The job market is brutal right now and the application process is draining. Trust me, it’s not just you feeling that way. It doesn’t help that you’re constantly bombarded with career advice from friends and family who just don’t understand. To top it all off, applying and interviewing at a startup is an entirely different ball game. I’m speaking from experience – not long ago, I was facing those same hurdles before finally landing my current role as a marketing associate here at En Verite AI. I have decided to compile a list of helpful tips that may help you navigate this difficult road.
- Stand Out
At 0-1 start ups, it’s most likely a human attempting to review hundreds of applications and, quite frankly, they can start to blend together at a certain point. Find something that you can add to your resume or cover letter that makes you stand out. It could be linking to a project you’re especially proud of or sending a short video introducing yourself to the hiring manager or just taking the time to craft an interesting story for your cover letter.
- Passion over experience
If the job is geared towards recent grads, you’re all in the same boat. Don’t try and pretend to be someone you’re not. You don’t have the experience of a CMO so don’t try and act like you do; it can come across as disingenuous. Instead, focus on the personality traits that are transferable to the position you desire. Are you relentless? Adaptable? Do you have the grit and perseverance to fully own this role?
- Fully read the job description
This may sound like advice that your middle school teacher gives you before assigning your next chapter of The Great Gatsby, but hear me out. You’d be shocked by how many people don’t actually fully read the job description for the role they want. Out of the 800 candidates that applied for this role, only six actually sent the video unprompted!
- Ditch the sales pitch
Keep in mind our first bullet, ‘Try and Stand Out’, that becomes impossible if you’re just regurgitating the same responses you found in that ‘Here’s the best way to answer what’s your greatest weakness’ TikTok video, because guess what… so is every other candidate! At a 0-1 startup especially, the hiring manager is looking to get to know you specifically as a person, not the version of you pretending to be a perfect candidate.
- Prioritize authenticity
In a 0-1 startup setting, you are going to be working extremely closely with each member of the team, they want to know you personally. Use this as an opportunity to share your passions and interests and how they lend themselves to the role you’re applying for. Hiring managers can tell when someone is trying to put on a front versus being themselves.
- Send a Thank You email
This is perhaps one of the most important pieces of advice I can give. Following up with a simple thank you email is becoming less common; which means doing it immediately separates you from the rest of the pack. It’s simple. It’s easy. It’s effective.
Before I lose you to the next #jobadvice post, let me say that you shouldn’t be afraid to admit when you don’t know something. If you’re a recent graduate, odds are that you’re not going to know A LOT, in fact, you probably won’t know most things; embrace this. During my interview, I was honest about the fact that I wasn’t as familiar with some concepts as perhaps other candidates are, BUT what differentiated me is that I followed that up with how I familiarized myself with the industry. I described how I used the resources available to me to learn as much as possible before my first interview. It was this innate desire to learn that ended up really separating me from the other candidates and led to my job offer! At the end of the day, there are a million pieces of advice out there and what works for one, doesn’t work for all.
