Get a Startup Job – 3 Things Entrepreneurs Expect From You (Three to Get Ready video series)
The first in a series of interviews where entrepreneurs give their three top tips for getting a startup job, keeping a startup job, and knowing if it’s time to run screaming from your startup job.
The best part, almost all of these entrepreneurs are hiring now!
(Sorry for the awful quality of this video. The audio is so out of sync it could throw you into an epileptic fit. But Chuck’s tips are fantastic! So close your eyes, and just let it sink in.)
Entrepreneur: Chuck Dietrich
Company: Sliderocket.com
Jobs: developers, quality engineers, product managers, marketing people, and sales people (more about the jobs at minute 16:45)
Chuck Dietrich has an enviable startup resume, but he doesn’t put on airs. What he does put on are costumes. Apparently, with some regularity.
As we started our interview, Chuck lamented the fact that his PR people asked him not wear a costume on camera. Yes, it was the Friday before Halloween, but Chuck explained that he didn’t need a holiday to break out a wig or outrageous outfit. He has a costume box at the ready at all times.
“You don’t have a costume box?” he asked with the same surprised tone I would expect if the question were “you don’t have running water?”
Ah, no. I don’t have a costume box.
What I do have is total respect for someone with his kind of background, that doesn’t take themselves too seriously. An attitude that seems to prevail at SlideRocket.
Which is very good news for you, since SlideRocket is hiring multiple positions, in multiple departments.
(For the time challenged all the juicy tips are summarized in the post.)
Read more »
Succeeding in a Startup is Like a Game of Craps
Want to work for a startup? You better bet with the house.
I gave you the number one tip for getting a startup job. Now let’s talk about the most important thing you can do to keep that startup job.
Once again, the tip is simple but incredibly effective. No reality TV this time, just some hard reality: the attitude that got you in the door won’t necessarily keep you there.
If you want to keep your startup job you’re going to have to prove that you want it. You’re going to have to prove that you’re invested.
What’s that you say? Isn’t everyone invested in their job? Ah, no. They may be invested in getting their paycheck or their next promotion, but that’s not what I’m talking about. And that’s not what your entrepreneur is looking for.
Your entrepreneur wants to know that you’re invested on a whole new level.
To keep your startup job, you’re going to have to prove that you can go all in.
Want to Work For a Startup? This one tip will get you the job
Want a job with this entrepreneur? It's easier than you think.
Want a job with a startup? All you have to do is nail the interview with the entrepreneur. No worries though; that’s the easy part. If you do this one thing.
Get that Startup Job
Don’t agonize over your skill set. Don’t stress over your references. Don’t sweat your resume. (Definitely don’t sweat your resume, there’s a very good chance it will never get read.)
The number one most important thing you can do to get a startup job is much easier than you think. Read more »
My Mistake at Ground Zero, and the Business Lesson Learned
No matter how long you looked, your brain simply could not process the scene.
I started writing a piece about the time I spent working at Ground Zero, but it was sounding very dark and whiney. It was all wrong. So instead of walking you through the story, I’m just going to get to the point.
The point is this; my time at Ground Zero is one of the biggest regrets of my life.
Not the time I spent there, I regret the time that I didn’t spend. The time I didn’t spend because I thought it was more important to go back to work. Read more »
Startup Internships – the good, the bad and the signs to run screaming (he said, she said)
Want to intern with a startup? Be sure to check out Enstitiute the fabulous new apprenticeship program. They’re taking applications through April 30, 2012.
That is neither Chris nor Lizzie. (Though who knows, Chris may want to claim that hair.)
I read two great blog posts yesterday, both written by people at the end of an internship with a startup. Both written by clever, articulate and motivated startup interns.
That’s where the similarities end.
These two bloggers had such polar opposite experiences with their startup internships that you’d think one was living in the bizarro-world of the other.
But both experiences offer great insight into the startup internship experience; what you can get out of it, and when you should run away from it. Read more »
FREE Work for a Startup ebook – what you must know to get the job and succeed in it
I get great questions from readers, and they always fall into the same three categories;
- how to get a job with a startup,
- how to succeed in a job with a startup,
- how to know if it’s time to quit a startup.
So, I’ve taken the top five tips I give for each of these areas and put them in a free, downloadable ebook. Read more »
Work for a Startup? 45 Guaranteed Ways to Impress an Entrepreneur
It's about more than the work.
Want to impress your boss?
To really impress an entrepreneur, it’ll take more than just doing the job. Do these 45 things and you’ll be da bomb. (Yeah, I just said da bomb. Now I’m gonna go get jiggy wit it, and party like it’s 1999.) Just read the list. It’ll help you.
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Work “cash is king” into conversations
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Don’t sound corporate
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Be excited about the business
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Stay calm about the stress
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Treat him like a mentor
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Don’t wear a suit
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Mention your favorite uncle is a VC
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Beat him to work
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Prove your loyalty
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Get in over your head
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Mention your favorite uncle is coming for lunch Read more »
Working for a Startup Means Wearing Lots of Hats
Take our (supremely unscientific) quiz and see if you’ve got what it takes to work for a startup or if your corporate is more your comfort zone.
The conversations started like this: “Kathy, do we need a high-sheer agitation vortex to get the carboxymethyl cellulose into the master batch?”
Huh?
You talkin’ to me?
I was asked that question by a vendor during my first week with a startup beverage company. Not only did I not know the answer, I didn’t know half the words in the sentence.
Was I supposed to know what a high-sheer vortex was? More importantly, was I really the right person to ask?
Turns out, the answer was yes, and yes. I was working in a startup; not only was I the right person, I was the only person.
Although some entrepreneurs will hire experts in each primary area of the business, most tend to run a lean ship in the startup years. Cash is king, and payroll is the enemy. So most entrepreneurs believe fewer employees, doing more work, leads to a healthier bottom line.
In most cases they’re right. But what about your bottom line? Read more »
Work for a startup: What you must do to get the job
A Twitter follower from the UK sent this question about working for a startup:
@DominicTarn asks “I’m a graduate looking to get into the world of startups… my main question would be about how to get their attention? Or develop the sort of skills or experiences which would achieve that?”
It’s a great question, mainly because traditional resumes won’t cut it with entrepreneurs. To a time strapped entrepreneur, each resume looks just like the last. And face it, as a recent graduate you’ve probably got a lot of “strong communication skills” type bullet points that will only get you a job in a phone bank.
What you need to provide is a solution.
Yep, that's Charlie. Get to know him. He'll be your guide.
Problem Solved: Hoehn In On It
Shift your thinking from what you’ve done in the past to what you can do today for your targeted entrepreneur. Figure out what problem you can fix that this entrepreneur either didn’t know he had, or didn’t have time to deal with.
Charlie Hoehn is a master of this technique. And it’s served him well. You may not have heard of this 25 year old before, but consider him your new job search sensei. Read more »
Enough About Me – Interviewing for a Job With an Entrepreneur
My guest post on Careerealism, “Turning the Tables: How to Interview a Potential Employer,” requires further explanation if the job you are seeking is with an entrepreneur.
On Careerealism I talk about the importance of learning everything you can about the company you’re interviewing with, and I offer suggestions for how to get more information from your interviewer.
This is not going to be a problem if you’re interviewing with an entrepreneur.
On the contrary, unlike most job interviews where you’re sweating in the hot seat, in an interview with an entrepreneur, you may not get to talk at all.
Mums the Word
Though the entrepreneur may start by asking a question (maybe even two if the interviewee came from a competitor), the interview will quickly turn to the topic of the company.
The entrepreneur will talk about the early days of the business. He’ll talk about the enormous hurdles they faced. He’ll talk about the even bigger successes. Fish stories will be told. There will be no reeling the topic back to you.
Don’t take it personally. There’s a reason for this, and it has nothing to do with your qualifications. Read more »
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