Ben's seven-year cold apply backstory

Most job search advice comes from people still in the thick of it—anxious, second-guessing, pattern-matching off too little data. This episode is different. We sat down with three product leaders who recently landed roles at Netflix, OpenAI, and Abridge, and did a full postmortem. What they shared upends a lot of conventional wisdom: the spray-and-pray pipeline doesn't work, your AI credentials matter less than you think, and the relationships that land jobs are often years in the making.

Key topics

• Why you need curiosity, not experience

• The "AI hungry" mindset: searching for environments that match your learning goals, not just your resume

• Why the best job search intelligence comes from people who just landed, not people still looking

• Why prototypes are now table stakes in take-homes

• How Janie built a shortlist of 5–10 companies in a week of 50–60 conversations

• Why Ben's Netflix role traces back to a cold application seven years ago

• What OpenAI's interview process actually looks like—and why it's less about the past than you expect

• Why most AI-native jobs aren't posted, and how to land them

• How to use investor attention as a proxy for company quality

• Why Ben's early interview mistake (not enough AI mindset) became the fuel for his take-home

Brought to you by

• Framer—Build websites with enterprise needs at startup speeds: https://framer.link/dFacxBQ

• Dust—The operating system for AI agents: https://dust.tt/skip

Where to find Nikhyl

• Twitter/X

• LinkedIn

Where to find Ben

• LinkedIn

Where to find Janie

• LinkedIn

Where to find Julia

• LinkedIn

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Timestamps

(00:00) How to prove your AI credentials

(04:42) Introducing the three product leaders

(06:00) Ben Dreier: from DoorDash to Netflix, the "AI hungry" move

(08:18) Julia Roberts: nine years at Pinterest, six months off, then OpenAI

(12:46) Janie Lee: going all-in on AI native at Abridge

(15:26) How to build a shortlist: 50–60 conversations in a week

(18:10) Ben's process: VC signals and insider conversations over job boards

(21:45) Cold outreach that actually works

(23:51) Ben: how curiosity, not networking, built his network

(25:14) Julia's different path: cold applies, inbound, and exec recruiters

(27:06) What exec recruiters are actually useful for

(30:30) Ben's Netflix backstory — tracing back to a cold apply seven years ago

(34:06) Staying connected with recruiters, coworkers, and people who said no

(41:10) What the OpenAI interview process actually looks like

(44:55) Authentic storytelling

(46:40) The Netflix take-home: how mid-process feedback became a turning point

(51:40) Janie: how to ace take-homes by using AI

(57:52) Julia’s final takeaway: know what you want before you search

(59:03) Ben’s final takeaway: follow the fun and genuine curiosity

(59:56) Janie’s final takeaway: high agency, high effort, put yourself in their shoes

Don't forget to subscribe to The Skip to hear me coach you through timely career lessons. Access exclusive sessions from 100+ top product leaders at skip.coach. If you’re interested in joining me on a future call, send me a note on LinkedIn, Threads, or Twitter. You can also email me at nikhyl@skip.community

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