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falviarbaqueroI recently came across a great blog post by Dharmesh Shah entitled “6 Quick Tips For Landing That Startup Dream Job”.
In his post he offers the following 6 tips:
1. Match the culture: Remember that advice about dressing one level above the job you’re hiring into? Or the “it’s better to be over-dressed” advice? Forget that. Dress so that you’ll fit in. Dress as if you’re already on the team. Any startup you’d want to work for is not going to hold it against you for not dressing up. They wouldn’t expect you to wear something to an interview that they wouldn’t wear themselves into work.
2. Convey A Passion For Startups: If you’ve worked for startups before — talk about them. Talk about what it was like. Especially talk about the painful parts. They want to know that you know what it’s like to be on a startup team. We want to know that you’ve got that weird genetic flaw that causes you to want to take on that special kind of pain that only entrepreneurial people understand. If you haven’t worked for a startup before, come up with some reallyRemember that startups are not in the business of creating jobs, they’re in the business of creating value. Help them understand how you’re going to be able to help them create value that nobody else can. convincing reasons as to why you want to start now. And it can’t just be because you got laid off from some Fortune 500 company last week.
3. Read, Read, Read: Many startups today have a pretty wide footprint on the web. Does the CEO tweet? Does the CTO write a blog? Read them. You don’t have to be able to write a graduate thesis on their work, but you should be a wee bit familiar with their thoughts and leanings. Oh, and most startups will have you meet the founder/CEO/CTO before you are made an offer and they’re all human. They write for a reason — one of which is to be read; and maybe even understood.
4. Join The Conversation: Find out where the startup team is hanging out and chatting on the web. For HubSpot, for example, we have a relatively active group of people on Twitter. (Just do a Twitter search on “HubSpot” and you’ll see what I mean). Get to know some of the faces/names and find out the tone of the conversations happening around the startup you’re looking to join.
5. Connect Online: Chances are, whoever you talk to on the startup team is going to do a quick scan for you online (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, blogosphere, etc.). Why not be more proactive, learn about them and connect with them online first? Another advantage to this approach? You could ask (without being too pushy or aggressive) some of the “insiders” you connect to what it’s like to work there. The idea is to convey that you care, you’re doing your homework and are savvy enough to make sure you want to work there first. Startup recruiting is a two-way street (the company should bring a lot to you, just like you’re going to be bringing a lot to them).
6. Emphasize That You “Get Stuff Done”: The single most important attribute that many startups look for in recruits is that they get stuff done. You can be the most brilliant engineer/marketer/whatever on the planet, but if you don’t have a tendency to get a lot of stuff done, you’re not an attractive recruit. The reason is obvious and simple — but I’ll tell you anyways. Startups are a grand exercise in resource-deprivation. There’s always too much work and not enough people. If the startup team hires you, they want to know that you’re going to put a dent in their workload — not just come up with great ideas for other people to work on.
On top of the ones mentioned above I’d like to stress the importance of developing a strong network; make it known that you’re looking for interesting opportunities when you’re meeting people and share your passion. I received a great email from a student who applied for an enternship and went for an interview; whilst he wasn’t successful in securing the role he made a fantastic contact which subsequently went on to help him in his new role in another start-up which he has joined. That’s a great example of networking and how developing new contacts is so crucial in business.
These tips provide a great starter for potential ‘enterns’ looking for their Dream Role but we thought we’d ask you – what has worked well for you in securing your dream enternship? Do you have any tips to share – if so we want to hear them!
Earthtone reflect on their Enternship experience and the benefits of hosting an entern
The Organisation
Earthtone is a small, innovative technology business in the online printing sector with big ambitions.
Our online marketplace works like an Expedia for printing, letting people search for and compare professional print providers quickly before choosing the one that’s best suited to their needs. We’re based in London and will be rolling out our network across the US and the UK in the coming months
Enternship experience…
We advertised a 3 months summer placement at our London office. After receiving a host of applications, we interviewed two candidates and one was selected
Why did you feel using Enternships.com was beneficial?
- We benefited from a selection from a larger pool of candidates across the country
- Enternships seems to have a wider appeal to students/graduates from varying backgrounds
- We found that the process of listing a job advert is quite easy and straightforward.
What were your Enterns like?
- What we really like is that Enterns have shown a strong interest in entrepreneurial projects like ours
- In addition, Enterns have the skills and the attitude necessary for working in a startup (initiative, willingness to take on responsibility, etc)
Almost like writers trying to start a novel, the hardest part of being an entrepreneur is getting going. It can often feel as though you have an idea, and you know you want to make it work, but beyond that…nothing. This is especially the case for students and graduates with no real work experience to help them figure out how to build a business.
Handily, we came across a blog specifically targeted at students that is a handy guide to jumping off the proverbial cliff. It seems that the key is to keep it simple as the author distills the process into just three (and a half) steps. We decided to round it up to 4 steps by tweaking his list slightly:
Step 1: What do you Love?
Step 1A: Do an Enternship (Learn how to build Business first hand)
Step 2: Write it down (4 Reasons to build a Plan/Organization Chart)
Step 3: Take action (Be Proactive/Baby Steps)
Step 3A: Bring in people around you (Network/Online Persona)
So there you have it…what are you waiting for?
For more useful tips for the student entrepreneur check out: http://startupstudent.com/
Filed under: Entrepreneurship
According to a recent Zogby International poll of Americans,70% think the next big tech entrepreneur will come from outside the US. Twenty-eight percent said India, 15 percent said China and 11 percent said Japan. But the poll, released Monday, also found 67 percent of U.S. residents saying they believe the economic, educational and societal conditions still exist in the U.S. for another entrepreneur like the Microsoft founder to emerge.
Some current issues facing tech entrepreneurship in the US are:
- Losing foreign graduates of its universities to their home countries because of work-visa issues
- Lack of research and development tax credit
- Inadequate investment in all levels of education
“We’re going to continue to lead for many, many years, but we’re facing much stronger competition” from other countries, said Donnie Fowler, a Democratic campaign strategist and tech entrepreneur.
Fowler encouraged U.S. lawmakers to focus on policies that can spur innovation. In some cases, the U.S. Congress in recent years has made it harder for entrepreneurs, he said. An example is the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, which tightened internal controls for U.S. corporations but also made it more difficult for new companies to go public, Fowler said.
“In the corporate world, R&D budgets are more and more aimed at incremental innovation rather than truly disruptive innovation,” said entrepreneur Shane Green. “Incremental innovation doesn’t create the next Bill Gates.”
This more careful approach has come to Silicon Valley, he added. “There’s a lot less tolerance for truly creative, constructive ideas,” he said. “There’s simply less capital flowing in.”
In the very early days of the Enternships adventure, the idea of an international exchange program came to me as a logical step in our expansion. It made sense not only from a financial standpoint, but also from educational and, dare I say, cultural one.
I’m a firm believer that travel helps one broaden his horizon and gain maturity in the process. Business and travel have always been closely interlinked, the former often being the rationale for the latter. In most cases, International trade and migration has helped draw cultures together. Doing an enternship in a foreign country is a fantastic way to learn about a foreign culture, their way of doing business, working together etc… It’s also a great excuse to be adventurous and try something new.
Being Franco-Egyptian, I’ve had the privilege to grow up in two different cultures. This dual perspective reinforced my belief that communication between cultures is vital and should be promoted as early as possible. Like many people, I was glued to my TV set last week to listen to President Obama’s speech in Cairo. A particular passage caught my attention, due to its relevancy to our mission here at Enternships:
On education, we will expand exchange programs, and increase scholarships, like the one that brought my father to America. At the same time we will encourage more Americans to study in Muslim communities. And we will match promising Muslim students with internships in America; invest in on-line learning for teachers and children around the world; and create a new online network, so a young person in Kansas can communicate instantly with a young person in Cairo.
On economic development, we will create a new corps of business volunteers to partner with counterparts in Muslim-majority countries. And I will host a Summit on Entrepreneurship this year to identify how we can deepen ties between business leaders, foundations and social entrepreneurs in the United States and Muslim communities around the world.
President Barack Obama, Cairo, June 4th 2009
President Obama’s speech was welcomed with much enthusiasm in the region, and he did a great job of highlighting the role of business and entrepreneurship in not only promoting economic growth, but also mutual understanding and respect. Although next time Barack, have a word with us before quoting our ideas!
Filed under: Uncategorized
Yesterday’s surprise announcement of the merger of two large UK government departments – the Department of Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) with the Department for Innovation, University and Skills (DIUS) to create the UK Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (DBIS) is a welcome development.
At a time of significant flux in the government some have claimed it is window-dressing and yet another PR exercise however on the surface it seems to make sense. Ultimately it is innovation and equipping the nation with the right skills that will help the economy navigate its way through the recession.
What will it mean in practice though? How will it affect current plans and policy with regards to initiatives such as The Graduate Talent Pool; the £750m Strategic Investment Fund and other measures announced in April’s Budget.
It will be interesting to see whether it will be business as usual or whether this “uber” government department under the guidance of Lord Mandelson announces some bold measures – especially the much anticipated £1bn funding into early stage ventures which was rumoured months ago but failed to materialise in the last Budget announcement.
I suppose it’s a case of ‘watch this space’…
