90 Days After Being Laid Off, He Landed a $320K Base Offer From OpenAI.
Rahul went from 60+ days without a meaningful interview to landing an OpenAI offer within 90 days. The difference wasn’t his experience, it was how we positioned it, built his referral strategy, and prepared him for interviews. His final offer: $320K base + $50K signing bonus + ~$550K equity.
Client outcome
- Total compensation$920K
- Competing offers1Above target band
- Interview loops6Opened after repositioning
- Days to signed offer90From strategy call to signed offer
Where it started
Rahul went from 60+ days without a meaningful interview to landing an OpenAI offer within 90 days. The difference wasn’t his experience, it was how we positioned it, built his referral strategy, and prepared him for interviews. His final offer: $320K base + $50K signing bonus + ~$550K equity.
What we changed
- Rewrote the resume around measurable impact so Rahul's experience led, not the noise recruiters were stuck on.
- Rebuilt LinkedIn for the keywords hiring managers actually search for in data infrastructure roles.
- Replaced volume applications with targeted outreach to teams researched in advance.
- Ran mock interview loops until the narrative matched the level of the roles being pursued.
How the search ran
- Week 1Positioning reset
Resume and LinkedIn rebuilt around impact, not chronology.
- Week 3Targeted outreach
Warm messages to pre-researched teams instead of mass applying.
- Week 7Loops open
6 interview loops running in parallel.
- Week 13Offer signed
Landed at OpenAI at $920K.
