How Jason went from zero responses on his own to about 42 interviews and a Principal Product Manager offer at Oracle

Jason had spent about eight years as a product leader in identity and access management, most recently at Exostar. He left in August 2025 and ran the search himself for the next five months.

By the time he came to us, it had gone quiet. He had worked through his immediate network and paid for LinkedIn Premium to message people directly, and he had heard back from nobody. The few interviews he did land on his own kept stalling at the hiring manager round. So his ask was a simple one: put me in front of the people who actually make the decision.

Over the next seven months we landed him about 42 interviews, and one of them became a Principal Product Manager offer at Oracle, at $180,000 base.

Structure took the admin off his plate so he could prepare

A senior search is a lot of work that has nothing to do with interviewing well. Someone has to find the roles worth applying for, get the applications in, and track down who is hiring. Jason's point is that handing that part over is what freed him to get good at the part only he could do.

“What I really appreciate about working with Varun and the team was the structure and consistency they brought to the entire job search.”

“The team helped identify relevant opportunities, manage the application process, and conducted targeted outreach. They took a lot of the administrative work off my plate and allowed me to spend more of my time preparing for the interviews and making sure I was ready when the right opportunity came along.”

The targeting changed as the results came in

We kept adjusting which roles we went after based on where the replies and interviews were actually coming from, and he noticed.

“Another thing I appreciated was the process wasn't one size fit all. We looked at what was working, what wasn't, and adjusted the targeting and strategy based on the results we were seeing.”

It ended in a role at the level he was aiming for

He had been clear from the start about the level he wanted. The Oracle offer met it.

“The approach resulted in series of interviews and ultimately helped me secure a product leadership role that aligns very well with my experience, the level I was targeting and where I want to take my career.”

The search in numbers

• About 42 interviews in 7 months, including the Oracle offer
• Principal Product Manager at Oracle, $180,000 base
• Five months searching alone before that, with no responses to his own outreach
• Level: Manager. Function: Product