5 Straightforward Strategies for Getting Hired at a Startup
I am a 23 year old software engineer working at a smart lighting tech startup in Seattle. The job hunt was a struggle for me, as I know it is for many so I want to share with everyone the strategies I implemented to successfully land a job. Keep in mind as you’re reading, these strategies are not a shortcut to instant success — finding employment was a 6-month process for me and included a dozen rejections.
No matter what stage of the job hunt you are in realize you’re so much more than your failures. Don’t be embarrassed by them, but learn from them and turn them into success stories. YOU GOT THIS. I BELIEVE IN YOU.
1. Attitude is KING
Throughout the job hunting process, rejection is a sobering reality. So you have to go into the process with a sense of realism and have a thick skin. You can’t be doubting yourself at every piece of disappointing news.
“I never fail, I either learn or succeed.”
By: Nelson Mandela
This quote greatly shifted my perspective in life and helped me learn not to take failures personally. Instead — focusing on the things in my control — I give any project my 110%. That way I’m not worried about the result. What’s the worst that can happen? I don’t succeed? That’s unfortunate, but it doesn’t erase the experience gained and skills developed. Life is just a series of failures (learning lessons) which act as stepping stones to your goals. Don’t get caught up with the results — instead focus on the process because that’s where the real work happens.
2. Cold Contacting Individuals on LinkedIn
The previous generation’s playbook no longer applies in today’s market. We can no longer get employment by just doing “well” in school. Networking has become fundamental to the job hunt.
According to new LinkedIn global survey results, almost 80 percent of professionals consider professional networking to be important to career success. Not only that, but 70 percent of people in 2016 were hired at a company where they had a connection.
An unorthodox networking method I applied was contacting individuals who had recently started working at a prospective company. When contacting them, I set the conversation around their success. I asked them about their journey in successfully gaining employment at the company. What elements of their resume and cover letter did they highlight when applying? I also focused on building a rapport with them. Organically, this resulted in me occasionally getting internal referrals, or in some cases have them proof read/edit my cover letter and resume. All this from a complete stranger!
The reason I believe this strategy is successful is because people are more likely to want to talk about their own success and giving them space t odo so helps you stand out. Secondly, I noticed that contacting recruiters or managers yields little to no results. They’re often contacted by hundreds of people and you get lost in all of it. But a new hire understands the struggle and can sympathize with your situation.
3. Don’t Stop Iterating: A Resume/Cover Letter Story
One of the most challenging aspects of job hunting is editing your job application package (resume/cover letter). These documents are vital as they are the first impression you make with a potential employer. But it’s mostly subjective and there are no standardized guidelines on how these documents should look. Even if you have personalized the package according to the job description, the same style could be rated highly by one employer and poorly by another. Receiving advice is also stressful: from family, friends, professional contacts, university recruitment advisors to online articles — everyone seems to have a varying opinion. I initially found this noise overwhelming, constantly overhauling my resume based on the latest piece of advice.
This wasn’t sustainable and honestly did not improve my callback rate. What I learned to do instead is get my resume in front of as many people as possible and gather as much feedback as possible. Then I would sift through all the information and make small iterations based on the advice that resonated with me. I understood at the end of day, I could not please every recruiter with my resume. Instead, my goal was to get as much perspective on my application package and from as many sources I had access to. Then I could make an educated decision on the path forward.
4. Keep Updating
The job hunt is a stressful and scary time, but I would challenge anyone in such a position to focus on the opportunity instead. You now have the freedom during the week to update your skillset. A big mistake I see people make is they focus on the short-term goal of getting a job. Spending all day consumed with solving the problem right in front of them; oblivious to the opportunity. But by simultaneously learning a new in demand skill, they could prevent themselves from being in the same situation in the future.
Do you need to pivot your career because the industry your in is dying? Is your industry evolving, and you need to update your technical skill set? Do you enjoy the industry you’re a part off or do you want to change career paths?
These questions deserve to have some thought given to them. I would implore anyone in such a circumstance to not spend this time just job hunting but come out of it with a new skill set that will help you get to new heights.
“A change in perspective can turn any hardship into a opportunity.”
5. Be KIND to yourself
The process of finding employment if often a long one.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics gathers information on the length of time that workers are unemployed. The data for August 2019 indicates that the average duration of unemployment was 22.1 weeks[~6 Months].
A lot of people — including me — have made the same mistake. Initially, we are so motivated and inspired to get the job we burn ourselves out in the first few weeks. After looking at the data, make peace with the fact that in most cases finding a job is a marathon and not a sprint. Mentally prepare yourself accordingly, don’t make this the only focus of your life but take some time for yourself everyday. This will ensure you don’t burn out and allow you to consistently perform in the long run.
I wish you the best of luck in your job hunt. If you want an insight on how my journey went you can read about the story here:
