We got a question via email the other day and since I was just at a Crowdsourcing event, I thought I would ask for your wisdom while adding in some of my thoughts as well.

Here’s the question (slightly reworded):

“I graduated from university about a year ago with a non-technical degree in finance and economics.  I’ve been working in a large corporate environment since then but I feel like I would excel in a more creative and entrepreneurial setting (which is why I’m poking around in your neighborhood).  The issue here is that my skills aren’t exactly tailored for this sort of thing.  I’m by no means “proficient” in all the web languages (Ruby on Rails, PHP, AJAX, etc), but I have some skills in the various Adobe products.

I guess what I’m trying to get at is, how should I try to handle this?  I have to skip over so many opportunities/companies because they are usually looking for developers or programmers or whatever with 2-10+ years of experience.  Startups are generally so strapped for cash that they can’t always hire an “Assistant” or anything like that.  So what’s the best angle to play to sell myself and get my foot in the door?”

 So what advice do the crowds have for our anonymous friend?

Some initial thoughts come to mind:
1) Geography is important: Not being located in or near an area that has a concentration of startups (Bay Area, New York, etc) is challenging.  Since our friend here is not in one of these areas, the question really becomes a) are you willing to move and if not b) what kind of jobs, if any, are available on a work at home basis that startups might entertain?

2)  Networking is more important: We’re a job board.  We like when people post jobs and resumes.  Keep at it. Please.  But we also know that networking is how deals get done, jobs are found and relationships are formed.  Perhaps this should really be labeled “Relationships are key” which is really what networking is all about…Building relationships.  If building relationships is key, then one of the best ways to do that is to go to as many networking events in your city as you can, which brings up the geographical challenge again.  I usually check www.meetup.com whenever I’m headed to a different city so see what’s going on.
At some level, relationship building can also be done online (obviously).  I personally use Linkedin, Plaxo and on an increasingly frequent basis Facebook, though I’ve found that this is most effective if there is a face to face meetup at some point.

3) My final thought is this:  All skills are relevant. We’re not all technically skilled (I’m definitely  not).  It’s true that we see mostly technical job postings on Startupers and that the gurus and rockstars of RoR, PHP et al are hard to find these days.  Most of the founders I’ve talked to understand that the best engineered product in the world isn’t going to sell itself without the help of sales and marketing (ok, maybe it might sell itself at some level but you get my point).  Startups have just as a great a need for financial controls as large corporations do.  Perhaps these aren’t CFO or CMO level roles but our friend here is looking for entry level, non-technical roles in startups.

I’ve worked for startups as well as Fortune 500 companies and I’ve found the following to be true everywhere I go:

• Cash is always tight.  The numbers may be bigger when you’re VC funded or a publicly traded company but cash is always tight.
• You can never have enough good engineers around.
• There’s never enough time or money to get every feature you want built by the deadline.
• Alpha’s and Beta’s will always have quirky little bugs (isn’t that the point??).
• Really good marketeers and salespeople can sell a mediocre product to most people.   Bad marketeers and salespeople can kill a really great product fairly quickly.  Great marketeers and salespeople can take a great product, sell it to almost anyone AND build lasting customer relationships that are the foundation for company growth.
• And customers will always ask for more.

As to the question “Why aren’t we seeing more startup job postings for these non-technical roles?”  I’ll leave that answer to you.

And how can our friend find a job in a startup?

My advice:  Figure out what valuable skills you can bring to a startup.  Find an area that has a thriving startup community, take a week or 2 of vacation, go check it out, network online and offline like a madman and then, if you like the area and think there are opportunities there for you, jump into the deep end and move there.  You can always go home if it doesn’t work out and you can always find that boring corporate job.  You’re young.  Take a chance and enjoy the ride! *See Disclaimer

So now is your chance to add your comments and help our friend find a job that doesn’t suck (aka corporate cube life).

-Devin

*****Disclaimer*****
This advice should be taken with a grain of salt.  Any actions should be taken having understood the risks involved in selling everything you own, packing your car, moving to San Francisco, maxing out your credit cards and trying to make it as an entrepreneur.  I’m sure you’re as smart at Larry and Sergey but know that startups fail or go bankrupt leaving you unemployed and seeking your fortune as a ski and snowboard instructor in Tahoe for a season or two.  And finally, Startupers assumes no liability for any bad choices you make regarding geography, employment or significant others.
*****End Disclaimer*****

Sometimes I think we get caught up in our startups and forget to look back and reflect on our previous jobs. Do you remember your first job? No, I don’t necessarily mean that first job out of college but the one before that. Were you ever a pizza delivery driver? Did you flip burgers at McD’s?

Do you remember what it was like to be 16 and looking for a job to save up for a car or college or just have beer money. (For those of you in the US….like you didn’t drink at 16…yeah right).

Well I received an email today complimenting Startupers! but also telling me about a site targeted at those people looking for that first job!

Here’s the email and if you know anyone looking for that first job, tell them to check out our site as well as these folks:

“I stumbled upon your site and wanted to tell you that I thought it looked great and it’s a neat idea. As the CEO of my own HR startup, I can appreciate where you’re coming from. I run Myfirstpaycheck.com, a job-posting site for young adults. Along with job and volunteer opportunities, Myfirstpaycheck.com provides advice and resources to help young people have a more successful job application process. Myfirstpaycheck.com is also a valuable resource for companies searching for an online outlet to hire temporary, seasonal and part-time employees….”

Check them out!
Devin
CEO - Startupers!