Let $X,Y$ be vectors in $\mathbb{C}^n$, and assume that $X\ne0$. Prove that there is a symmetric matrix $B$ such that $BX=Y$.
This is an exercise from a chapter about bilinear forms. So the intended solution should be somehow related to it.
Pre-multiplying both sides by $Y^t$, we get $Y^tBX=Y^tY$. The left hand side is a bilinear form $\langle Y,X\rangle $ with $B$ as the matrix of the form with respect to the standard basis. Am I correct here?
If so, then it suffices to find a bilinear form $\langle\cdot,\cdot\rangle\colon\mathbb{C}^n\times\mathbb{C}^n\rightarrow\mathbb{C}$ such that $\langle Y,X\rangle=Y^tY$. If $Y=0$, any bilinear form will do, because $\langle0,X\rangle=0\langle 0,X\rangle =0$ by linearity in the first variable. If $Y\ne0$, it suffices to find a bilinear form such that $\langle Y,X\rangle$ is nonzero, then we can multiply by the appropriate factor. This should be very near to a complete solution, but I can't figure out the rest.
Edit: Okay, my approach seems to be completely wrong. Using Phira's hint, I think I managed to make a complete proof.
Choose an orthonormal basis $(v_1,\ldots,v_n)$ such that $v_1=\frac{X}{\|X\|}$, which can be done by Gram-Schmidt process. Let $P$ be the $n\times n$ matrix whose $i$-th column is the vector $v_i$. Then $P$ is orthogonal. Let $P^{-1}Y=(a_1,\ldots,a_n)^t$. Choose such that the first column and the first row is the vector $\frac1{\|X\|}(a_1,\ldots,a_n)$, and 0 everywhere else. Clearly $M$ is symmetric and it's easy to check that $(PMP^{-1})X=Y$. So the desired matrix is $B=PMP^{-1}$, which is symmetric because $P$ is orthogonal. $\Box$
However, this solution does not make use of bilinear forms. So there might be a simpler way.