Sophie Rose joined OpenAI in 2023 after seeing a LinkedIn post from the head of GTM looking for a specialist to join her team. And within 5 weeks, she got an offer. Rose shared a screenshot of that first message and some advice.
Sophie Rose joined OpenAI in 2023 after seeing a LinkedIn post from the head of GTM looking for a specialist to join her team. And within 5 weeks, she got an offer. Rose shared a screenshot of that first message and some advice.
Rose was working at an early-stage startup in conversational AI when she saw the job posting. She also had GTM lead Maggie Hott among her LinkedIn connections because she had been following OpenAI closely.
"I was living in New York, and the job posting clearly stated that it was a position in San Francisco with no remote work options. So, in my message, I congratulated the manager on her new position and mentioned that I had seen her posting about an open position for an Account Associate. I added that I would like to learn more, plan to apply, and am willing to relocate for this opportunity," Sophie Rose told Business Insider.
In her response, Maggie Hott said she couldn’t take the call right away, but would do an initial review of the resume. Rose applied the next day, and Hott immediately wrote back, thanking her and saying she was looking forward to working with OpenAI.
Rose advises against sending formulaic messages. Wait for the right moment to reach out to the person about a specific issue.
“Ask yourself if you have a real request, something specific you want to say or find, or clear advice you’re looking for,” says Rose.
It’s also important to build a personal LinkedIn brand. Before applying to OpenAI, Rose was actively posting.
In addition to her advice, she warns against one mistake she made: asking for time without a specific goal.
“The most important piece of advice I would give is not to ask for time. If you do ask for time, be clear about why you need it. Do you have specific questions that you can’t ask directly in a LinkedIn email? Probably not. But if you do, great,” notes Rose.
Within two years, Rose was promoted to Account Director. She says that for many of her colleagues, working at OpenAI started with a cold call to someone they might have heard of or had a mutual connection to. Now, people reach out to her through text messages. She thinks it’s a good way to advance or change careers.
