Download - Your Roadmap for Joining a Startup
Your Roadmap for Landing a Role at a Startup
ThinkB1G
Why Join a Startup?
Be Challenged
Work with Amazing Teams
Leverage the Latest Technologies
Learn, Grow + Accelerate Your Career
Be Part of Something Special
Is a Startup Right for You?
They’re Different than Traditional Companies
High octane, intense, and a little chaotic• Building a company from the ground up involves a ton of hard work
and navigating risk & uncertainty Lean & mean• You need to wear multiple hats, get “into the weeds”
Value people who get things done• You must love to execute and get stuff done
Need people who take initiative• Expect mentoring, but not extensive supervision
If you’d prefer a more structured, supervised, predictable environment, then a startup is probably not for you
Top OpportunitiesTechnical/Product Software Development Product Design & User
Experience QA & Testing Data Science DevOps Product Management Electrical Engineer Mechanical Engineer
Business Business Development
Rep (BDR) Sales Development Rep
(SDR) Sales/Field Engineer Growth Hacking Account Management Marketing Community Other
What Startups Look for in Candidates
The Bar is High(er) for Startups
What’s Really Important?PassionCuriositySmartsExperienceHumilityAbility to CommunicateIntangibles
Personal/Side Projects are Critical
Show You can build things Are always learning Are passionate about your field
Personal projects trump class projects Devoting free time illustrates passion & curiosity
to learn “Doing” more important than how you get there
“I would hire someone with a 2.0 GPA from a no-name college and tons of side projects using cool tech versus a 4.0 MIT CS grad who focuses only on school.”
Personality Traits Matter Intellectual curiosity • Evident desire to learn more about things
Passion• Deeply care about your areas of interest (love it)
Self-starter• Ambition & drive in how you go about things
Do things differently• You didn’t just follow the herd
Commitment to personal growth and learning• Explore topics outside your field of interest
Landing a Role
Your Edge• Passion• Proof• Personalization• Patience• Persistence
Harsh Realities
Build Your Body of Work
“What I Know Now Didn’t Come from Class”
Don’t limit yourself to just classes• Take advantage of what’s available to you
Don’t waste time• Submit assignments early and work on your own
projects
Learn on your own• Khan Academy, Coursera, Code.org, OpenCourseWare
Plenty of opportunities only a click away
More IdeasTech / CS Specific Contribute to an open-source
project Learn more programming
languages Try different operating
systems Create apps Read tech books Debug that web service that
fails every single time someone tries to upload a video larger than 200MB
Non-Tech / General Get involved with a
campus startup Participate in a business
plan or pitch competition Do a Startup Weekend,
hackathon or makeathon Leverage class projects to
work with companies Experiment with social
media for business, non-profit, other applications
Illustrate & Demonstrate
Illustrate & Demonstrate
Illustrate & Demonstrate
Understand What You Want to Do
Then… Convince employer that you wanted to work there
your whole life • Resume should reinforce it• Follow-up notes should hammer the point home
Keep your talking points to the job you applied for
Be perceived as willing to throw yourself 100% into the opportunity at hand
Engaging with Startups Resume
Cover letter
Applying
Follow-up
Resume Focus on your projects and experience• What you worked on• Technology you used• Any notable outcomes
Link to your body of work• GitHub, online portfolio, personal website
List upper level CS courses• Depending upon the position
Anything extra-curricular that shows something remarkable about you
Spelling & grammar
Cover Letter Needs to be highly personalized• Invest the time to understand their business
Communicate why you’re excited about what the company/opportunity• Startups love to see shared passion
Articulate (and support) why you would be a terrific fit
Your objective is to passionately resonatewith the team
Applying1. Submit your resume via your university career
system
2. Apply on the company’s website• Include your cover letter
3. Send a personal email to the hiring manager
4. BONUS: Get a warm intro into the team
Follow-Up Persistence can pay off
Follow-up 2-3 weeks after application• Personal email to hiring manager• Reiterate your interest & why• Call to action: opportunity to discuss further
Follow-up again 2-3 weeks after that
Don’t Be This PersonMichael,
I am very interested in the ThinkBig opportunity I came across on the XXX career website. My experiences with YYY and ZZZ have equipped me to successfully handle making fact based decisions, business development, and strategic thinking. In particular, as a detail oriented, competitive, self starter with a strategic approach to achieving objectives, my ability to build a business case to drive forward inflection point decisions would ensure I am challenged to make an impact.
I would welcome the opportunity to speak with you. Please find my resume attached for your review. I look forward to hearing from you.
Kind regards,
XXXXX
Be This PersonResearched startups hiring interns- Focused on those that fit his interests &
(limited) background- Identified CEO’s contact info
Sent personalized note to CEO- Introduced himself and background- Detailed passion for startups and why
interested in the company- Outlined where/how he could make an impact
11 – Emails sent7 – Conversations/interviews1 – Great summer experience
“Tino” – Freshman
Takeaways Project-based experiences rule the day• Take advantage of all the options on campus• Build your body of work• Illustrate & demonstrate what you can do
Passion and fit needs to come through your resume and company interactions• Challenge yourself outside the classroom (and major)• Fall in love with what you do
Personalize your communications and stay after it
ThinkB1G Resources Openings• ThinkB1G.com/Startups
Newsletter• ThinkB1G.com/Students
Student Profile• ThinkB1G.com/Students
Prepping for the Technical Interview• ThinkB1G.com/Students
Finding Opportunities VentureLoop.com• New openings at VC-
backed startups
AngelList• Openings at startups
Join-Startups• Easy way to find
opportunities by region
TechGen
38
Intern at a tech startup?Get real, hands-on experience.
Apply to TechGen – the common app for internships
at Boston’s hottest tech startups
Sales * Marketing * DesignEngineering * Product
Management
Go to TheTechGeneration.com to applyFollow #TechGen on twitter @TheTechGen
• Browse our startups• Get noticed by companies• Find your internship
More Resources
http://goo.gl/9GTWsu
Google’s Guide to Technical Development:http://goo.gl/9GTWsu
Final Word
Your Roadmap for Landing a Role at a Startup