Direct-to-Decision-Maker Outreach
Build a named target list and send each pitch past the generic gatekeeper
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 94%
Uslan entered the movie and television job market without industry relatives or contacts. Every Friday during his senior year, he read Variety, recorded executives' names, titles, and companies, and built a list of 372 specific people. He then sent resumes to those humans rather than to human resources. He also maintained distinct, truthful versions for legal-business roles and production-programming roles so each recipient saw the relevant evidence. The mechanism replaces vague networking with systematic market mapping, recipient-level targeting, and role-specific positioning. Its expected output is a small number of meaningful openings, not a high response percentage: Uslan received two offers from 372 resumes, while the broader process eventually helped him enter the industry.
Origin
Uslan built a 372-person movie and television executive list from Variety while finishing Indiana University.
Core principles
- 01Research named humans rather than anonymous departments
- 02Use an industry source to build the list
- 03Match the pitch to the recipient's function
- 04Expect a low response rate and pursue the right yes
How to run it
- 1
Map the market
Select the trade publication or source that repeatedly names relevant decision-makers.
Pro tip Use a source read by the industry itself.
- 2
Build the named list
Capture each person's name, title, company, and the function they control.
Pro tip Collect consistently over time rather than relying on one search session.
Watch out Do not send to people whose role does not fit the ask.
- 3
Match the evidence
Create a truthful pitch emphasizing the experience most relevant to each function.
Pro tip Different recipient groups may need different versions.
Watch out Tailoring must not hide facts the recipient needs to make an informed decision.
- 4
Bypass the generic queue
Address and send the pitch to the specific decision-maker rather than an anonymous department.
Watch out Direct does not mean intrusive; respect channel and frequency norms.
- 5
Judge the right outcome
Track concrete conversations and offers, accepting that only a small fraction may respond.
Pro tip One relevant yes can justify many noes.
Watch out Do not optimize for reply rate at the expense of fit.
In the wild
Uslan read Variety every Friday, wrote down executives' names, titles, and companies, and sent 372 resumes to specific humans. He used role-relevant resumes for legal-business and production-programming opportunities.
→ The campaign generated two initial job offers and contributed to his eventual industry entry.
Common mistakes
Sending only to a generic inbox
An anonymous queue removes the recipient-level relevance at the center of the method.
Treating low response as zero value
The method seeks a small number of consequential openings, not broad approval.
Is it for you?
Best for
People seeking a first role, partner, or sponsor in a hard-to-enter field.
Not ideal for
Mass outreach where the sender cannot identify a relevant human or tailor the proposition honestly.
From the transcript
“At the end of my senior year, I had a list of 372 executives in the movie and TV industry and was able to type…”
“Uh, out of 372 resumes, I got two job offers.”
“So I was sending two resumes to each movie and TV company, one to legal and business affairs and then one to production and programming.”
From the episode
Michael Uslan: The True Story of Batman With Sean Callagy