I was sick of sending traditional applications. This is the email that finally got me hired.

Judy Zeng sent a cold outreach email to a CEO and ended up getting a job as a result.

Judy Zeng Judy Zeng sent a cold email to the CEO of EO studios.

It resulted in an internship offer.

She suggests doing research on LinkedIn to learn more about a CEO's philosophy before reaching out.

Zeng said luck plays a role in success, and whether the company is open to non-traditional hiring.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Judy Zeng, a 22-year-old business development intern at global media startup EO Studios, based in San Francisco.

Her identity and employment have been verified by Business Insider.

This story has been edited for length and clarity.

I'm a recent graduate from Northwestern University, where I studied journalism.

I now work at a company called EO Studios.

As a media major, there was always a lot of stress around finding internships and jobs.

With all the AI applications and AI-powered reviewers, I had a lot of disillusionment with the traditional hiring process as a senior.

I sent about 30 applications but never knew if they were being seen.

I felt like I could keep applying to jobs all day and not get anything.