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- The VC recruiting trick that got me more interviews
The VC recruiting trick that got me more interviews
Let’s land you that dream VC role! 🪄
Nicole DeTommaso
April 06, 2025
Hi! I’m glad you’re here. You’ve made it to issue #50 of VC Demystified🪄.
My name’s Nicole - I’m a Principal at an early stage venture fund, and I know firsthand that VC can often be a black box. Breaking into the industry may feel daunting and resources can seem scarce and inaccessible. I wanted to put together a newsletter to give others the playbook I wish I had when I first started.
This issue marks 50 newsletters since launch - a big milestone!
Today’s deep dive: An underrated follow-up move that could help you stand out in VC recruiting
My personal mission is to open as many doors as possible for other people and this newsletter is just one avenue to do that. As always, I will continue to post VC insights daily for free across my socials.
VC Job Openings Preview (3 of 9)🪄
Thomvest is hiring a Finance Associate.
Location: San Francisco
https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/4192515661
Pari Passu Venture Partners is hiring an Investment Analyst, Associate, Senior Associate.
Location: NYC
https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/4190069097
Citi Ventures is hiring an Associate/AVP.
Location: NYC
https://jobs.citi.com/job/-/-/287/79323447328?
Read time: 4 minutes
The recruiting trick that got me more VC interviews
An underrated follow-up move that helped me stand out - again and again.
Breaking into venture capital is competitive. Everyone’s networking, reading books, memorizing firm theses, and trying to sound like a future investor.
But when I was recruiting, I realized the candidates who actually moved forward weren’t the ones who talked about how much they wanted the job. They were the ones who could show, through their actions, that they already thought like investors.
So I tried something simple.
After interviews or coffee chats, I started sending short startup write-ups to the teams I met with.
These weren’t full pitch decks or long memos. Just a few slides or a one-pager on a company I was genuinely excited about, with my point of view on why it mattered.
At one firm, I submitted my formal video interview and followed up with a note that said:
Subject: Re: Associate Role – Next Steps
From: Nicole DeTommaso
Date: 7/24/20
Hi [Redacted],
I just submitted my video interview. As a supplement to my video, I wanted to send across an investment deck I put together that provides more detail on the company / market I pitched. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Thanks again for this opportunity. I look forward to hearing from the team.
Best,
Nicole
That small follow-up, paired with a thoughtful attachment, helped me stand out and get to the next round.
So what was actually in the attachment I sent?
It was a 3-page investment write-up on an industry and company I liked.
Let’s get into it (with screenshots)!
