4 ms·

A hacker friend asked me a while ago how to find a job with a startup, and it bothers me that I've never been able to give him a satisfactory answer. I wanted

by dfranke 20y ago

A hacker friend asked me a while ago how to find a job with a startup, and it bothers me that I've never been able to give him a satisfactory answer. I wanted to respond "through friends" but that's not very helpful to someone who isn't as well-connected, which he isn't because he made the mistake of taking a mind-numbing job when he left college and losing touch with his classmates. Startups don't often hire recruiters, and most of the "startup" job ads on the internet job boards seem to be either a) established companies claiming to be startups in order to sound trendy, or b) Ponzi schemes. So what's left?

adamsmith 20y ago
Howdy, The good news is that startups are actively looking for good hackers. Investors are also looking too, since that's one way they can really help their companies. So he can find cool startups and email them, or find cool investors (like YC) and work from higher up in the stream. My startup, Xobni, is very actively looking for great hackers. We are YC alumni and recently raised a series A financing from Khosla Ventures. We're still a small team, too, so all of the benefits of working for a startup are in full force here. You can email jobs foo at xobni dot com (remove foo)! Adam
brett 20y ago
Email them!
- brett 20y ago
  Seriously though. If you're a good hacker then other good hackers and entrepreneurs want to talk to you. Find an in. Sell yourself. Figure out a way to get a conversation. Start with startups likely to be using technologies you know. It does not need to lead immediately to a job, just get the ball rolling. Founders know other startup founders. It definitely helps if you're genuinely interested in startups and what they're doing and look forward to talking to good hackers yourself.
felipe 20y ago
I'd recommend your friend to attend to as many start-up events as possible. First, many start-ups use such events to recruit. Second, he may be able to find a matching partner looking for his expertise. WorkIt.com is an excellent resource if your friend is in Bay Area. Another idea is to tell your friend to provide contracting services for start-ups. That way, he/she can test-drive the company while making a few bucks on the side.
dpapathanasiou 20y ago
Find VCs and ask which of their portfolio companies are hiring -- VCs are actually quite approachable if you're not trying to get them to fund your company! So go to tech meetups, web conferences, etc. or network through friends and alumni. Another way: most of the "cutting edge" startup blogs (37signals, GigaOm, Venture Beat, etc.) have job listings that you can subscribe to by RSS. One tracker at SeekSift -- http://www.seeksift.com/xml/BE9a28987F/rss.xml http://www.seeksift.com/xml/BE9a28987F/rss.xml -- is using most of those sources for its results, so you could subscribe to it, or create your own. (Disclaimer: my own startup is behind SeekSift.com)
Sam_Odio 20y ago
Many VCs actually post their portfolio's job openings on their website: - Sequoia: http://www.hireloop.com/sequoia%2Denterprise/careers/portfolio_careers_home.asp?fnc=comp http://www.hireloop.com/sequoia%2Denterprise/careers/portfolio_careers_home.asp?fnc=comp - Kleiner Perkins: http://www.hireloop.com/kpcb/careers/portfolio_careers_home.asp http://www.hireloop.com/kpcb/careers/portfolio_careers_home.asp - First Round: http://www.firstround.com/openings.html http://www.firstround.com/openings.html You might want to try to find a list of reputable VCs and google their websites for any job portfolios.
- Sam_Odio 20y ago
  Also, I was able to find my job this summer by just checking out the websites of startups I'd want to work for. The first thing most startups do when trying to hire is post job descriptions on their site.
menloparkbum 20y ago
Startups don't often hire recruiters, This is not true. Usually one of the first people brought in after a series-A round of financing is some sort of VP-level manager whose job is to find other people to hire. This VP often was a recruiter, or hiring manager at some point, and usually hires some sort of recruiter to help him or her find people.

by dfranke 20y ago

adamsmith 20y ago

Howdy, The good news is that startups are actively looking for good hackers. Investors are also looking too, since that's one way they can really help their companies. So he can find cool startups and email them, or find cool investors (like YC) and work from higher up in the stream. My startup, Xobni, is very actively looking for great hackers. We are YC alumni and recently raised a series A financing from Khosla Ventures. We're still a small team, too, so all of the benefits of working for a startup are in full force here. You can email jobs foo at xobni dot com (remove foo)! Adam

brett 20y ago

Email them!

brett 20y ago
Seriously though. If you're a good hacker then other good hackers and entrepreneurs want to talk to you. Find an in. Sell yourself. Figure out a way to get a conversation. Start with startups likely to be using technologies you know. It does not need to lead immediately to a job, just get the ball rolling. Founders know other startup founders. It definitely helps if you're genuinely interested in startups and what they're doing and look forward to talking to good hackers yourself.

felipe 20y ago

I'd recommend your friend to attend to as many start-up events as possible. First, many start-ups use such events to recruit. Second, he may be able to find a matching partner looking for his expertise. WorkIt.com is an excellent resource if your friend is in Bay Area. Another idea is to tell your friend to provide contracting services for start-ups. That way, he/she can test-drive the company while making a few bucks on the side.

dpapathanasiou 20y ago

Find VCs and ask which of their portfolio companies are hiring -- VCs are actually quite approachable if you're not trying to get them to fund your company! So go to tech meetups, web conferences, etc. or network through friends and alumni. Another way: most of the "cutting edge" startup blogs (37signals, GigaOm, Venture Beat, etc.) have job listings that you can subscribe to by RSS. One tracker at SeekSift -- http://www.seeksift.com/xml/BE9a28987F/rss.xml http://www.seeksift.com/xml/BE9a28987F/rss.xml -- is using most of those sources for its results, so you could subscribe to it, or create your own. (Disclaimer: my own startup is behind SeekSift.com)

Sam_Odio 20y ago

Many VCs actually post their portfolio's job openings on their website: - Sequoia: http://www.hireloop.com/sequoia%2Denterprise/careers/portfolio_careers_home.asp?fnc=comp http://www.hireloop.com/sequoia%2Denterprise/careers/portfolio_careers_home.asp?fnc=comp - Kleiner Perkins: http://www.hireloop.com/kpcb/careers/portfolio_careers_home.asp http://www.hireloop.com/kpcb/careers/portfolio_careers_home.asp - First Round: http://www.firstround.com/openings.html http://www.firstround.com/openings.html You might want to try to find a list of reputable VCs and google their websites for any job portfolios.

Sam_Odio 20y ago
Also, I was able to find my job this summer by just checking out the websites of startups I'd want to work for. The first thing most startups do when trying to hire is post job descriptions on their site.

menloparkbum 20y ago

Startups don't often hire recruiters, This is not true. Usually one of the first people brought in after a series-A round of financing is some sort of VP-level manager whose job is to find other people to hire. This VP often was a recruiter, or hiring manager at some point, and usually hires some sort of recruiter to help him or her find people.