Ina Herlihy is a San Francisco local who knows what’s it like to hustle your way to get the thing that you want since a very young age. She is passionate about journalism and was an editor-in-chief of her high school newspaper. She got to cover the 2008 Presidential Campaign and was the only high school student in the country to get a press pass for President Obama’s Inauguration. Leaving a would-be promising career in finance to break into tech, Herlihy attended Tradecraft and soon landed a job as a Growth Analyst at Zumper. Her blog post, called “How I Hustled to Get the Perfect Job: From Tradecraft to Zumper” got a lot of attention and became one of the most popular blog posts on Medium in 2015.
About:
| Years in Tech | 2 |
| Grew Up | Bay Area, CA |
| Current Job | Growth Marketer |
| Date Recorded | 8/14/2016 |
Key Points:
- A lot of life is just about showing up. If you’re not there then you can’t get what you want. Reach out to people and build relationships.
- Be strategic in your job search. It’s really about quality, not quantity. Focus on a few companies and make projects to prove your value and make an impact.
- Hustle your way through finding your perfect job by attending networking events and researching as much information about the company and their culture.
- There are a lot of resources online but remember that doing things yourself is just as valuable. Make your own projects and you can learn way more than what’s online.
Show Notes (focus on the Stepping Stones):
[01:18] Ina’s early beginnings and her interest in journalism. How she joined her high school newspaper staff and covering the 2008 Presidential campaign at 14 years old [03:49] The college life: Majoring in Economics and looking into the investment banking route and ended up interning at Merrill Lynch [05:21] How to network from scratch: Do your best in what you do. [06:13] Not taking no for an answer: Ina sent emails, made calls, reached out to Senators, Congresspeople, and fundraisers until she got a press pass – the only high school student in the country to get a press pass for the Presidential Inauguration at 16 years old. [07:09] Jumping from politics to concert events [09:39] Leaving finance world and breaking into startups: Leaving her internship with Nestle to get into Tradecraft which she found out about through Twitter[11:21] 3 Different tracks at Tradecraft: Sales & Business Development, UX, and Growth
[11:55] Ina’s interview process at Tradecraft [12:32] Ina describes Growth as the analytical side of marketing and a day in the life of a Growth role [13:44] The 3 components of Tradecraft: Curriculum + Talks + Projects [14:36] Her experience at Scripps College versus Tradecraft[15:19] The job search experience: Being strategic + quality over quantity + making projects to show your value and make an impact
[17:30] Resources to help you break into marketing and growth:
-Zero to One by Blake Masters and Peter Thiel
-The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz
[18:36] Why you should do growth and some growth-related strategies [20:11] Dealing with frustrations: The job search as a long process[20:55] Choosing the company you want to work with: Culture + Research (Mattermark, CrunchBase, CEO’s and their backgrounds, company profile, etc.) + Networking Events
[23:13] Leveraging the power of networking
[25:14] Ina’s plans for the future[25:30] The Lightning Round:
Imagine if you were dropped into a new city, you only had $100 and had to start all over again, what would you do?
- Build a network.
Was there any piece of music or movie that you watched or something that your dad told you that kept you going whenever hitting any roadblock?
- Everything happens for a reason. Just move onto the next thing.
What is your one piece of advice for college students or graduates who are considering making a transition into startups?
- A lot of life is just about showing up. If you’re not there then you can’t get what you want. Reach out to people and build that relationship first. Learn more about the company or do your own projects for them.
Articles Mentioned & Resources:
Tradecraft
Zero to One by Blake Masters and Peter Thiel
The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz
Brian Balfour’s blog
Optimizely
Mattermark
CrunchBase
Meetup.com
Eventbrite
Personal Articles:
How I Hustled to Get the Perfect Job: From Tradecraft to Zumper
Contact Information:
Ina Herlihy
Twitter: @inaherlihy
Medium: @inaherlihy
