Moving from big company to startup: how to make it work for you and them

They say that startups are often like rocketships - if you're offered a seat, get on and figure out where you're going later! Startups symbolise potential - the ability to challenge the status quo, to experiment, to solve the BIG problems. And solving big problems requires people who can think and act fast. So naturally, startups are wary of hiring people who they don't think will be able to fit their culture. In current times, the larger companies are sort of staying in the background, trying to survive, not changing too much and trying to get through to the next year. Startups are where the action is - whether it's going big or going bust. A number of startups are taking advantage of the disruptions to logistics, time, place, product and people systems and launching new products or pivoting existing models.

Startups are hiring, and people are looking to join them. A lot of these people may come from some of the more "traditional" companies, and may not immediately tick all of the boxes that startups normally evaluate people for. If you're one of these people and you're excited to explore opportunities at a growing startup, consider the following points and see how you can demonstrate your experience and learnings against these, to show startups how you can be a good fit for them.

Startups look for team players - the catch here is that while startups want to see that you work well in a team, they also want to know if you can handle things on your own. To answer questions like this one, highlight instances where you helped maintain or strengthen team dynamics, instead of focusing on the outcome. List down moments where you helped drive engagement or the company values through your team.

Startups look for hands-on contributors - even if your last role was away from the direct action, list down instances where you stepped in to help a colleague or fixed a problem, where you directly were involved in executing a program even if it wasn't in your area of expertise.

Startups look for those who are curious and constantly learning - you may be asked to work on a project that's totally out of your scope of reference, or lead a team you don't know much about, or develop a project proposal for a new brand. Startups want to see you have the curiosity and willingness to learn - no one expects you to know everything, but they expect you to try and find out the answer when you need to. Give examples of where and how you learnt new skills and continuously upskilled yourself or improved your existing knowledge.

Startups look for comfort with ambiguity - there's never going to be a clear answer on what's happening, how will we get there, and what needs to be done. Because the answer may vary every day. If you're looking for a checklist of what has to be done, you may not fit well. But if you can show how you worked through ambiguity, figured things out for yourself, adjusted your expectations when things didn't turn out how you expected and managed to keep going even when the goal post wasn't very clear, you may just have a chance.

Startups look for generalists - there's rarely a clear definition of roles in day-to-day work at a startup, even though you may have been hired for something else. This doesn't mean that you have to know everything, it means that you should try and develop a basic understanding of how a LOT of things work. For one thing, it helps understand how an organization functions in totality. For another thing, it creates an opportunity for you if there is a need and you understand at least some of what has to be done!

Startups look for ownership - with fast pace comes lesser processes, structures and rulebooks. Many times, working in a startup will mean that everyone agrees something needs to get done, but it may not be specifically assigned to someone. Or if you're working on a project and your partners aren't delivering what they need to, you can't sit back and point that out. Startups look for people who pick up and run to get things done, who take accountability and ownership for the task at hand and don't get caught up in hierarchy, structure, permissions and approvals. If you can show high levels of ownership, you'll be in line to get to work on high-impact projects.

Startups look for passion - particularly in those candidates coming from a traditional corporate or MNC, because startups know they can't pay as much or provide the same perks (corner office, travel reimbursement, large teams). But what they can't provide in $$ startups provide in opportunity and accelerated learning, so they spend the most time trying to assess your reasons for moving, why you (or any sane person) would want to give up perks and a higher salary and what's your motivation to work with them. If you can demonstrate how working here aligns with your values, your goals, your career path and your personal plan, and that you understand the trade-offs, then it's a step ahead towards a possibly fruitful relationship together!