Impress Me: 6 tips for applying at startups

I gave a brief talk at Zoosk’s Women’s Javascript Study Group tonight on how to apply for jobs at startups. I’ve hired 8 people in the last 15 months, and have reviewed countless resumes and interviewed dozens of candidates. I’m not an expert, but I wanted to share my tips on what to do (and not do) when applying for startups:

1. Write a sincere cover letter
   • Be yourself
   • Use casual language
   • Respond to the job description
   • Keep it short
2. Hiring managers make snap judgments
   • Consumable in 30 seconds
   • 3-5 bullet points at a time
   • DELETE until it’s 1 page
   • Error-free
3. Be honest
   • If you pad your resume, it will be a problem later
   • Be honest but constructive about shortcomings
4. Show that you care
   • Be clean and neat
   • Be polite
   • Don’t trash-talk anyone
5. Don’t try to blindly “win” the job
   • Is the job really for you?
   • Have questions for each interviewer
   • Imagine working with each person who interviews you
6. You will likely get rejections
   • There are lots of startup jobs
   • Ask for feedback
   • An imperfect job may be the right job right now

Best of luck in your job search! For more on any of this, you can contact me at bethbudwig at [most common email provider among people under 70].

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