When leaping into the realm of the “real world” you have to ask yourself a few questions. What type of job do I want? How many hours a week am I willing to work? How can I pay my bills? All of these are important questions and need to be answered before you ever send a resume.
If you are considering working for a startup company, you should realize more times than not that the founders are going to expect as much hard work and dedication to the company as they give. Many times this is due to the fact that founders can’t initially hire on many people, so they have to be extra careful on whom they do and don’t hire.
Ben Yoskovitz, the founder of Standout Jobs, “which combines its Recruitment Marketing Platform with social media recruiting services to make sure you get the most bang for your buck.” Having sold Standout Jobs, Yoskovitz now dedicates his time to helping other startups gain traction. One of the biggest debates startup owners are trying to figure is what the perfect candidate is.
When applying for a startup company, you should realize you may have to work longer hours. Yoskovitz points out this may be a mistake on the business owners end, “one of the big problems I’m seeing with a startup’s expectations for “hours worked” is that they use it as a metric of employee quality and success. Likely because it’s one of the easiest metrics to track.”
How to Show You Are Loyal
If you think startup life might be right down your ally, you are going to have to prove you are worth the investment. Many small business owners are frugal with their money, and even more so with larger investments. Employees are one of, if the most crucial investment a startup makes.
Come into the interview with a plan of action for your position. Doing so should peak their interest in what you think you can do. It will also make them remember you more, and show you are willing to put in the effort needed for the position.
Let Them Know You Won’t Leave Until the Project is Done
Just letting a future startup know you aren’t going to leave because it is 5 can help. Obliviously anyone can say, and not actually do this, so having examples of when you did these types of things in previous jobs is a good idea. Even at the intern level is a good example to give.
Remembering that you are pitching yourself is key to interviews. If you are interested in working for a startup company make sure you do some research (which you should be doing anyway) before the interview. Let the employer know you are willing to do the work that is needed of you.
Shannon Suetos is an expert writer based in San Diego, California. She writes extensively for an online resource that provides expert advice on purchasing and outsourcing decisions for small business owners and entrepreneurs such as telephone systems & VoIP service at Resource Nation.
