How to Handle a Job Interview With a Start-Up Company
To lend some excitement to your job search, interview with start-up companies, which have become more numerous over the past decade with the technology revolution. Follow these steps to improve your interview skills.
Instructions
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Ready Your Campaign
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Interview with confidence and learn all that is available to the public. Most start-up companies offer information online that is pertinent to their daily business. Obtain this knowledge, and your candidacy will gain points.
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2
Budget two hours for research with specific goals: Learn the names of the company's founders. Write out questions to ask about these people specifically. Learn where the company's market share is.
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Learn as much about the core business as you can and shape questions around that information. Without presenting yourself as a know-it-all, indicate that you've taken a strong interest in the company. Few things are more impressive to a potential employer.
Score Points in Person
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Keep your focus on the future when you interview with a start-up company. A start-up has been around for less than a decade, which is young for a successful company. Think of yourself in a 5-year forecast.
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Ask about the company's financial situation, present and future. Start-ups are known for volatility: some are loose with cash at the wrong times, and others generate immense profits. Careful research and questioning will provide answers.
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Arrive at your job interview early to observe the daily workings of the company. Wear business casual attire and prepare to commit to not an 8-hour workday but whatever it takes. Working 12- to 20-hour days is not uncommon with start-up companies, but they sometimes offer unmatchable perks.
Make Your Impression Last
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Secure your image. Start-up companies may appear informal, but they are about business in the most serious way. Your job interview should be as professional as you can make it.
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Send a letter of thanks and continued interest after a good interview. Make them remember you as a person, and they'll hire you for your professionalism.
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Tips & Warnings
Start-up companies work on the cutting edge of various technologies. Employees are often extremely passionate about their developing business. You should share the same feeling--learn what it's about through careful Internet research.
Beware of financially unsound employers. Many have sought employment with start-up companies in the hope of an explosion of profit but were let down. Do some research with the Better Business Bureau and the Securities and Exchange Commission before accepting employment.
Stay away from interview topics involving religion, race, age or gender.
