Want to work for an Indian Startup? Here's how to go about it

Startups have become principle job creators in the country over the last 24 months. With thousands of new ones popping out every year, the best startups to work are the ones who are not famous yet. That means not many have heard about them. These are the ones that would offer an entry-level employee the maximum opportunity for growth, and the moment it raises Series C, it is as good as any corporate in terms of hierarchy.

A startup that has not raised funding yet is risky. As a fresher, bet on one that has JUST raised Series A. That’s the best balance between risk and growth opportunity. That way you’ll get to do a lot of things, and worst case scenario, if the startup shuts down, the unique skill-set you’ll garner will land you other opportunities in the ecosystem.

The big question is how to find options like that.

Complete Fresher's Guide:

Follow startup news portals for funding news. Go to events conducted by your local accelerators. Judge the founders, ask your mentors in College and write directly to one of the co-founders. LinkedIn or Facebook will do just fine. If you their numbers from a Journalist friend, even better! *wink* Call them directly, and make a case. No use going via the HR road. It’s typically slack, inefficient and not promising.

Register on job and internship sites. Create feeds for you that involve only startup jobs. Once you’re done applying online, mail the co-founders. Can’t stress this enough.

Now you have to get yourself selected. This is a tricky part. Understand what the company’s business model and market potential is. You might not have the required skills, but if you feel you can still get by and learn fast, that’s enough. In the mail mention that you’re an energetic young man/woman who’s hungry for growth who can own up when the situation demands it.

BI Tip: Any startup which has raised money recently will be hiring. New money is spent on new technology, advertising and human resource. There are no new ways to spend VC money.

Best of luck!

Experienced Candidate’s Guide:

If you have over 5 years of job experience behind you, you are not that afraid to play bigger bets. You also have the clarity about your career path, and maybe you’re already in a well-paying job. You want to aim higher. However, money is not the issue anymore.

Scout your network for people from elite colleges who you think are resourceful. Meet co-founders. Drop in hints that you are looking for high potential roles in up and coming startups.

Attend big startup media events across the country. Attend E-summits of Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IITB), Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur (IIT KGP) Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani and Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (IITD). Talk to the 5 startups that win these competitions and write to them directly. Put a message to the co-founders, and mention where exactly you think you’ll fit in best.

Judge the co-founders. A Quora post put it best, “Are they typical geeks who talk about 'cool' technologies but won't be able to make something commercial, are they proper 'B-Plan' kind of guys who talk big numbers but don't have the expertise or knowledge to build a good product and are basically looking for a 'CTO', are they socialists who want to do 'good for the society' and won't be able to make a sustainable business post the B-Plan competition, are they rich kids with awesome academic credentials and multiple pages of resume who are just looking for a way to crack Stanford or Harvard?”

BI Tip: Meet founders even if they are not hiring. These people know better about the market can can share insights like no other about emerging startups.

If your internal red signal doesn’t go off at any of these, go ahead, join them!

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