Advice To New Grads Breaking Into Tech
Caught the startup bug? Good. But how are you going to land that dream job if you’re just breaking into tech? Below are some helpful tips to guide your transition, that I’ve learned along the way…
Exactly one year ago today, I left my corporate banking job and plunged into entrepreneurship. I wanted a career change and was contemplating business school, but kept gravitating towards building something of my own and decided to take a leap of faith and start a direct-to-consumer e-commerce company — creating an organic snack subscription service, called FlavorBazaar.
Several months into the venture, I realized that FlavorBazaar was on track to be a great lifestyle business and would require a lot more working capital to create a low cost, high margin operation. So at the end of the summer, I decided to pivot to a new plan — I knew I didn’t want to go back to banking and I knew I wanted to stay part of the Boston tech community — I just had no idea where or how to get started.
But after a few months of “the hustle” — I landed my dream job at a company that grew 300% last year, raised $55m to date and is one of Fortune’s “Best Companies to Work For.”
Here is a tactical plan for how you can do the same.
Step 1: Zero In On Your Criteria of Success
A quality company holds culture at the root of its operations. As described in this Startup Secrets framework — culture translates into tangible impact and value and propels your career forward. That said, you have to think like a marathoner, not like a sprinter. The quality of a company you join pays greater dividends in the long run, then the short term job title or attractive compensation package.
This same insight was noted in Andy Rachleff’s “2013 Silicon Valley Career Guide” and Jeff Bussgang’s blog, in particular his article on “Seeking A Job in Start-Up Land.”
“Everyone wants to recruit or back people from successful companies because they know/think people carry the lessons of success with them.” ~ Andy Rachleff
When evaluating my own criteria for the type of company I wanted to join and which domain I wanted to focus on, my list consisted of the following:
- Culture-Centric Company With Great Momentum: Having worked in both large public corporations and small family-owned businesses, this criteria is at the top of my list. I’ve seen politics and stagnation set in in slow growing companies and the way leadership can effect employee motivation and daily decision making. Culture is key in cultivating employee empowerment and company growth.
- Customer-Centric: A great product is important, but an organization that fosters an impeccable customer experience and takes the time and resources to learn about customer needs and pain-points sets itself apart from its competition.
- Inspiring & Hungry Team: When interviewing at companies, I always ask these 3 questions to get a sense of the team environment and management style and look for passion in their answers. 1/What is the biggest company challenge right now? 2/What are the biggest priorities for your team in the next 6–12 months? 3/How do you develop your team?
- Grand Vision: Ambitious goals and unified vision, with a transparent culture are more likely to succeed in the long run. The company that I joined has the grand vision to transform the backbone of global commerce and a fully invested team to do it.
- Large Potential Market: Evaluate a company on how large the potential market opportunity is for growth. Look to join a company that is an entrant into a potential new market and is on path to become a category creator in that space.
- Unfair Advantage: Understand how the company adds significant value to the market. Is it the culture? Team? Product? First Mover Advantage? A company must have an unfair advantage to create great value and be a leader in its space.
- Growth Stage: My criteria was to join a company at a stage where I could have high impact on customer growth by creating best in class processes and repeatable solutions. For me, a company in a series B/C stage is the sweet spot — new teams and departments are forming, there is a ton of employee and business growth and the chance to see your daily efforts and decisions add immediate value to the growth and scalability of the organization.
- Domain Whitespace: This for me was a key criterion. I am in the stage of my career where I have great broad experience and want to channel my skills in a specific area that is relatively new. My interests always have been centered around customer’s needs and product. I discovered that Customer Success encapsulates the factors that I was most passionate about, with a trajectory to become a thought leader in the B2B SaaS space.
- Offer Package: The quality and potential of the company matters more to me than the title or compensation package. With that said, I was looking for a fair offer that met the industry standards with a clear career growth plan.
“If you’re offered a seat on a rocket ship, you don’t ask what seat. You just get on.” ~ Sheryl Sandberg
During my search for the right opportunity, I stuck to my convictions and turned down offers and opportunities that, at the time looked attractive, but I knew in the long run would not be the right fit. Those were not easy decisions, but ultimately led me to the right choice that I’m fully invested in and passionate about.
Step 2: Create A Target List of Companies
Once you’ve narrowed down on your criteria, the next step is to create a list of companies that you’re interested in targeting.
Andy Rachleff’s “2017 Career-Launching Companies List” is a great place to start. Routinely following industry news is also a great source to receive up to date information on new acquisitions and venture-backed funded companies.
Resources: Daily Go-To Favorites For New Companies To Watch
- Launch Ticker — curated top stories in tech
- CB Insights — tech market intelligence platform on venture capital, startups, patents and partnerships
- Nuzzel — top news stories from your friends
- Mattermark — company overviews, key people, growth signals
- Medium Daily Digest — writing and sharing stories and perspectives
Resources: Best Online Start-Up Job Marketplaces
If you’re just entering the tech world and starting to build your relationships and connections, it can be hard to find out about new interesting startups. Here is my list of the best curated startup marketplaces to find new and emerging companies, get career advice or pin down a hiring manager or company recruiter.
- AngelList — eliminates the middleman and provides salary and equity upfront
- Hired — matches people to opportunities at the world’s most innovative companies
- The Muse — offers career advice and behind-the-scenes look at job opportunities
Step 3: Eat, Sleep, Hustle, Network, Repeat
“Hustle until you no longer have to introduce yourself” ~ Unknown
Be creative, persistent and relentlessly resourceful in the pursuits of your ideal career path. Companies are made up of people. People solve problems and create opportunities. The key is to have a defined strategy and vision of where you want to be and what you’re passionate about. Then put yourself in an environment that allows you to maximize on your opportunities. That could be attending networking events tailored to your industry or domain, gaining new technical skills and acquiring knowledge through certificate programs and courses, joining tech groups, attending discussion panels, and the list is endless if you’re curious to take the time and learn about your tech community.
Networking is not an innate ability; it’s a learned skill. Here is a simple process that has been successful for me and has led to some great introductions and career opportunities.
- Always Research. Before every meeting, conference event, phone call, interview, research the people you’re interested in meeting or who you’ll be speaking with. Knowing about a person’s interests and hobbies allows you to naturally connect and find common ground.
- Always Be Over Prepared. Preparation is the secret sauce to making a great impression and standing out from the competition.
- Always Be On Time. Be punctual and respectful of people’s time. Especially if you’re the one who’s benefitting from the meeting.
- Always Follow Up. Regardless of how the meeting went, always keep an open line of communication and follow up with either a thank you note or thoughts on new ideas.
- Always Reach Out. If you have an opportunity to email or call a CEO of a Fortune 500 company, do it! You have nothing to lose, but everything to gain.
- Always Be Helpful. Don’t forget that the world is round and a person that has helped you today may need your help tomorrow. Always return favors, help with introductions or help problem solve where you can.
The key here is surrounding yourself with smart, ambitious, driven people that you can learn from and who can learn from you. Look for diversity in your relationships and interactions. Without new perspectives and different opinions, growth will be muted and your thinking and creative problem solving will not evolve.
“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with” ~ Jim Rohn
Remember, always strive for excellence and pass on your learnings to others in your community. And never be discouraged by set backs or take things personally — there are always opportunities if you get yourself out there and look for them.
Good luck.
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