Lenny's Podcast: Product | Career | Growth

Land your dream job in today’s market: negotiation tactics, job search councils, and more | Phyl Terry (Author, “Never Search Alone”)

September 12, 2024

AI Summary

5 min read

Phyl Terry, author of Never Search Alone, shares a product-inspired approach to job searching, emphasizing community support and market realism amid layoffs and tough conditions. Drawing from his experience with Silicon Valley leaders and his mother's 50-year teacher council from 1960, he outlines tactics tested over 25 years, including free Job Search Councils that have launched over 2,000 groups.

Job Search Councils for Emotional Support

Everyone feels anxious and insecure during job searches—even senior CEOs and chief product officers—due to market instability from creative destruction. Job Search Councils counter this by grouping 6-8 peers (fast seekers out of work meet twice weekly; slow seekers in jobs meet biweekly) for vulnerability, accountability, and shared tools like workbooks. The psychology flips fear into hope: anxious people together, openly asking for help, build motivation and confidence. Councils shorten average searches to three months versus the national 3-6, provide debriefs to combat imposter syndrome, and offer free matching/training at phyl.org. Examples include a CPO who regained energy through peer feedback and a couple where the introverted spouse discovered unprecedented trust.

Continue reading the full summary in the app — free to try.

Read Full Summary →

Free • No credit card required

Open in App

What you'll learn

1 *(00:02:45) **Job Search Councils Overview**
2 *(00:04:44) **Origin Story and Proven Impact**
3 *(00:10:31) **Council Structure and Joining**
4 *(00:20:29) **Candidate Market Fit (CMF) Process**
5 *(00:38:16) **CMF Examples and Market Realities**
6 *(00:49:15) **Job Mission OKRs and Negotiation**
7 *(01:10:17) **Art of Asking for Help**

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Show Notes

Phyl Terry is the author of Never Search Alone, which I’ve seen so many people reference as the most impactful guide they read for finding a job. Phyl was on the founding team of the first company Amazon acquired back in the ’90s and then was CEO of pioneering product consulting firm Creative Good, with companies like Apple, Facebook, and Microsoft as customers. Today, Phyl is the founder and CEO of Collaborative Gain, which 20 years ago pioneered bringing councils to senior product leaders and GMs in Silicon Valley. That’s their day job—in addition to that, Phyl runs a free global community for job seekers based on their latest book. In our conversation, we discuss:

• Why you should never search for a job alone

• How job search councils work

• How to determine your “candidate-market fit”

• How to conduct a listening tour

• Creating your job mission and OKRs

• How to negotiate job offers

• The art of asking for help

• Tactics for effective networking and interviewing

• Much more

—

Brought to you by:

• Sidebar—Accelerate your career by surrounding yourself with extraordinary peers