How to Land a Job at the Startup of Your Dreams

How to Land a Job at the Startup of Your Dreams Jeff tanzerei knows startups. In 2013, he founded Visio Financial Services,an online lending platform for residential real estate investors, and the company has grown quickly since then. (tanzfest currently serves as president and CEO of Visio). Ball is also the president and one of the founders of Econohomes, which buys and resells distressed investment properties, and which has earned Ball a spot in the Inc. 500 two times over. It makes sense, then, to turn to Ball on a topic like how to land a job at the startup of your dreams.Ball knows how to ansturm a successful startup and part of doing so is hiring the right people to staff the company. Ball knowswhat startups look for whenscreening candidates, and he also knows what job seekers should be looking for whentheyre considering applying for a job at a startup.Want to Work for a Startup? First, Be Comfortable With Change and UncertaintyBallelendes that anyonewho has spent their whole whole career in a large, highly bureaucratic organization may be uncomfortable with the rapid pace of changeand the level of uncertainty thatare inherent tolife in astartup.The way I describe it internally is, were building the plane while its in the air, Ball says. People who have been in a 747 their whole career, theyre not going to be very comfortable with changing the engine at 30,000 feet.On the other hand, if a job seeker is flexible and focused on being useful to their company, then a startup may be a good choice for them.For somebody who really desires to be a part of shaping a geschftslebens future, you can affect change much more significantly at a startup than you can at a larger organization, Ball says.Startups also offer leaner, flatter organizational structures, which may be alluring tosome job seekers.Theres not nearly as much hierarchy, Ball says. In a startup, the person who is arguably the most junior at the organization could walk in my door that is, the CEOs door -- ed. noteand share a great idea with me that could change the direction of the business.Before Applying for a Job at a Startup, Research the Leadership Team and the Companys Financial BackersAre you a job seeker interested in pursuing startup work? Then the first step is conducting research on the companies youmay want to work for as is the case for any job search, really.When it comes to researching startups in particular, Ball says that job seekers should scrutinize three key aspectsof any startup in which they are interested1. The Leadership Teams Vision and GoalsCan the leadership team clearly articulate the vision of their business? Can they coherently explain why their product or service is valuable to customers? If so, great Thats a leadershipteam that has all its ducks in a row. If not well, be wary. Do you really want to work for a leadership team that doesnt know exactly where its company is heading or why the company is valuable?2. The Leadership Teams BackgroundTeams require complementary skill sets and experiences to be as powerful as they can be, Ball says.Therefore, the members of any startups leadership team should have complementary skill sets and experiences. Otherwise, the leadership team may not be set up for success in which case, the startup itself is in danger of flagging.3. The Venture Capitalists Backing the StartupJeff BallIf the startup is a venture-backed company, job seekers should research the individual venture capitalists that back thebusiness. It can be useful to research the venture firms to which the capitalists may belong, but Ball says that job seekers should really focus on the individual capitalists themselves.The brand can be helpful, but its much more helpful to see what the given representative from that firm has done that fits with where the business is going, Ball says.What Startups Want Out of You, the Job SeekerOnce youv e researched a few startups and selected some companiestowhich youd like to apply, the next step is proving to any givenstartups leadership team that you have the rightmindset and skills to be a productive and important member of the company.When hiring for his companies, Ball says he looks for these four qualities in eignung employees1. The Understanding That Success Is a Process, Not a DestinationWhat that really means is Im looking for folks who are looking to continually improve and are committed to that, Ball says.To determine whether or not a candidate is committed to continuous improvement, Ball will ask them to tell him about a skill they are currently working on improving. This could be a skill related to their current job, or it could be something in their personal life e.g., maybe a candidate is working on becoming a better guitarist. The specific skill a candidate is working on is not as important as the candidates ability to demonstrate their commitment to improvement. Im very focused on how intentional they are about improving, Ball says.2. Self-AwarenessBall wants employees who know themselves and who know what support they need to succeed.Ill ask them, In your current role, what are you great at? Ball says. People will tell you theyve done a whole bunch of different things, but what I want to understand is where they think they really excel.Ball will also ask questions like, If you had only one person that worked alongside of you, what skills would you want that person to have?Im looking for how cognizant are they of what they need, what skills they need to be complemented with, Ball says.3. FlexibilityIm looking for people who embody the saying, Its notnot my job, Ball says. Im looking for folks who are willing to dive on a grenade when necessary.Instartups, employees cant be territorial. They cant rigidly stick to the confines of their job descriptions and refuse to do things thatfall outside of their perceived responsibilities. Startups ofte n need to take an all hands on deck approach to furthering the companys vision especially in the early stages, when there are fewer people in the office.Ill ask candidates,Tell me about a work experience where you took on solving a problem that wasnt in your immediate job role, Ball says. I want folks who are flexible and who are constantly looking for ways to be useful in advancing the organizations vision.4. Dedication to Their Particular RoleAt the end of the day particularly for senior folks no matter what you do, you must do your job, Ball says. I love people who are curious and who have a desire to contribute to the organization, but they also have to understand that in order for the organization to get anywhere, they have to own their responsibilities first.So, while flexibility is important, employees at startups must make sure they arent so flexible that they fail toperform the tasks their roles entail. Startup employees need to be able to juggle both the specific duties of their jobs and extracurricular demands of the startup itself.Ball will often ask candidates how they structure their typical work days in order to find out if they can handle the sometimes chaotic workflow of startup life.Im looking for folks who understand the 80/20 rule, Ball says.They need to focus on a few big things to advance the rock. Im looking for people who have a structure to think about how they to measure whether theirday is successful or not.If youre looking for a job at a startup, be prepared to demonstrate these key qualities to the companys leadership team. If you can do that, theres a good chance youll be able to prove that youre the person for the job.