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Getting a Job is Not Rocket Science – so why don’t you have one?

This entrepreneur’s answers to how to get a job, keep a job and know when to run screaming from a job with a startup are so straightforward, so simple, that they make you think. Can it really be that easy?

Brennan White, co-founder of Pandemic Labs, thinks the answer is yes. As long as you’re doing things the startup way. Read more »

Startup jobs and a lesson for CEOs from a big, hairy dog (& Arjun Dev Arora from ReTargeter)

Startups can be chaotic places. Even more so when they grow as quickly and as successfully as ReTargeter has. But I’ll tell you what, their founder; he’s a cool cucumber.

During our interview, my very large dog (part wooly mammoth, part Muppet) walked across camera. She then walked outside and began barking at what I’m sure was a very serious, if not deadly, threat to the house. Three loud barks. Which is really all you need when you’re part wooly mammoth. Three loud barks, easily heard on camera.

And Arjun Dev Arora, founder and CEO of one of today’s hottest startups, never flinched. He. Didn’t. Miss. A. Beat.

That is the kind of startup founder you want to work for. One that’s not fazed by what’s happening on the periphery. One that can maintain focus on the task at hand. One that can leap tall buildings….wait, I took that too far.

Want to work for this founder? Great, cause he’s hiring. And he’s telling you exactly how to get a job with a startup, how to keep a job with a startup, and the signs that you should run screaming from your startup job. (Part of the Three to Get Ready video series.)

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This Startup is Hiring A Few Good Men (Three to Get Ready video series)

The fourth 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, most of these entrepreneurs are hiring now. Including this one!

Entrepreneur: Reece Pacheco
Company: Shelby.tv
Jobs: Full stack engineers for front-end development, or people with other skills if you’re motivated and interested in Shelby.tv (more on the jobs at minute 20:00)

You can’t handle the truth!

Or maybe you can. But fair warning, what you’re about to read may make you question everything you thought you knew about getting a job, resumes and fishing.

Yes, fishing.

Meet Reece Pacheco, co-founder and CEO of Shelby.tv. Smart guy, hot company. Or hot guy, smart company depending on how you look at it.

Reece and his team recently attended a recruiting event for their smart, hot company where they were approached by lots of people they’d put in the “brilliant” category. They met lots of people with the exact right technical skills Shelby is looking for.

But most of these people didn’t grab their attention.

Know who did grab their attention? The guy who sent in a picture of the big fish he’d just caught.

(For the time challenged all the juicy take-aways are summarized in the post.)

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Want a Startup Job? Date the Company (Three to Get Ready video series)

The third in the series of interviews where entrepreneurs give their top three tips for getting a startup job, keeping a startup job, and knowing if it’s time to run screaming from your startup job.

Yup, this entrepreneur is hiring now too. 

Entrepreneur: Brandt Page
Company: Launch Leads
Jobs: market research assistants (5+ openings, perfect for current students), marketing director (more about the jobs at minute 13:00)

You know what I’m talking about. The profile picture looks great. The “I like” and “I look for” are spot on. You even both share an affinity for moonlit walks on the beach. And then you meet.  And there definitely won’t be a second date.

According to Brandt Page, CEO and founder of Launch Leads, it’s the same with resumes.

Okay, Page didn’t say that exactly. But he did say that they’ve stopped relying on resumes in the hiring decision. Resumes can be just as misleading, and they never showcase the applicant’s personality.

And with startups, just like dates, personality rules. Personality and attitude. Launch Leads has got both in spades, and they’re looking to add to their team. So go ahead. Date ‘em. Who knows where it might go.

(For the time challenged all the juicy take-aways are summarized in the post.) Read more »

Change the World, Work for a Startup (Three to Get Ready video series)

The second 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. Including this one!

Entrepreneur: Michael Brooks
Company: LifeKraze
Jobs: Developers, mobile developers (more about the jobs at minute 15:14)

A consistent Three to Get Ready theme is that entrepreneurs don’t want to hire people who are just looking for a job. Yes, I know; getting a job is the point of a job search, right? Well, with entrepreneurs it’s not.

With entrepreneurs a job isn’t a means to a paycheck it’s the route to changing the world. No, I’m not overstating. I’d say half of the entrepreneurs I’ve interviewed for this series have equated what they’re doing with changing the world.

And if you don’t get that, don’t apply for a job with them.

That sentiment is no less obvious in my interview with Michael Brooks, founder of LifeKraze. At only 24 years old, Brooks has already raised over a million dollars for his startup, and has ten people on staff. And in this fifteen-minute interview, Brooks mentions changing the world three times.

After talking with him for a few minutes, I think he just might be able to do it. Maybe it’s the Poindexter meets Clark Kent glasses? Who knows. But if you’re in the mood for a little world disruption, this entrepreneur is hiring now!

(For the time challenged all the juicy take-aways are summarized in the post.) Read more »

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.)
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