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 to work for 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.

Ask any entrepreneur and they’ll tell you the same, the most important thing you can do to get a startup job is….be enthusiastic.

Yup. It’s that simple.

“Because I’m so obsessed with the type of person this is, and the characteristics of this person, that I care more about the kind of person you are than actually what you can do.” – Rachel Zoe (above) explains to Jeremiah, a waaaaay under qualified job candidate. (“Rachel Zoe Project” BravoTV)

Uh, huh. I just quoted reality TV as the source for this advice, but that’s only because:

a). it is dead-on accurate,

b). it freakishly presented itself to me on the same day I was writing this post

c). who doesn’t love them some reality TV? (It’s okay, you can still pretend you don’t. It’ll be our secret.)

In a shell of a nut, the fabulous Ms. Zoe has given you the best startup job search advice you’re ever gonna get. And she did it wearing vintage Channel.

There’s enthusiastic, then there’s this guy. Don’t be this guy.

B-excited, B, B-excited

In the world of startup jobs, it’s not what you know. It’s not even who you know. In the world of startup jobs it’s all about how you act.

Ba-na-nas. Right? Okay enough with the Rachel Zoe references.

Want some proof not found on BravoTV? Fine.

Recruiting super star Rayanne Thorn (@Ray_anne) sang the same tune in a recent radio interview. During “I’m a person not an Application” on View From the Top, she told the story of a startup she worked with where almost 80 people were hired in one year.

“At some point it didn’t even matter what they knew,” she explained. “My CEO said, I can train anybody to do anything, but if they don’t fit in here, it’s never going to work.“

See what I’m saying?

Sound counter intuitive to everything you’ve ever been told about interviewing? Welcome to the bizarro world of startups and entrepreneurs.

If this is your first time riding this startup ride, listen to your guide; keep your hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times, and focus on something in the distance so you don’t hurl when it starts getting bumpy. Cause it’s gonna get bumpy.

Then, go be enthusiastic.

The Rest of the Story

Wondering if young, inexperienced Jeremiah got the job? Of course he did. Despite the fact that there were candidates with gobs more experience, enthusiastic Jeremiah landed the coveted job with Rachel Zoe.

“I can definitely see that Jeremiah is a little green,” Rachel justified. “But his enthusiasm and his wanting to be here, I think overrides that.”

Ba-na-nas. (sorry)

Looking for a job with a startup? Got questions? Need advice? Let me know. Shoot me an email though the Contact page, or drop your question in the comments below.