Our startup, Nurture Talent is growing and last week we held 80 job interviews to hire people for business development, sales and marketing roles. Surprisingly, the students who cleared our selection process were not the ones with degrees but the ones with energy. Getting a job in a startup is different from that in large organisations and MNCs. If you want to be part of a small company, here are some tips:
Be flexible
Startups have one thing in common — there is lot of work, and everybody does everything. If you are looking for a process-oriented job, with documents on how to do it, and timings from 9 am to 5 pm, then you are not cut out for startups. You may have to meet clients, write blogs, make presentations, write software, organise events — all in a day’s work.
Understand the culture
A startup is highly founder driven — it is their vision, passion and ideas that drive the company. If your personality or wavelength does not match with the founders of a startup, then you will not clear the interview and even if you do, the work environment and startup culture will not suit you. So read about the founders, learn about the company’s culture to know more.
Be open to a low fixed and high variable salary
Startups do not have standard packages, and they do not go by norms for salaries. For example, a fresher engineer/MBA gets `10-25,000 per month during training in companies like Infosys and Wipro. In a startup, they can make anywhere from `5-50,000 per month, but it will be based on performance and achievements. Some startups also offer stock options.
Work part-time or intern
Best way to prove your worth to a startup is to work for them part time or as an intern. Nurture Talent took in eight interns this summer, they were an integral part of the team and had a great time.
Start your own venture in college
Startups love people who have been entrepreneurs in the past — even if it was small, failed or a single person team. What matters is what you did and what you learned. If you have applied that knowledge from college and utilised the time in college, then you stand a far better chance of getting a job!
— amit.grover@nurturetalent.com