Remote onboarding and remote working is no new concept. Nor is escaping the corporate world and the 9-5, to work for a tech startup. It’s just for many a career professional, grad or C-level exec, COVID-19 may well have accelerated many of us into thinking that there’s more to life than...the hard graft of corporate life.
BUT, is a career in the tech startup sector for you? In leaving corporate life to work for a startup, there are many key considerations to make - many of which we have listed here for your convenience. And then, having considered these, if the answer is still “yes”, we’ve passed on a few handy tips to help you too (‘cause we are good like that!).
The grass is always greener?
Thrown off the hamster-wheel-of-life due to the global pandemic, we've all had the time to ponder and reflect. Some common realisations seem to be appearing. Those early starts, that late-night train journey home, those daily face-to-face long meetings and reviewing of targets, the suits and smart clothes, don’t seem to be as appealing as they once were in the old days to some of us (the old days of 4 months ago!).
We’ve had time to then consider if this is the new normal we actually want to return to, and some of us start to look at the alternatives.
Return to education, take a year out, start one’s own business, work for a tech startup - they are all viable and worthy options. However, there are potential benefits and disadvantages to all, and it is important to understand that just because you are considering a change, it might not be the right change for you.
Since TableCrowd Talent is focused on recruiting for tech startups and scaleups, we are focusing on...leaving corporate life to work for a startup.
Are you solving the wrong problem?
It might just be that you have realised you dislike your current role. It might just be that you dislike the current lifestyle you have, due to your current career. It might be that you want to make more of a personal difference, to make a social impact and even to feel that you are somehow helping to change the world!
But first, before you totally jump ship, make sure to isolate what the actual issue is. Could your current problems be solved simply by changing jobs in an existing company, making some changes to your routine so you can work more remotely from home (and still feel part of the team), or even by speaking to HR and perhaps even changing the actual hours you work? After you’ve confirmed that the issues are more than just cosmetic, and you’re still keen to work for a startup, you might need to evaluate how much you know about the realities of working for a startup!
Can your existing network help?
Your dream job maybe just a dream. Or, it may well be that your aspirations can be met and exceeded, by finding a job working for an exciting and scaling tech startup.
One way to gain first-hand knowledge of both the startup sector and your target job role is to speak to any current business contact who works for a tech startup or has made that transition from corporate to startup world. Research as much as possible into the working culture, the skills required and the type of personality traits you need to have,
Reach out to your existing network, perhaps via your LinkedIn profile and talk to people who’ve made the transition from the corporate world to the startup sector. Chat over why they left their corporate job, how the transition went and how the startup sector differs, both for better and for worse. Try to understand if a career at a startup might just be a marriage of convenience or of long-term passion!
Once you’re sure the solution is a startup…
Understand that when on an interview it will be good to be able to talk at least generally about the startup ecosystem. Build up your awareness of the startup world, follow the likes of Tech Nation, Sifted.eu, Huckletree, Techhub London, Startacus, and other really relevant platforms, communities and spaces.
Start to learn who the key investors are, the challenges facing startup businesses both currently and historically and try to understand where your skills and experience best fit. Even your hobbies and interests might hold some sway in terms of finding the best company fit for you.
That corporate veneer that you’ve worn and carried on your shoulders for x number of years, may be able to be replaced by a more honest, version of yourself. In the startup world, less veneer and a more real, but still professional and polite, version of yourself can exist.
Understand that your attitudes may need to shift
Startup world is different and it is important that you understand that. The layers that exist between graduate jobs, middle management and senior-level roles may still be there, but the hierarchy that exists in the corporate world is generally replaced by a more holistic and collective team spirit and environment. After all, you are all in it together to change the world in some way! Understand that you will need to be much more hands-on, will not be able to rely on others and tech support and that you may be there to create that company structure, not be part of an existing structure that exists.
It might not be a straight career transition
Known as corporate refugees, they roam the great outdoors of EC1 looking for a high-powered, more socially kind tech startup, who does Yoga on a Tuesday and takes Fridays as a half-day.
That might be your vision of the startup world, but in reality, it is still very much hard work. Be prepared that someone with perhaps less corporate experience, but with a more hands-on startup portfolio, could even trump you in being employable.
Show potential employers that you understand the value of specific startup experience - perhaps take a short term contract role to start, or even volunteer for a few weeks (if currently in between jobs) to gain relevant knowledge. Show that you are serious about a career within the startup sector and you will be embraced and championed within no time. Offer lip service to your understanding of the sector, and you may learn that your escape from the corporate world is a quick reality check and one that you cannot perhaps hack.
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Who we are
Offering personalised, consultative service, at TableCrowd Talent we’re a specialist recruitment agency with our finger on the pulse of the startup and scaleup scene. We are committed to matching graduates, professionals and C-level executives to exciting startup and scaleup jobs across London, the UK and Europe.
