The skills that will get you hired at any Startup
Day 16/90 — Want to work at a Startup? These skills will get you hired.
I’ve worked at my fair share of startups. Besides a general strong will to get things done, I’ve noticed there are some skills that are extremely valuable when working in a small, fast growing company — for your own sake and for the sake of the enterprise. Want to work at a Startup? Learn this.
Parlez-vous Startup?
The more, the merrier…is the motto when it comes to languages. Especially startups testing new markets as part of their growth strategy, benefit from employees who speak more than one language. These employees can proofread or even write translations and manage local testing. This makes testing a lot faster and cheaper than by hiring a localization manager.
Push and pull request
Any kind of coding skills, even just basic HTML and CSS, are highly valuable when you embark on your Startup journey. You know your computer has a terminal, understand <br> and <span>, and even have a Github account? Wow. These are exactly the small tech-savvy extra skills that will make Startup life easier and win you friends (specifically, in the busy tech department). Be sure to mention them during your interview.
Font, Stock, and Layout
Investing in design is often low on the priority list at a Startup. Hence, any kind of design skills are a big plus. You know how to use Photoshop or navigate through online tools such as Canva? Great! Why don’t you design a thumbnail, a social media post, or adjust the font on our blog? Bonus: by getting involved in design you can have quite some impact on the brand identity. Fun, ain’t it?
Say cheese!
You’re a decent photographer and have even tried to cut, edit, and upload a video on Youtube before? That’s a great skillset to bring to the busy Startup grind. Why don’t you try to make a tutorial for our website next? Creative skills such as photography can be exactly the extra cherry on top to get you hired as i.e. a Startup’s marketer.
Copy is King
Hiring a content agency is extremely expensive and pretty much last on the priority list, unless funding has already blown through the roof. If you’re a decent writer and maybe even have experimented with copy before, your skills can have a huge influence on the success of the company. You can ensure the message is clear on the website, communications are more or less aligned, and that typos are cleared out.
Big Brother
Here’s a less obvious one: in fast-growing, small companies culture is often neglected. Employees can quickly burn out, a feedback culture may be nonexistent and transparency at a low. If you’re the queen of social skills, this is where your super-powers are desperately needed. Take ownership of the local slack-channel and try to lead internal communication. Ask for feedback and give feedback. Appreciate your colleagues for a job well done. Maybe even plan a team activity after work? Be the glue that holds the family together.
Master of Desaster
Startups can get really chaotic. What do you do when the CEO is swamped, the CTO fixing bugs non-stop, and the CMO speaking in riddles? You take over the steering wheel. If you’re good at creating to-do lists or project plans, you’re desperately needed at (pretty much) every Startup. If you stay cool while the board is whipping your ass because conversions are stagnating, help your colleagues stay organized and focused on the goal. Organizational skills are the key to getting through rough periods and sprints.
Here’s a list of other skills that can be useful in Startup environments:
- nerves of steel (no kidding)
- DIY-attitude (prototyping for the win)
- problem solving (obviously, duh)
- introversion (when the long hours overrun your social life)
- extroversion (to deal with colleagues 24/7)
- speaking jargon (wtf is your burn rate right now?!)
Have you worked at a Startup Do you agree with my list? Let me know and feel free to add other skills you find relevant in the comments.
Want to contribute to shared and done?
Send in your submission via medium or email me.
This is day 16 of 90 days that I will be sharing something I’ve learned here in this publication. Don’t miss it.
