Below we have an FAQ resource from Austin at ClickMechanic who's sharing his experiences and thoughts on how to successfully gain a position with a start-up.
How do start-ups hire people?
The entire life of a start-up involves shifting products and evolving processes as different parts of the business tug at different ends. An environment like this is constantly changing, and demands that employees are similarly flexible and can adapt quickly to fresh challenges. Not everyone can handle this pressure or learn new skills quickly, which makes it difficult to find the right candidates. At ClickMechanic, we have four rounds of our interview process:
- Email screening questions
- Phone interviews
- In person assessment centre with other candidates
- Final trials and interviews
Each step is vital to finding the right candidate and exposing the candidates to how we work. Implementing real world examples in our tests help applicants to see how they would engage as part of the company, and get started a lot faster once they start. This is important as startups will not usually have ‘grace’ periods that will slowly ease you into the businesses; you should expect to get working as soon as you start and learn very quickly by doing. This lack of internal resource also extends to putting opportunities out there, so be sure to look at start-up job boards, like WorkinStartups.com.
What do we look for in applicants?
You must be self motivated to learn and develop yourself. By learning new skills quickly, you can tackle the start-up experience of constant evolution. A role may start as one thing, such as being part of the development team just coding, but will also encompass other traditional tech roles such as product management and tech support, which both require different softer skills than just learning a new coding language. This shifting role gives you a broad range of experience that you wouldn’t find in a similar corporate position. Your core role is bolstered by a greater share of independence, with start-ups trusting you to manage your time effectively and allocate tasks. This is why being self motivated is vital to being part of a start-up.
What do you think is the most crucial part of the process?
The phone interview: an underprepared and often forgotten important step in screening candidates. The first impression you give over the phone is crucial to getting an interview place. You should be demonstrating your interest in the company and act professionally right from the start. Answering the call with ‘who is this?’ or ‘what does your company do?’ is a certain way to get you no further. You are given notice of when the call will take place and can suitably prepare, even sticking up notes all around you, even if it is a video call. Your notes should guide you through conversations about your CV, the role, the company, and, crucially, the post-interview questions. These should flow from the interview so far, but making them personal to the interviewer is vital to showing your interest in working for the company, demonstrating you are keen to find out more about the culture and if it would fit you.
What makes an interviewee stand out?
The most desirable thing we see from candidates is preparation. This doesn’t mean showing up to the interview in a sharp suit, as many start-ups are far more casual than that. It means showing you have an interest in the company and opportunity, good signals that the applicant is putting in effort to scope out a position rather than simply throwing their CV into the hat. You would be surprised at the amount of applicants that don’t even visit the website of a company they apply for. Going further than just basic research, you can dig into their history, press releases, and their market. This will set you out from a lot of other candidates as you will have far greater background knowledge to play with during interviews. To go even further beyond, you can contact current or former employees via Linkedin or Twitter to find out more about how the company works internally and make sure you’d be a good fit.
What key piece of advice would you give to applicants?
When finding a role at a company, you should try to factor in the company culture and work ethic above the name, position, or even salary. Hard work is generally expected at start-ups. It is vital that you find out as much as you can about your workplace, with the interview process being the perfect opportunity to dig deeper into a company while they do the same with you.
If you would like to know more about any aspect of start-ups or ClickMechanic then feel free to visit our website.