Company CEO Talent partners are there to help their portfolio. If you know a CEO who is in their portfolio this is a surefire way to get connected. Also another reason to always network / meet CEOs;) 3 - Talent Partner at Another Firm Many talent teams collaborate (see above) so don’t be afraid to ask if they know other great talent teams. 4 - Whispered Introduction Whispered  has deep relationships with many talent partners . For premium members we can make introductions to top talent partners. 5 - Fellow Exec If you know an exec who has a relationship with a talent partner, this can help that exec nurture their relationship too! Any specific context / hook can make that easier (i.e. already talking to a company in their portfolio) 6 - Cold Outreach If all else fails you can try cold outreach but if you aren't a clear "A" candidate you will see a low response rate. Additional Notes on Talent Partners Ways you can help talent teams: Talent teams don’t just help their portfolio with placements. They also help them up-level their understanding of functions, roles…. These opportunities won’t be ones you create but when asked, I strongly recommend being responsive for these opportunities as they builds your relationship with the talent teams and helps you meet great new executives. Subject Matter Expert: Talent teams often get asked to help a C-level leader at a portfolio company get smarter (i.e. understanding how to hire RevOps, improve their pricing model….). If they ask, take advantage of these opportunities. Content: Talent teams can leverage world-class content as resources to share with their portfolio and also may be asked to put together panels which you can contribute to/lead. Let talent partners know about hot companies raising! This helps them share valuable information with their investing partners “Don't underestimate the power of talking to the talent team on Monday afternoon after the partner meeting. That's when all the problems in the portfolio companies are discussed and the talent team has new projects/priorities.” Talent Partner Do you know how to leverage recruiters, talent partners and investors in your search?

The more senior you get, the more frequently you’ll find that open positions are never advertised to the general public. As a general rule of thumb, the closer to the executive ranks a job is, the less likely you are to see it posted on an internet job board or in the classified sections. This dynamic feels frustrating to many of us senior execs looking for our next role, but there are good reasons why companies and recruiters don’t post roles.   Here are just a few Backfilling:  The company is replacing someone on the team and wants to start the search early.  They haven’t told the existing executive yet. “Confidentially (I'm not sure who at the company knows), they'll be looking for a VP of Customer Success and a VP of Marketing.”  Talent Partner Competition:  Job postings, particularly senior ones, can reveal a lot about a company’s strategy. Experience vs. Skills: With senior roles, the soft skills are often as critical (or more so) than the specific experience. These are hard to codify in a formal job description Evolving Role:  If a role is new and still evolving, the company may not be ready to define the job title or responsibilities.  They often want to meet candidates and refine the position.   Additionally for fast growing startups, the job may be changing during the application process. “Please keep this hush hush, as we do not plan to post and really want to focus on being strategic in our search for this new hire.”   In-House head of GTM recruiting Recruitment team bandwidth:  There is a burden to sort through job applications.  Companies want to do the right thing and respond to everyone - it is important from a brand perspective.   “Most listings for exec positions receive thousands of applications.  We default for senior roles to searching directly”  In-House Exec Recruiter LinkedIn has changed the game:  Instead of getting overwhelmed (see above), companies can target executives with the skills they need. “That (sifting through hundreds of applications) takes time. It makes the recruitment process very slow and expensive. It also burns hundreds of great candidates who put in a huge effort to apply, but don’t succeed because they don’t quite fit this particular role. Now imagine if I start the process by contacting ONLY people who already have what I’m looking for  (which I can see from their LinkedIn profile).”  Richard Triggs ( see full article ) Recruiters Don’t Want Candidates to Circumvent Process:  Many companies use recruiters to keep roles confidential but also recruiters want to control the quality of candidates they refer.  Learn More about "Whispered Roles" If roles aren't posted, they are whispered. Whispered allows recruiters and companies to confidentially (and confidentially) share roles with a select group of executives.

Companies, recruiters, investors and executives all need confidentiality to "whisper" information. This confidentiality is core to Whispered’s model. That is why we've written and are constantly refining our confidentiality policy (last updated 10/21/2024). Role Confidentiality We understand why companies and recruiters don’t post executive roles .   Whispered ensures confidentiality by: Giving submitters full control of how the role is shared, including options to share (see FAQ for definitions of each): Fully anonymous Just with Whispered founders Just with Whispered members (default) With Whispered members and anonymously with top executive community leaders Authenticating all users identity via Google Authentication Only sharing unposted roles with Whispered executives (unless submitter approves otherwise) who have agreed to this confidentiality policy. Insight Confidentiality People only share Company Insights when they know what they shared will be kept confidential. To protect this confidential nature, Whispered: Captures the identity of submitters via Google authentication solely to verify the quality of submissions (and block biased and inaccurate submissions). The identity of who submitted each Company Insight is never shared. Insights are a consolidated, anonymous summary of all submissions on a company. The Whispered Company Insights database is only accessible to paid Members and approved executives. Candidate Confidentiality Many executives looking for their next role are in roles today and don’t want the general public to know they are searching : Whispered never posts candidate profiles publicly Whispered doesn’t share the profiles of any candidate with recruiters or talent partners without their explicit approval Candidates have the option of collaborating with other paid Members or searching anonymously Commitment to Confidentiality Non-Negotiable We require all executives we partner with to agree to this confidentiality policy and respect confidentiality of all data shared with them via Whispered.  Any violation will result in immediate expulsion from the Whispered community.

When you are interviewing, companies don’t tell you all the information. While the Company Database gives you powerful insights, when you go deeper in the interview process, you will want to ask direct questions to ensure you have as much information as possible. 👌🏼 Don’t forget to add what you learn to the Company Database to help other executives! Questions you should be asking What does the company’s GTM model look like? Do they have Product Market Fit Do they have Channel Market Fit Is Top of Funnel Working? What channels are working and can they scale top of funnel Where are the biggest limitation(s) in their funnel. There always is at least one What is gross, net retention. Companies with gross retention under 85% will struggle to scale. Companies with over 120% net retention are well positioned. Is the space attractive? Are there barriers to entry Is it a mature space: Ask “of the last 100 customers you have added, how many were new to what you do vs. switched from competitors?” If the % that are switched is greater than 25%, it is likely maturing quickly (and the breakout period is over) How is the company positioned financially? Is the company profitable? If not, what is runway? What is last valuation. Is IPO or acquisition still on table or have they lost all the options but IPO (tougher place to be but happens as valuation goes up) How efficient is the company? You can judge the efficiency of a company by revenue per employee. Ideally companies are >$150k at Startup/Early stages and >$250k by Mid/Late stages Is the culture a place you want to work? What is the CEO like (personality wise, tech/GTM focus…) as a company always takes their culture from the CEO Is the culture "product / sales / ....." led Is there lots of turnover at senior levels Ask senior leadership "What is the culture of the company and do you want to change it?" Is the senior management team experienced or doing it for the first-time Is the org structure in place for you to succeed? What dependency functions will you work closely with? How is your boss to work with? The user manual approach is a great way to diligence this Is this a new role or a backfill? Who can help you diligence a company? Don’t just talk with people on your interview panel. Triangulate and get lots of data points to help you make the right decision, including: People you interview with: Come prepared with hard questions. A great way to start the interview is “Feel free to start with your questions, but I’ve got lots of questions I’m excited to ask too”. Come prepared and never run out of questions;). Don’t hesitate to ask if there is someone you want to meet. If there is someone you will be working with closely but who isn’t on the interview panel it is good to ask why not. (particularly, make sure you meet your boss’ boss) Whispered: Use the community and also Whispered's Company Insights with contributions from hundreds of executives. Backdoor references: Use LinkedIn to find people who used to work at the company (Use the “Past Company” filter in a “People” search) Network references: As you start to get deeper with a company, share the company you are talking with when you are speaking with your network. Often they will know someone there who can help. Other ways you can research a company Use the company's software / service. Understand the experience and the stickiness Fill out a form on the company's website and understand their current prospect journey Do you know how to pick the right company and role?

When to have the comp conversation and what to say in those discussions is critical When to have the conversation If you are talking with an early stage company , you may want to have the conversation earlier to ensure you are on the same page so you aren’t giving them too much “free consulting”. One way to phrase it is "I'm conscious we've had a few conversations so far, I wanted to make you aware of my expectations around comp. While it's not my number 1 driver, this is important for us to discuss and I want to ensure we're on the same page” If a later stage company, focus on being the preferred candidate (and having leverage) before talking comp. Bigger companies have established bands so they won’t be incredibly off-base like early stage companies can be. If the comp conversation hasn’t been had before making a “presentation” this is a good time to suggest it. i.e “I’m really interested but before we take the next step, shall we make sure we are thinking similar on compensation” Ideally, Do NOT tell the recuiter/hiring manager what you are looking to make- rather get them to first tell you what the job pays. “At some point in the process, when you become the preferred candidate, you should notice the nature of the conversation with the hiring manager/recruiting team switch from transactional to a candid conversation. This is where the hiring manager will be available to speak with you on a frequent basis.” Matthew Parker Who to have the conversation with Be strategic about who you talk comp with: Target having the dialog with the hiring manager, they are more empowered to adjust budget but often recruiting teams will want to discuss earlier Beyond cash and equity amounts, if you aren’t talking to the CEO / working on a role that would report to the CEO, you will hit a dead-end as only the CEO has the ability to approve and these non-cash items will require board approval For established or late-stage companies, often it is best to discuss compensation with the recruiter/ HR. Even though they are just messengers, they can serve as a reality check and can minimize harsh feelings that might occur during negotiations. How to have the discussion You want to push on compensation aggressively but not risk it blowing up an opportunity you are excited about. Here are some ways to position the conversation: Convey Excitement:  "I am excited about the role we are talking about” “I love where we are headed” Convey the value you bring: If they understand why they need you you will have more leverage Convey the Focus on Success: “I want to make sure we are set up for a long-term relationship with aligned incentives” Make Clear Nothing is a Deal-Breaker: “If anything I am asking for is a deal breaker, let’s agree to chat as that is not my goal here” Cash (Salary and Bonus) Posted Comp is Just a Guide: Companies will post crazy broad ranges in their job listings because they are no legally required to put in salary but don’t want to be constrained. If the range is obviously too low then it is probably too junior but if you find yourself in the mid-point, don’t worry too much about the posted range. The more senior the role, the smaller percent of your compensation is your salary, with a greater amount being stock based. A job with a salary posting of $200k max may end up with Total Compensation in the high six figures with equity compensation. Know the comps: When you are discussing compensation with a company, it is a great opportunity to reconnect with a top recruiter you have chatted with in the past. Update them on your search and ask their thoughts on comp. This both gives the recruiter information on your search but also engages them. And… recruiters often know comp ranges for other roles they have placed. Talk to friends in similar roles to benchmark as well Here are some good public benchmarks Focus on the band / level first: For Series ~D+ companies, ask for bands to understand how they are placing you, your negotiation range. If the band/level is not right, negotiate / get aligned on that first - make sure you are looking at the scope of this role the same. Push out the comp discussion: Focus on becoming the preferred candidate first. Then you will have more leverage Once you say what you are looking for, the offer will never go higher than that. Ideally do not say what you are looking for. Your goal is to have the company tell you the range for the job. If a recruiter is involved, they will often ask about comp early to ensure they are bringing candidates in range. You can position as “comp won’t be a reason I decline”. Try to focus the comp discussion directly with the company Be clear in what you are seeking: Be extremely clear with what you need, are looking for and ask them to meet it vs. negotiating Equity Increasingly it is important to evaluate the health of the cap table. Are there so many preferences in their equity that you can never make money? I tend to (once cash comp is reasonable) focus on negotiating hard on equity for a few reasons: Shows you are passionate about the company You can always get your cash comp up later but it is hard to move up equity comp How much can you negotiate on equity 30% above the offer is generally reasonable Questions to ask on equity: How much equity: A good approach is “how much equity is at work” Equity at work is the concept of “how much equity do you have to start that could grow based on performance of company” Recruiters/companies use this concept to benchmark how much equity you get As a rule-of-thumb, target the equity at work to be 4x your annual salary (researching if this is the right benchmark) 👀 Valuation 👇 is a critical factor in how much equity at work you have. When was the last valuation that you using (date, amount). There are key data points for valuation Last raise: if this was in a different market be careful if they use this 409A: a private company valuation which companies have to do annually. Secondary: If a company is mid-to-late stage, it will may have a secondary market. If you get this it can be a valuable negotiating point. Your stake: Portfolio/startups will often offer a percentage of the company in equity. The greater the Company’s valuation, the smaller the percentage. Make sure you understand the overall value of the company and the value of the percentage offered to you. What is the vesting schedule: What happens if there is an exit/IPO? Here is a dirty secret. Your vesting doesn't start when you are hired but when the board approved your equity package. If the company is later stage, this will average ~60 days (the time to next board meeting). This may be hard to negotiate when joining but you definitely cant' negotiate it when you leave;) Preferences: If it is mid-to-late stage, you can get detailed cap-table with preferences on Forge Policy on refreshes: Many companies are bad at refreshes later on equity + giving more equity if you get promoted. Post IPO companies typically will have structured refresh policies while earlier stage won’t. Things that if you are focusing on a very senior role you can ask for Exercise window on options: From a ‘legal’ standpoint, a company can give you an exercise window 10 years from the day the option vests. Most companies default their option agreement to “if you leave for any reason, you have 90 days to exercise or you lose them”. A company CAN give 5 years. It costs a company NOTHING to extend your exercise window but it could be meaningful to the individual (late stage, private → shares are expensive and potentially illiquid). Typically companies won’t extend much beyond 6 months 83b: have to redo offer letter + other agreement for early exercise Other items For these items, these are generally only seen when: You are at a smaller, more risky company You will be reporting directly to the CEO You have leverage (you are being pulled out of an existing role, you are being asked to relocate, you have existing similar package) Try to have the discussions below BEFORE you get the offer letter. Once you get the offer letter some of this can be hard to get in later What you can negotiate Signing Bonuses: Generally companies have leeway here (they rather this than more salary). They can pretty much always do these to close the deal. These are almost a no-brainer if you are relocating. It is very reasonable and common practice for Companies to provide signing/bonus to make up for equity/bonuses you are leaving behind. A signing bonus may be a way to deal with internal equity issues if you are looking for greater compensation then peer positions Severance: Length: Target min 3 months to 6 months (series A 3 months). An umbrella approach is 24 months of severance starting from day 1 (i.e. if you leave after 1 year you get 12 months of severance). Start Date: Triggers minute offer letter signed (offers sometimes get pulled before start date) Amount: Equals base pay at time or highest pay you have achieved Triggers: If termed or leave for “good reason” (legal term) comp is lowered job is changed substantially you are forced to relocate Health insurance: Make sure this is included, with co-term with severance Pro-rata: Get agreement to be paid out pro-rata bonus/ equity if terminated Non-compete: Not allowed in some states…. most companies won’t budge. If you are fired they can require you to sign as part of a severance agreement If you don’t sign severance package then non-compete in offer letter is more wishy-washy Relocation: If someone is trying to get you to relocate you have a lot of leverage as it is moving your life/family. More Personalized Comp Guidance 🔆 If you are in the negotiation stage and on our premium plan, feel free to slack #searchoutloud to get input.  You only get one chance to negotiate your comp. We recommend Ezra Singer (who helped with the content on this page). He is a former senior HR leader who works with executives negotiating compensation packages > $500k (in cash and equity). Best time engage him is before you start talking to the recruiter/company (recommended) or when you get an offer He is great at guiding you through the negotiation process and role-play See some amazing testimonials here and feel free to reach out directly. Tell him you found him via Whispered Do you know how to pick the right company and role?

If you are in a job, it can be scary and hard to look for a new role You don’t want your current company to find out You can’t talk about your search publicly It is hard to invest the time for informational interviews to refine your thinking about your next step It is difficult to take time off from your current role to take interviews "I've found in my current role, I can only engage in 1-2 interview processes at a time. The research, projects and interview scheduling around my day job is emotionally challenging. I'm using your company database to prioritize which processes I engage in and being decisive in opting out of processes I'm not genuinely excited about." Whispered premium member Don't take the first role you see Because of the challenges of searching, many people often end up taking the first role they see. To help candidates get perspective, we often ask people the following question. “Think hard about what % are you running away from your current job and what % are you running towards this new role”  Whispered co-founder Being in a current role, means that while it can be stressful, you have the time to think about what is next without worrying about a paycheck. Before you start your search, use your evenings / weekends to define: Your Search Focus: G et clear on your next role   Your Target Companies: Build a list of target companies Your Search Strategy: Understand the tactics you will use to find your next role Whispered helps you search quietly Whispered was designed to help executive candidates conduct quiet searches.  Confidentiality for candidates  is at the core of our community. If you know you need to move on from your current role, here are some tactics that can help you see more roles and make a better next career step: LinkedIn :  Turn on LinkedIn’s “Open for Work” option to let recruiters know you are open Introductions: Use backdoor connections and Whispered’s introductions feature to get to your target companies Leverage Talent Partners :  They see tons of roles and can connect you to recruiters. Whispered’s Unposted Role Database : Whispered Company Insights :  Make sure you don’t make a mistake and jump without doing proper due diligence Are you ready to start exploring your next role? The first step is to get clarity on where you are focusing

Recruiters see so many candidates that they have developed pattern recognition to recognize which candidates to build relationships with.  This article is based on conversations with experienced  talent partners , recruiters and hiring managers about what they look for. Generally the first interview is focused on quickly determining if you are an A, B or C talent. These labels are arbitrary but if you are placed in a lower bucket, it can be impossible to change that perception.  What is "A" Talent? In the first interview, people are asking “Is this someone we want in our portfolio / to place in a search”. The following are things people are looking for in the first interview Your Leadership Ability Your executive presence Your EQ Your thought process The impact you have had at prior companies Was the company successful because of you or were you just on the ride How effective are you at driving cross-functional impact How good are you at execution The following are questions you should be prepared to answer that will help the interviewer understand if you are A talent “Tell me about yourself” Seeks to answer how clear you are in your career journey and assesses your leadership ability “What are you passionate about?” If you don’t have clarity here, it speaks to the drive and ability to execute “What is top of mind for you?” They want to understand what trends you are excited about. They are looking for people who know how the markets are evolving vs. just reacting “What are you known for?” / “Where have you done your best work?” Trying to understand your super-power and the impact you have on companies.  Be able to convey it through stories . “What were you biggest impact / challenges?” Typically comes in follow-up to the above question to understand your understanding of challenges and how you overcame them. “How can I help?” Clarity in the types of introductions and companies you are interested in helps them help you more. See our articles on recruiters and talent partners for how to respond effectively to this question. When you are answering questions, don’t just answer the question but also include a “why” "If someone asks if you’ve managed managers, for example, don’t just say yes and describe the project and the team size. Volunteer an explanation of why you built layers into your org and how you gave autonomy to those you led while still ensuring that product was reliably delivered. Share how you determined your objectives and how you met them. In other words,  always look to give your potential colleagues a deeper understanding of how you think." Bret Reckard , Head of Talent @ Sequoia If you come across as “A” talent, recruiters and particularly VC talent partners will try to help you in your search by: Inviting you to their talent portal Introducing you to a few great companies (in the case of VC talent partners they can also make intros to recruiters) Working hard to stay in touch and have another touchpoint (one top talent team at a VC has a KPI to have another touchpoint with top talent within 30 days) What Knocks you out? Below are some red-flags shared by recruiters and talent partners: Company history:   Lots of short stints, no recognizable companies, consistent lateral moves without growth (see more in our article on polishing candidates ) Lack of clarity on what you are seeking.  If the interviewer is coaching you on your career rather than interviewing you, this is a problem. See Whispered's guide on Career Clarity Lack of maturity around level: Recruiters look for candidates with self awareness around the right role/level for them Struggle with analytical questions An organized thought process is critical Can’t get specific on questions / evasive Having stories and examples is a great way to get specifics . Disorganized Lots of short stints. More than 2 short stints in a row is a problem. The interviewer will be working to understand “did you get fired and why?” Jaded/Broken:  It is ok to say you weren’t a fit because X but don’t complain. See Jason Lemkin talk about "broken/bitter candidates" (from 25:30 to 29:10) in this podcast You can hear it, see it, almost smell it from the first Zoom. They blame the last CEO. They blame the VCs. Worse, one way or another, they blame The System. It's all rigged against employees and in favor of others. There's some truth in all of this. Just don't hire them. They will be even more jaded when they join you. Jason Lemkin  on this classic post "What does "being negative" mean in interviewing? Many focus on the tone and words they use, but being negative also happens when you share what you "don't want" in a job. To be positive - lead with your "DO WANTS" Chuck Brotman , Leading GTM Recruiter Other Interviewing Tips Recruiters RARELY give you valuable feedback. It is unfortunate but they often get very little from their clients too.  Remember that interviewing is just storytelling. Your job is to distill your unique career journey into a compelling narrative… don’t just answer questions but have anecdotes that you practice and refine that will engage them . “Thought Process Questions” the questions asked by consultants / Google to “understand how you think”. The secret to these is to ask for more detail: Push your interviewer to define the specifics of the situation. This will allow you to focus on one aspect of the problem and it will show your interviewer that you know how to get to the root of the problem by asking the right questions. Additionally, these questions can buy you time to think and pushes the conversation back on the interviewer (better if they talk more!). What should you ask in an interview? Most job seekers make interviews about themselves. They don’t do a great job of making the conversation about the employer.   Do your homework and come prepared with  questions on their business . Be Proactive: If you really want to stand out, think about doing a proactive project Do you know how to leverage recruiters, talent partners and investors in your search?

The value of writing While many people encourage daily posting on LinkedIn to boost your followers, the type of writing I have found particularly valuable is longer-form articles. I believe writing is a great unlock for people’s careers and often advise folks who report to me or I mentor to start writing because it can: Create and catalyze dialogs with others who share your passion for a topic Think through ideas around a topic in a more structured way You share knowledge with others (in a scalable way) Establish you as a someone knowledgeable on the topic Build your reputation/personal brand My process People often struggle to create content.  Sitting down to create an article feels intimidating and often you don’t know where to start, so they just don’t do it. I have discovered that breaking it up into stages works well.  I use the following process 1. Inspiration:  Have an idea, add it to my board with a quick sentence Often when I am on a call, I will write down ideas to come back to later Podcasting is a great way to push yourself to articulate ideas in your head.  When your podcast is published listen to it and you’ll find a few great ideas Take a walk and listen to great podcasts while walking. It is a great way to clear your mind and get inspiration LinkedIn is a great source of ideas.  Read others’ posts and share a comment.  That comment could be an article 2. Ideation:   Create a google doc and add a few more ideas in adhoc way 3. Outline:   When the doc has enough content, set aside 30-60 mins to outline.  No pressure to actually write coherently, just structure my ideas "If you are going to write, make yourself a writing session. How long are you going to write? Don't just sit down with an open-ended session. You've got to control what your brain can take. You've got to know when it is going to end. You have to have an end time to your writing session." Jerry Seinfeld on creating a system for writing ( see full discussion on Tim Ferris' Podcast ) 4. Draft:   Set aside another 30 mins to write a rough draft 5. Post (Optional):   Share a short version of your article in a LinkedIn post.  The comments can provide new insights and also generate people for the next step 6. Refine with Input:  Engage a few people knowledgeable on this topic for feedback.  This provides a few benefits: Improve your article with input from experts Source great terrific quotes (makes articles more engaging) Reinforce your relationship with these people 7. Publish:  Publish the article (don’t forget to tag the people from the step above;). I don't have a strong view on where to publish (medium, linkedin....). I don't write frequently enough or on a single topic to do substack. Personally I like publishing long-term articles on LinkedIn  💡Tip:  I have found that AI is a powerful tool when you are drafting.  If you are having trouble wording something, try asking Chat GPT for suggestions.  Ways to leverage your writing I write articles on topics I speak about frequently and therefore regularly share these links with people including: People I advise :   Give a clear playbook they can build on Peers:   To continue to pressure test and refine my thinking People you manage/mentor:   Make advice on the soft-skills actionable Podcasts :   Frame the topics we can talk about Other Tactics Link between your different writings. That way when a person finds one of them, they can self discover the depth of your content Distribute through a newsletter / substack. It helps increase how many people see your content Other inspiring pieces on writing Article by  Nir Eyal  on  tactics to make the time to write  (time boxing, the importances of getting comfortable with discomfort) Podcast by  Sam Hinkie  around the  power of writing to help others understand your thought process  and engage with you Sarah Guo on  how writing led to an amazing new dialog Andrew Chen on how he met Marc Andreesen by writing Kyle Poyar's playbook for writing . If you don't subscribe to his content, do! Do you know how to build your brand?

The true story on company culture, performance and leadership isn’t posted.  It is whispered. This puts you at a disadvantage.  Why the back story is so important The average tenure for a PE/VC-backed GTM executive is 17 months .  Many executives learn things in the first few months that would have changed our decision to accept. Every (company) bullsh*ts on interview process. Nobody tells you actual problems. (They say) “everything is great… it is butterflies and unicorns. We have so much opportunity.     When you sign on the dotted line and, 6 months in, they say F*&( you, you are not performing and guess what.. they just moved on to next shiny thing they think will solve all your problems but you are are stuck with it on your resume with a failure point that you have to explain for the rest of your professional career.  Why did you not work out at that company? It is (perceived as) your fault even though you were not given the right transparent information and you weren’t potentially even setup for success in that role in the first place." Elena Verna on Unsolicited Feedback @ 8:02 in podcast Deep insights on companies can prevent you from making career-killing mistakes and allow you to focus on the right companies for your career.  Executive level-insights include: Company growth and burn/profitability Senior leadership dynamics M&A strategies Upcoming strategic shifts And much more Why these insights are so hard to find However… these insights aren’t easily available today: While Glassdoor / Blind provide insights into company culture this is generally from a more junior perspective. Companies keep this information confidential Investors rarely talk negatively on their portfolio companies Insights that matter to executives are only shared with top executive candidates However many executives don’t know the right questions to ask Typically executives keep a spreadsheet during their search but then throw it away "I am not a professional candidate. It is hard to find all the insights around a company I am looking to join and dodge bullets I cannot see. Whispered's company insights helps me quickly learn about the real culture and trajectory of a company." Whispered executive How we can whisper insights to help each other Whispered has built a database of confidential executive-level company insights with information from: Executives:  Whispered makes it easy for executives searching for their next role to access and contribute to the Company Insights Database . Investors:  Investors share information on their hot companies to attract talent.  In addition, they share companies they loved but weren’t able to invest in . Contributors:   Hyper-connected individuals who want to pay-it-forward contribute to Whispered’s database. Do you want to make the right decision on the next step of your career?