How to increase your chances of getting a job in a start-up as a business developer? Tips.
There was a time when the majority of graduate students from Business Schools had the ambition to become an Auditor in one of the Big Four companies (PWC, Deloitte, E&Y, and KPMG) or Product Manager at l’Oréal. Now, most of them want to join startups and ideally a future unicorn.
The successful stories of entrepreneurs, as well as the French Tech, have inevitably participated in this craze.
However, behind the cool image that startups have, (stylish working environment, relaxing areas at the office, thematic gatherings, team buildings in Marrakech and the list goes on), this ecosystem is very demanding and selective. So if you’d like to get into the startup community, then you have to know the codes.
Startups recruit in all trades, but you should know that the positions they hire the most after “web developer” are the business development jobs: “business developer”, “Sales”, “Commercial B2B”, “SDR”. These jobs represent 40% of digital job vacancies today and are in high demand.
At IconoClass, we are anticipating the startups and recruiters' needs, so we created a sales school in only four months. The intense training forms “business developer”, “Sales”, “Commercial B2B”, “SDR” and guarantees 100% hiring at the end of the program.
Before applying to join a startup
Don’t apply just because it’s trendy to “work in a startup” — this is not a sufficient reason.
Startups are very attentive to their recruitments which are one of the biggest growth-challenges. Besides that, in a startup, there’s neither the time nor the means to make a mistake by choosing or wasting time with the “wrong candidate”.
So before applying to join a startup, do the research and make sure that the corporate culture is in line with your values.
Becoming a Business Developer in a startup… but not just any startup
Let’s take the example of one of our previous IconoClass promotion’s students. At the beginning of the program, our student had only one goal in mind: to become a Business Developer for one of our successful partner startups, a potential unicorn.
During our four months program, she encountered more than 50 speakers, founders of startups, or commercial directors, so she started to discover many new companies. Moving forward, I will spoil the story, but guess what? In the end, nothing happened as she thought. When our student finished our Business Developer, she did not reach her “dream” target, but instead, she joined a smaller startup discovered during an intervention of its CEO at IconoClass.
This small startup was less known to the general public, wasn’t a “potential unicorn”, but it was an instant match with our student’s values.
How to succeed in your job interview
When you get an interview, you have to show your passion and your ability to execute, thanks to your motivation and enthusiasm. In startups, the pace of work is very important, so you will have to invest yourself completely. That’s the main reason why very often recruiters will want to know your motivation and check if you could be a “good fit” with the company.
During your interview, you have to show that you understand the market, the startup’s Business Model, the ecosystem. It’s also important to underline that the project inspires you and that you are not there by chance. Ideally, you will have already taken the time to talk with users of the solution/product and that you will have already clearly defined the company’s unique value proposition and the problem that it solves.
One important advice is to ask questions during your interview! Show interest in finding out the company’s history — how the project started and how it’s growing — the founders will appreciate your interest. Hopefully, they will even reveal their difficulties and the reason why they are looking to recruit a business developer. All you have to do is to listen to them and position yourself as THE solution to their problems. Knowing how to listen and adapt to your interlocutor makes you already a good Business Developer!
Finally, to boost your chances of getting a job in a startup, you will have to prove that you can get out of your comfort zone. Life in a startup is pretty intense, so you’ll need to be flexible and have an agile mind. You must know how to work quickly, a collaborative way, and to have a strong “Team spirit”.
Of course, it is essential to master the vocabulary of the business developer profession.
Ask yourself the right questions before committing
During the selection process, and until the end of it, you must ask yourself two essential questions:
Do I want to work with all the people I met during the recruitment process for this job?
If it’s a startup, you will often come across them, so it’s important to be comfortable with the idea of seeing them and working with them daily.
Do I want to be part of this startup’s project?
If at the end of the recruitment process, the answer is “YES” to the two previous questions, you’re on a good path. You can always send a “thank you” email summarizing what you appreciated during the process and for what reasons. Make sure to specify how great you’ve felt during the interview and underline your motivation and desire to make part of their project.
Fewer and fewer candidates are taking the time to send the “Thank you” email, which is a simple gesture that can strengthen an application and make a difference from another candidate.
Would you like to join a startup? 🚀
If you want to join a startup and be part of a big startup community, you can join our training. At IconoClass, we offer an intensive four months of training in Business Development — a great opportunity to connect with the largest network of startups in France. During the training period, we offer personalized support to get you a job. 🤝
If you’re interested, you can always check our page >> https://www.iconoclass.eu/hello.
Hope you find the tips useful, good luck with your research.
