Working in a startup is nothing short of an adventure or rather a survivor game. You have all these factors weighing on your mind, in spite of which you must ponder on and emerge the winner, a man on the top of the world. Yep, it feels good to work at Startups.
Here are the skills you would need to thrive at your job.
1. You Must Love to Learn New Things – This attitude of treating every task as a learning opportunity is as critical in any aspect of life as it is in a startup. Be helpful and be prepared to assist the founders on any level as needed. This will truly make you an asset to the company.
2. Be Proactive – When you are working at a startup being proactive helps a lot. The company needs to get the maximum done with very, very limited resources and naturally, everyone is busy with his own tasks. The last thing that one needs is a person who needs to be told what is to be done time after time. Being proactive is a highly prized virtue in these circumstances especially when it comes to communications. The goal is to keep the company moving forward keep that in mind.
3. Show Tenacity – Determination makes you go a long way when you are working in a startup. You need to blast forward at warp speed till the job is done. Startups have their share of “No”’s and they value a person who does not stop till he or she gets a thumping “yes”.
4. Be Easily Trained – In companies experiencing fast growth or those with a business model that changes periodically the stress is on hiring people who can be trained with relative ease. People who are reluctant to be trained just does not fit in the startup scheme of things. When given the choice, an employer is a lot likelier to opt for a person who is easy to train than someone who is not.
5. The Way With the Written Word – When you are working at a startup you will have to don many hats and your way with the written word really counts. It really matters when you are communicating both internally as well as externally and from emails to presentations writing is indeed an utmostly needed skill in the startup world and one that often determines its success or failure.
6. Cultivate a Positive Attitude – When a person is part of the routine, his attitude permeates the air and influences all those around him especially so in the tight working spaces of startups. Positive people are not only better team players but are also far more likely to overcome challenges.
7. Learn To Code – Even for profiles that do not require technical expertise, knowing coding is a huge plus. It is a good skill to have as you are able to better communicate when you have to deal with subjects having technical nuances. It gives you that extra edge in today’s IT-centric world.
8. Solve Problems – Solving problems is the very essence of what a startup is all about, many believe. A person wishing to land jobs at startups just has to develop the ability to assimilate information, analyze the same and come up with solutions swiftly. A person who has good problem-solving skills is an asset to startups and the person who is the master of such a skill will rarely have problems of his own when it comes to his employability.
9. Keep At It! – Being at a startup is akin to a roller coaster ride with a series of highs and lows. You just have to keep at it and show perseverance at the next low in order to proceed to the subsequent high. You will surely go there when you show perseverance with improving your efforts constantly.
10. Be Consistent – At startups, there are always high amounts of pressure irrespective of whether the startup is experiencing a high or a low. The key to withstanding such upheavals in circumstances lies in being consistent and not get lazy when things are running fine or give up when things take a turn for the worse. The trick to surviving is to be consistent.
