I am a '21 graduate from a Tier 1 college (old IIT) and have had short stints as product manager at a couple of startups. About a year back, I decided to startup but after a few months, realized that startup idea wasn't worth pursuing.
Researched around a few startup ideas and finally landed upon a good one in D2C space. But the problem is financing. I don't have much saving and friends / family network wouldn't be able to finance this. I really want to pursue this idea but finance is becoming a hindrance.
So started looking for job opportunities about 3 months back. I have been exploring work opportunities in product / founder office / EIR roles or other generalist role.
Job hunt process has been frustrating to say the least. Getting very few calls. In most cases, people are ghosting after couple of rounds of interview or assignment. In some cases, after getting through 2-3 rounds, I got to know that opening has been closed temporarily. Most HRs don't even have the decency to give feedback.
I don't intend to work in job for long anyway. As soon as I have the job, I plan to start working on my business idea and quit as soon as I have enough financial leeway.
How should I go about job hunt process? I have been trying to connect with folks on LinkedIn in whose company job openings are there. Apart from this, I have been connecting with founders from recently funded startups. Naukri / Instahyre and IIM Jobs are other portals I have been looking on. Anything I should do differently here?
Looking forward to hearing your suggestions / experience.
Just a advice:
Never do the assignment for any company.This company will ghost you every time after the assignment or will offer lower pay / lower position.
Companies just try to get ideas via the assignment
While this is a sad reality, however its not always true. In my last 2 companies, I worked on assignment rounds. I wouldn’t have worked in these orgs and progressed ahead in my career if I refused them. That being said - do some companies do this as a bad practice? Yes. But not all. Moreover, I have also refused assignments that were either too long or just sent over email without any previous rounds.
Evaluate basis the situation whether the scope of assignment is justified and then make a decision. Don’t pass up on great opportunity just because of assignment esp when you’re entry-level. Almost all big techs / mid size / even startups do assignments- Google, Amazon- if you’re in an IC role.
Do we want this practice of free work to go away- absolutely! But until then we have to make do with what we have.
I am in the product domain. I agree this might be relevant in developer role or design role.
But in product role judging on basis of assignment doesn’t make sense. I cleared 3 rounds of interview but after assignment they said we can’t offer. This has happened multiple times with other people in product roles
Explain your idea. What it actually solves. If I like the idea, I help you with the financing problem
Please share your telegram ID. We can connect there.
Post it here. More of us could help. Don't be shy. And don't think sOmEOnE wIlL sTeAl iT. Ideas are pretty useless without execution.
Best is referral of your batchmates this works like a charm.
IIT grad have referred/got referred multiple times and I see folks around who got hired through referral.
Note referral does not guarantee selection, but it eliminate 1-2 rounds and if the management has two decide between to potentially equal candidates they will choose the one via referral
How do you approach folks for referral? Is it to identify the companies that are currently hiring and look for people of my college?
Asking because alumni / batchmates generally don't respond if we don't know each other personally.
I did it for Meta and got referred (the application is still in process but receiving a referral at Meta is huge for me as well)
Look for the perfect match position (where you believe you can do it)
Tailored your resume around it mentioned keywords from JD. Make sure to include achievements as in numbers.
Look for the people from the company
If you find someone who is near your potential position they will surely consider it.
After accepting requests send everything in one go. Don’t wait for a hi-hello response.
1st say thanks for adding you as a connection
Request to refer you share link and code
Share your little intro and why you think you’re suitable for the role.
Regards and all.
A few tips don’t send your resume in the same msg and don’t share your email id as well. Few people don’t bother to respond the right one will ask your resume.
Do this with at least 15 people you might find that 1 person. Bonus tip: always write their 1st name after hello and add sir maam as per the seniority. Good luck to you!!
Most of the people have given valid suggestions.
Few tips from my side-
Don’t restrict yourself to specific role when applying if you are desperate for job. You are sure to not get selected where you don’t apply. But you have a chance to get selected if you apply. Hell my friends when searching for job applied to even sports teams for IT profile
Keep a target everyday of number applications (let’s say 10 ). This is controversial, but may motivate some in putting that extra effort in finding open positions.
See if you can connect with some recruiters . Most of my job changes have been through referral or job consultants/ recruiters.
And may be avoid putting “open to work” on LinkedIn profile (again a controversial opinion)
If you can go to some meet-ups ( alumni meet, shared interest group meets) do go for connecting. Avoid pushing very hard in these mixers for a job. Try to have a genuine conversation, might help get connected. One of my colleagues befriended a guy in bar , had a blast. At the end of the night, realised the guy was department head in a famous company. Sent him resume, got an interview call 😀
Thanks a lot for your detailed answer. Really appreciate it. If you don't mind, I am messaging you on grapevine DM.
Any smart way of job search? I am just keep applying on LinkedIn, naukri
Fwiw, the TA folks in my company filter out profiles from IITs and IIMs as they don't stay in the role for more than a year.
Product managers roles are pretty low in supply from last 2 months try for analytics/engineering roles it will give u breathe for some time
Agree. I am also open to founder's office / EIR Or other generalist roles. As I think it would map well with my startup experience. I don't have data / engineering skill set nor they map with my experience so jobs will be difficult to come by.
@ActualTrait what you think about this?
Your last third paragraph is probably why you are not able to land an opportunity. Reflect if this is obvious through your answers in the interview.
And the bar is really high right now considering the demand supply gap. You didn't stay long in any stint and it takes about 6 months to start delivering good value in any new org, even for exp folks. So try to identify the impact you made and tailor your answers accordingly.
It's not just about pedigree and the names/roles/salaries of the past companies these days.
Lastly, you'll do better in taking off and sustaining that startup if you gain some experience first. So working for a few years might not be a bad idea.
All the best!
Thanks for your feedback. I am mindful not to talk about my business aspirations in interview answers. With short stints, it's difficult to showcase tangible impact of work. If it's fine, can we connect on DM for further discussion.
Sure, I am not an SDE though, but can help with any generic stuff.
Financing isn't really that difficult if you have the right idea and GTM plan with relevant experience. How much are you looking for?
Yes I agree. Problem is with my work experience, people won't fund it in idea stage. Investors would want to see meaningful traction before funding considering the competition for funding nowadays.
Btw, what type of financing are you referring to?
Financing doesn't necessarily mean investors, can also be loans, grants etc.
If it's less than 20-30 lakhs, it won't be that difficult to arrange. More than that would be harder.
You are from an established IIT and you must be having a great network. Reach out to your batchmates who might be working firms. Applying on LinkedIn or through recruitment agencies hardly works.
The problem is people (batchmates / alumni) generally don't reply if I don't know them personally. I am sort of introvert so don't know many people personally.
This is the method I followed before. Check for the job openings in desired role and see if batchmates are working there and reach out to them.
Should I start reaching out randomly even if relevant openings are not there?
@Googlee , there are still two categories of your batchmates who are more likely to reply - your wingmates in your hostel and your coursemates. Create a list and contact each and every one. Do have this in mind that people are busy with their own lives and might take time to reply.
Welcome to the real world
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