Are you ready to join a startup?
Many other professionals ask me if they should leave their corporate jobs to work for a startup. Since I have spent my entire career working in the technology industry, where a better part of those years were at startups (my own or others), I want to offer my perspective to help you decide if you are ready.
For the purpose of this article, I give this advice for startups that meet a few requirements:
- Less than 3 years old.
- Less than 100 employees.
- Undefined or ill-defined Human Resources department, rules and/or guidelines
First things first: Be honest with yourself and who you are.
Ask: Am I happy with myself today? Despite the hype, getting into tech or at a startup will not make you happy. It can make you happier if it’s a better environment for you, but just the move will not make you happy.
Read Tolle Teachings on Happiness
Take the Work Values survey to figure out what does make you happy at work.
How much management do I need in my career right now?
Startups are small, and no one has time to really manage and develop their employees. Depending on the size of the company, managers hold those roles because they started at the company before you, not because they are qualified. If you want professional development from a mentor/manager, you probably aren’t going to get it at a startup.
What was the last skill you taught yourself?
Many startups don’t think ahead. They learn something when they need to know it. That’s why many startups don’t hire HR until they hit their first real problem. You need to be able to teach yourself. For example, one startup CEO I worked for fired my entire chain of command. I needed to advocate for myself at my 1 year review, and I taught myself about the process of peer reviews in order to put an entire process in place so that there was feedback to use in my evaluation.
Everything is a learning opportunity in the startup world. Do you know how to recognize one and take advantage of it? That leads me to my next point.
When was the last time you took the lead on a group activity?
Do you naturally take initiative? Many people fail at startups because they are waiting for validation and approval instead of doing something, then apologizing for it later. Some companies need you to have chutzpah and gumption, and will find you a chore to have on the team if you don’t just take initiative to solve certain problems and achieve set out goals.
Indeed, I’m familiar with one startup that has let go multiple people because they have failed to carve out their own domain, initiate their own projects, and take the lead.
When was the last challenge you overcame?
Or, when was the last time you persevered over a challenge? Startups lack consistency and stability. That’s what makes them exciting, but also what makes them terrifying if you crave consistency and stability. At the Codify Academy event, the three other founders and I agreed that self-management to guarantee our own productivity is one of the hardest challenges we overcame when we started out on our own.
At one of my first jobs, my CTO told me there is no HR. If you have a problem with someone, tell them straight to their face. Is that a challenge you can stand up to?
If you can answer all of these questions confidently, then you can start to explore what kind of startup is right for you.
Remember: Startups are great to work for if you have the gumption (determination and fortitude). But, if you don’t have it, you’re only going to overwhelm yourself with stress.
I wrote this article in preparation for a panel by Codify Academy. If you are a professional who would like to learn how to code, please check them out.
