What LinkedIn Top Startups CEOs are looking for in job candidates

Working at a startup can be a real spark for career growth or inspiration. But the mentality needed to survive and thrive at a startup can be different from what one might need when working at a large or well established company. Where to start?

To help you on your career journey if you're interested in startups, I've gotten some fantastic insights directly from CEOs and Co-Founders from startups on our freshly launched LinkedIn Top Startups 2021 Singapore and LinkedIn Top Startups 2021 Indonesia lists. The lists are geared to helping jobseekers and career-minded professionals get a leg up when looking into a career at a startup.

If you have any interest or curiosity about joining a startup at all, then this is a great place to start in really understanding what startup leadership looks for in a job candidate.

? Seeking Talent: The right attitude and outlook

Want to work at a startup? Then focus on showing the right attitude and outlook during the interview process rather than asking about perks and benefits .

A common theme among the responses CEOs and Co-Founders gave me was around the attitude of candidates along with a desire to grow professionally and apply that desire to contribute to the often lofty growth expectations of a startup.

Gillian Tee , Co-Founder and CEO of Homage , #3 on our Singapore Top Startups list, says she truly believes the most important thing is "unequivocally the candidate’s outlook, a desire to grow, an openness to learn, grit and the resilience to overcome challenges."

#12 on the Indonesian Top Startups list Ula 's CEO Nipun Mehra says, “In a start-up, the attitude matters more than your functional knowledge. There is so much nobody knows.”

? Now hiring: Optimistic entrepreneurs

Startups are hard . They can be incredibly rewarding, but they're hard. Working at one requires a certain amount of optimism and a fair degree of entrepreneurial spirit, at least enough to keep your chin up through tough times.

Vikas Nahata , Co-founder and Executive Chairman of the #11 on our Top Singapore Startup list Validus says, "It’s a F.A.C.T. - we are always on the lookout for people who espouse our values: Fearlessness, Adaptability, Collaborative, and Trustworthiness! It takes a certain kind of ‘go-getter’ person with a ‘can-do' attitude to work in an agile, fast-paced Fintech."

#13 on our Singapore list Zenyum Founder and CEO Julian Artopé puts a strong emphasis on lightheartedness as one of Zenyum's important values, which ends up "...drawing a lot of optimistic and entrepreneurially-minded folks towards Zenyum."

? Wanted: Adaptable, agile, and flexible candidates

For those who have never worked in a startup, you might think it is hyperbole when you hear stories about employees taking up completely different tasks and duties from what might be described in their job descriptions. It isn't hyperbole, that's the truth. To be a successful employee at a startup means being able to flex wherever and whenever needed.

Not convinced? Hear from some more CEOs and Co-Founders.

The #10 company on our Indonesia Top Startups list Andalin 's CEO Rifki Pratomo highly values a candidate with the capability to adapt within new and ever changing business environment. Pratomo says, "We have this mindset in place where team members should come to the table with their 'glass empty'. By being curious and wanting to learn more, they are able to adapt and perform higher."

Wai Mun Lim , Founder and CEO of the #7 Singapore Top Startup company Doctor Anywhere states that working at a start-up is not everyone. Lim tells me working at a startup "...requires having a sense of urgency to get things done, adaptability and flexibility to deal with ambiguity in an unstructured environment where you may not have answers all the time." Lim says, "Doctor Anywhere hires people who want to be part of this challenge, who are passionate about DA and our mission and are excited to be part of our growth story as a local start-up."

#9 on our Indonesia Top Startups list Tanihub 's founder Pamitra Wineka says, “Job candidates must have both the mindset and skill set suitable for our company at its current stage (early-stage, hypergrowth), including bias for action, customer-centricity, adaptability, resilience and positivity.”

Chrisanti Indiana , Co-Founder & CMO of Top Startups Indonesia #1 ranked company Sociolla , says they have established the company core value as a foundation for employees through fast, agile, positive, ownership and continuous improvement. "These five values are a must-have for any employee to support our vision to transform and advance the Indonesian beauty sector."

? Looking for: Employees with similar values who have a sense of ownership

Here at LinkedIn we like to say it's important to "act like an owner " if you want to be successful in your role and career and that phrase is very much a mainstay in the startup world as well. Building on that sense of ownership is the importance of having a shared sense of community and common values.

Gregory Van , CEO of Endowus , #2 on the Singapore Top Startup list tells me, "Fostering a culture of common values and a sense of community evokes closeness similar to that of a family. It’s important to have our future employees be aligned and rooted in the sense of purpose of our mission - in truly trying to solve for financial inclusion."

Singapore Top Startup #8 ShopBack 's CEO Henry Chan wants candidates to know his company looks for well-rounded individuals who believe in their business and product, with the key qualities being, "A high degree of ownership; Strong problem-solving ability; Drive and tenacity; and Self-awareness and a growth mindset."

Chinmay Chauhan President and Co-Founder of BukuWarung , #15 on our Indonesia Top Startups list, says the startup values extreme ownership and intellectual curiosity in candidates. Chauhan explains, "We believe that for a young startup like BukuWarung which operates in fast-evolving MSME space, being highly curious about problems and having strong ownership to solve them end-to-end, enables us as a company to out serve merchants by creating the best possible solutions.”

? Must have: Humility, empathy and curiosity

Since the coronavirus pandemic hit and changed the world of work in 2020, it really has pushed empathy to the forefront of what is considered the right way to run a business.

Being empathetic and humble are now looked at as qualities of strength and success rather than overly sensitive or weak. Being curious is no longer something cute to put on the resume, but a legitimate and recognized quality that helped businesses large and small survive and innovate through challenging times.

CEO and Co-Founder Rafi Putra Arriyan of the #5 Top Startup in Indonesia Flip says humility is the most important attribute when Flip is looking for an employee. Arriyan says, "In Flip, we are aiming to build the fairest financial product in the world and to be able to make that a reality, humility is very important. Not only to users but also to each other when we work as a team. It allows us to put ourselves in other people’s shoes and make us get different perspectives that will help us build solutions and work together in a significantly better way.”

Jefferson Chen . Co-founder, Group Chairman and CEO of the #1 ranked Singapore Top Startup Advance Intelligence Group says they're not only looking for the best and brightest talents, "...but they must also firmly believe in our vision that AI can advance and positively impact the lives of millions of people across Asia."

Chen says employees get to work on transformative projects but must approach them with humility, integrity and curiosity. Chen's Advance Intelligence Group embraces a collaborative mindset and values innovation, quality and efficiency in the work they do.

Indonesia Top Startup #13 HappyFresh CEO Guillem Segarra points to the importance of curiosity. He tells me, "Although HappyFresh is trusted by thousands of families, we still don't have all the answers, and perhaps we never will. But that's the beauty of discovering and learning."

Segarra explains HappyFresh doesn't necessarily need people that have answers, but they're looking for the people that ask the questions, "We believe that ultimately that kind of curiosity is what drives innovation."

#14 on the Top Startups Indonesia list CoLearn Co-Founder Marc Irawan says that empathy, growth mindset and perseverance are key qualities CoLearn looks for in a candidate. On Empathy he states, "One of our values is 'It's about the Students' and to live this it requires a great deal of empathy for what students are experiencing."

When it comes to the growth mindset, Irawan believes it is essential to success and confidence when facing daily uncertainty. "Lastly," he says, "we have to persevere through failures and rejections as we are in the process of changing the mindset of an industry.”

? Now that you know what CEOs and Co-Founders are looking for in a candidate, here's 9 things you need to seriously consider before joining a startup .

? You can also check out the full Top Startups List for either Singapore and Indonesia .

?? Give me a shout in the comments on what you feel are the best qualities and skills candidates should have when looking to work at a startup.