Your Corporate Background Can Help You Get a Start-up Job | Fusion - WeRIndia

Your Corporate Background Can Help You Get a Start-up Job

Get A Start Up Job

Leaving the world of cubicles and bureaucracy to join a start-up is alluring. The chance to be part of something huge and world-changing!

The flat organizational structures! The unlimited vacation times!

But figuring out how to make that move isn’t always easy.

You’ve most likely spent years focusing on one set of skills and working with a team of people who all focus on the same thing—pretty much the opposite of how scrappy start-ups function.


You just need to know how to tell your story in a way that makes sense.

1. You’re a Team Player

The team-player attitude is everything for the start-ups we work with. The ability to ‘lean in’ and collaborate with another department or client to accomplish a common goal is just as or equally important as accomplishing it on their own. So, look for ways to show hiring managers just that.

Think about times you partnered with another person or department—not necessarily when you led the team, but when you were part of one that achieved important things.

While traditional resume and interview wisdom is that you should emphasize your personal accomplishments, start-ups want to know that you’re interested in the success of the group.

2. You Know Processes That Work

In a corporate job, almost everything you do has a process—from tracking customer feedback to requesting vacation time.

All of this might seem totally irrelevant in a start-up environment. but remember that start-ups that grow will eventually need to put in systems and processes for everything from sales lead tracking to payroll management. And if you have knowledge of efficient ways to do those things, it can be very helpful.

Don’t be afraid to talk about your experience and the types of processes you could bring to the table as the start-up grows. Just be mindful of how you position it.

3. You Love to Learn and Grow

You’ve got to be obsessed with learning, growing, and evolving. Hiring managers always looking for learners and people who are curious about the world. Skill sets are irrelevant because things change so quickly at a start-up.

You could be working on customer service one day, SEO the next, and product management the day after. Instead of just giving the highlight reel of what you’ve done and achieved, think about times when you’ve taken on something totally new—especially when it’s something you pursued on your own.

4. You Know How to Communicate

The best way to let start-ups know that you’re a great communicator.If you worked for a big company, you had to be a master of communication: keeping your boss updated on what you were working on, sending detailed reports to clients, translating your needs and priorities to other departments—you get the picture. This is actually something that start-ups really value.

Photo by Johan Godínez on Unsplash (Free for commercial use)


Image Reference: https://unsplash.com/photos/dDYRYivNzbI

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