There has been too much of buzz around startups lately. Startup jobs attract students, the casual values regarding office, dress and marketing approach in comparison to the tradition ‘boring’ corporation. Having flexible work hours, an awesome company culture and learning experience with growth tempt them.
Wikipedia defines Startups as “A startup company (startup or start-up) is an entrepreneurial venture which is typically a newly emerged, fast-growing business that aims to meet a marketplace need by developing or offering an innovative product, process or service. A startup is usually a company such as a small business, a partnership or an organization designed to rapidly develop a scalable business model.”
Most of the startups promote recreational activities like playing Table Tenis, pool etc. Some may also have an awesome cafeteria and a Gym to keep you fit. Most of them have a very flat organizational approach where anyone in the team can talk with the people in the core team. These activities are used to create a fun work environment, stimulate team development and team spirit, and encourage creativity.
This article is a detailed repost of my guest blog at Startupily.
By the time Students graduate, they get involved in the monotonous circle of assignments, semester exams, internals, attendance criteria etc. These trivial things just won’t let you do anything. Eventually, they think startup jobs are out of their league and end up with typical 9-5 MNC jobs.
I wrote this list to some you a roadmap to proceed with to smartly nail startup jobs.
These are 10 full proof ways for you to get a job into a startup.
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Acquire Skills
This is the most important part which is generally ignored by many students. Acquiring skills should be your primary concern, instead of directly jumping into the job hunting wagon. You should have a sound knowledge in whatever domain you want or feel like working in. There are various online resources which train you to get skilled.
You need to make a choice now, these are popular fields to get into startup jobs:
Web Development
Web Designing
Android/iOS Development
Digital MarketingRead: Why Digital Marketing Jobs are in High Demand Lately?
“Whatever you are, be a good one.” – Abraham Lincoln
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Research and Iterate
- Take a break to start an elaborated research in the chosen field and the specializations they expect.
- Look out for dummy projects to build a great portfolio. Offer to work with your classmates, friends and nonprofit organizations for free.
- Keep a close look at people already in the industry and look up to their work. Develop a hobby and a habit in your work, it’ll play a huge role.
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Find a Mentor
Having a mentor is a popular trend in western countries. Someone holding your back from the same industry plays a huge role in your career track. A mentor is someone who knows ins and outs of your field and guides you towards your success. They will be a reference for you in the professional world and give an industry exposure building connections.So, Find One!
Go reach out to all your contacts and professional networks and let them know about your decision. Don’t be surprised if your college senior offers to mentor you or the College head of the department.
Read: Why Mentoring actually helps? -
Build Projects
Having a small team, startups have a tight hand in hiring. They look for making a team which can deliver them results by building projects. So, work on portfolio-worthy projects which reflect your skills and first-hand working experience. Having a good portfolio will make you stand out of the crowd.
A portfolio has an upper hand over certificates and degrees. -
Maintain Online Presence
Make sure you have an updated profile on LinkedIn, AngelList, GitHub, etc along with your Facebook. Staying active, on different social media not only helps you manage your networks but also helps you stay updated with trends and current affairs. Moreover, you will be able to keep track of startup jobs vacancy relevant to you.
This will make also easier for companies to research about you. Now, you’re almost done with the preparations. Let us focus on the job fetching strategy now. -
List Down and Research
Prepare a list of companies which provide great opportunities in your domain. Don’t make it a long list of 100 companies but 15-20 will do. Use their product/services. Keep a note of a short feedback or review or just keep in mind. Read about their recent collaborations, founders, company’s potential direct/indirect competitors. read about how they’re different from their competitors.
Find a problem they face, try to find a solution. Startup jobs involve research, this kind of deep research will help you in the interview to impress. It’ll also help you in knowing more about the company culture and finding fit in the same. -
Prepare Résumé
Startups receive hundreds of Résumés for a single role, make sure yours is an eye catcher. Include your skills which will be beneficial for the job role, mention your achievements, projects and hobbies. Don’t lie on your resume and don’t mention irrelevant things. Pay attention to your language and grammatical mistakes.
A spelling mistake in your Resume portrays you as careless and a is a turn off of the interviewer. -
Cover Letter
Prepare an excellent cover letter for each company; I won’t recommend a copy paste here. Write a unique cover letter for each company you apply for. Mention what did you like most about it, why are you excited to join them. Also, mention how would you be able to contribute to them.
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Apply for Jobs
It’s time to actually fetch the job. Apply for jobs posted in AngelList, LinkedIn, Hirist, etc by startups in your list. Only apply for the job roles in your niche or your expertise. Drop your Resume and Cover Letter wait for the telephonic interview. Most of the companies usually revert within a week.
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Nail the Interview
Impress them by your skills and projects in the interview. Be confident, it’s just an interview. The interview becomes easier as soon as you realize a job interview is a conversation of an agreement between two person exchanging services and compensation. Give appropriate and straightforward answers to their questions. Also, ask them questions about company’s future plan, vision, major challenges, etc.
You can also write a follow-up mail, to show them you’re are really interested in joining that company.
Following these 10 simple steps will help you land in any Startup you want to work for. Startups provide a decent learning experience. Working in a startup act as a launch pad for your career ahead. You may land into the managerial role quickly working closely with the core team. Apart from these, startups have good peer culture; you’ll be working with people of your age group. Your ideas and innovation would get a recognition in the diverse work environment. So, if you want a swift career growth and are willing to take risks; Startups have a role for you.
All the Best 🙂