4 things I've learned from job seeking as a startup founder

1. Set your own value

For a long time, I was really struggling to find my own value in the job market. It was really difficult to compare myself to everyone else.

Whenever you work for yourself and your work is so varied, it's hard to put into context with someone who's worked in the same job for years and has specialized in that specific role.

How am I supposed to compete with these people who have done a very specific job for years while I've been doing a bit of everything?

Stop comparing yourself to others

A valuable lesson for me was to realize that I shouldn't compare myself to others who come from different backgrounds.

But rather, I know my own value and what I bring to the table. And I should value myself accordingly.

It's funny how whenever I've talked about this issue with someone else they're flabbergasted about how I can have impostor syndrome and how I can feel like I have little value to add in a workplace because of my background as an entrepreneur.

And to me, it's very difficult to fathom how I could be better at a role than a person who's been doing the exact same role for years.

Recognize your own value

We all have our own backgrounds, experiences, and thoughts. We have a set of skills, ideas, values, and philosophies. All of us have our own lessons, successes, and failures.

All of us are unique.

I've used tools like SWOT analysis, 16 personalities personality test, and vision and mission statements to recognize better where I can add value to a company.

Unfair advantage

In the startup world the term "unfair advantage" is often used to describe the concept that you have something that you're so good at, that you have an unfair advantage over other people because of it.

Here are some of mine:

Curiosity and endless thirst for learning

Whenever I think about why I'm good at a job, one of the things that come to mind is that I'm very, very interested in pursuing the mastery of whatever it is that I do.

I strive for improvement and it gives me a great deal of joy to learn about the latest & greatest related to the given job or role.

So whenever I think about that from an employer's perspective, what they would get from me is a person who's always up-to-date on the newest trends and developments and continuously learning and striving to improve so I can be the best in my own field.

Very deep understanding of human behavior

I've noticed that I'm very good at understanding people. Things like picking ques from other people in conversation about their needs, recognizing facial expressions, and having the ability to ask the right questions to direct people in the right direction.

I have a good understanding of people in large masses. Things like how group intelligence works, how communities interact with each other and what their impact is on your product or service, what is the real need of the customer, and the root cause of the problem that they want to solve.

I love to deep-dive into the human psyche and neuroscience behind the mechanisms of why we do what we do and what sort of physiological responses that invokes in our bodies.

Ability to be bold and think outside the box

Time and time again I've written about concepts like making mistakes, trying out new and interesting things, and the implications of failure.

Having the capability to take risks and think "go big or go home" is actually not that common. And the fact that it stems from authentic confidence instead of being brazenly bold and doing stupidly risky moves is a whole other story.

The ability to carry the risk and ramifications for your whole team is what allows the team to boldly make something extraordinary. Something where they are not limited by thoughts like "Is it ok to do this" or "What if it fails".

This allows the team to express themselves creatively with their full potential.

2. Most of your value don't fit in your CV

As I wrote above, each of us has an assortment of different skills and things we're good at. There are many great things that you can't necessarily fit in your CV that make you exceptional.

For example, let's say you have 2 candidates fighting for the same position as a project manager with similar experience and work history. Their resumes look almost identical.

The thing is, the other one spends his free time hanging out with friends in a bar, watching TV, and chasing after ladies.

While the other one reads related books, does a lot of internal reflecting, invests time in researching related topics in their spare time.

Now I don't mean to sound judgemental, because I'm really not. But I think we can agree that the second one has an edge over the first one when it comes to proficiency in the work.

Obviously, there is a multitude of factors that affect all this, but assuming they're otherwise on a similar level, which one would you hire?

This brings me back to my initial point. While having a great CV with lots of experience is great, it still doesn't convey the most important things about you as a person.

Focus on bringing up these points in your cover letters and interviews. Maybe try writing something about the topic that indicates to the recruiter what you're good at.

3. "Cash Rules Everything Around Me" -Method Man

Ok, I just wanted to get a Wu-Tang reference in. But let's talk about things like salary and your worth.

As someone who's been working in my own startups and projects for years. It was really difficult for me to put a monetary value on myself. Because last time I was paid a proper salary by someone else was 8 years ago while working in a warehouse.

Again, I started by comparing myself to others in similar positions. How much money are they getting?

But then it hit me. That's the wrong approach, and rather, I need to figure out how much I value my own time, knowledge, and skills. How much value do I put on the fact that I spend my free time writing articles like this delving deep into the mastery of my craft?

The amount of time I put into listening to scientific podcasts about human behavior and leadership. The fact that I worked my ass off for years doing 16-hour days and burning myself out while doing so.

Then I stopped caring about how much other people are getting and now I know how highly I value myself and what sort of income I'm content with.

I know it's not considered very cool to talk about salaries openly, but this is my newsletter. Right now I'm looking for a salary somewhere in the €4000-5000/month bracket, which knowing the effort I put into developing myself and how much value I add, I consider a steal.

4. Don't try to be something you're not

It's very easy to fall into the habit of trying to please other people. We've all been there. You meet someone new and you want to show them your best side etc.

But the thing is, we as a species have very good bullshit detectors. It's ok to talk about the things you're proud of but don't be afraid to also show your true self. We all have our own issues, insecurities, and shortcomings. And if someone can't appreciate you as you are, then they're not worthy of you, not the other way around.

Either it's a great fit or then it's just not meant to be and that's completely ok. Never value yourself based on what some random recruiter thinks of you.

But whenever you present yourself as something you're not, it never ends up well. And besides, I think we, as humans have a very deep and profound need for genuine people around us.