So you’ve decided you’d like to work for a startup – fab! It’s such an exciting and dynamic space, with so many incredible enterprises going on to get stuck into. But take a breath before you jump in. Some people go into their job search with intensely-focussed criteria and salary expectations that will never be satisfied – whilst some people wade into the startup job market underprepared and ill-equipped. Either approach has its pitfalls; either one could result in a prolonged search full of anxiety and fatigue. What you really need to do is try to find a middle ground (easier said than done, we know). Before you start finding your perfect match in the startup industry, there’s a few core things you need to think about…
1. Why are you leaving your job?
The first thing to do is really interrogate why you want to leave your current role, whether you’re currently with a startup/scaleup or not. Compared to say 50 years ago, when people typically picked one career and stayed there until they retired, the job market is now extremely fluid with workers constantly migrating. Statista found that approximately 3.1 percent of people employed in the UK moved from one job to another in the third quarter of 2022, which was one of the highest job-to-job moving rate recorded in this time period. In short, the current workforce is much more likely to switch roles, and much more frequently.
But it’s important to not be swept up in market trends, and really examine the reason you want to leave before rushing into a decision. Whatever the issue is, have you addressed it with your current leadership? If you’re eager to progress and can’t see a clear route, is this something that could be clarified for you? Are you being too hasty, and will regret your decision once it’s too late? Once you establish you are supported by all the right reasoning, then it’s time to turn to the nitty gritty.
2. Salary expectations
So you’re 100% sure you’re ready to leave your current role and try out the startup world. The next step might be to think about your salary expectations. Unfortunately, it’s not quite good enough to have just one figure in mind – realistically, you have to be flexible with your range, especially with startups who could be anywhere from the pre-seed funding stage to Series C. You need to have a scaled measure of what will suit you. For instance, for your absolute dream role, which fulfils your purpose and hits every criteria you may have, would you be willing to accept a slighter lower figure? For a job that’s good but doesn’t quite tick every box, how much of a higher figure would you want?
3. Remote versus office
This debate’s been raging since COVID-19, and doesn’t look likely to let up anytime soon. The recent economic trends, especially in terms of the tech industry, mean that some executives are keen to enforce a return to the office. Before you jump into bed with a startup company, you need to think carefully about what you want in terms of your remote/office working split.
Many companies have now adopted a hybrid model, which seems to have significant benefits – but also with many startups, where it can often be an all-hands-on-deck situation, there may be a heavier skew towards office working in the beginning. In short, there’s a really broad spectrum in the market, and you need to figure out where on this scale you’d like to sit.
Would an exclusively office-based role be an immediate no?
Do you need one day a week at home – or two, or three, maybe four?
What is non-negotiable to you?
4. Industry/role
This is kind of the big one, so there’s a million questions to be answered around this. And unfortunately we can’t answer them for you, so you need to do a little soul-searching to figure out what path is going to suit you best – but these questions are a good place to start.
- Do you want to stay in a similar role to the one you’re in now, just with a better company?
- Or do you actually really like the company you’re in now, but want a completely new role they can’t offer you?
- Do you want opportunities to progress ASAP, or are you not as fussed on chasing promotions whilst you establish what basic job responsibilities suit you right now?
- Would you be better suited in a similar role but within a different industry that offers more rewards and interest?
5. Benefits
Many companies are offering competitive benefits at the minute but as we’ve said many a time, it’s important to use a critical eye when evaluating these. For instance, a ping pong table is nice but having mental health first aiders in the office is going to tangibly support your health and wellbeing a lot more. We all love a beer fridge, but having a tailored platform like Heka with funding for wellbeing incentives such as therapy, medical provisions or meal delivery is better.
Decide what work benefits are important for you, what you want as a baseline and look for these things from the start to make things easier for yourself down the line. It’s important to also bear in mind that early-stage startups are less likely to have these provisions available; what you need to do is weigh up whether you’re willing to invest in them early on and trust that later on these benefits will materialise as the company grows.
6. Check your current notice period
This may seem like an obvious one – but you’d be surprised how many people get to the point of interviewing, even job offers, and then realise they’re not 100% sure what their current notice period actually is. Check your contract, and be sure of this from the very start. Especially in the startup world, where things are extremely fast-moving, you want this information to hand to expedite the process and to show proactivity. If you’re coming in hot on your ideal job, and aren’t ready to answer the question ‘how soon can you start?’ you’re going to kick yourself.
This really isn’t an exhaustive list; but if you’ve taken some time to nail down these things before starting your job search, you’ll be in a pretty good position. If you’re actively on the hunt right now, head to our Jobs Board to look at our current opportunities, or give us a call on 0117 428 0600.