Looking for a job as software engineer or developer? Think startup. A national job board that advertises positions in startups lists approximately 14,000 openings. Engineering and other technical jobs account for more than 36 percent of the positions posted on StartUpHire.com, but the number of qualified applicants registered with the service would fill only half of those spots.
Overall, the picture is very bright. Jobs at startups, as measured by the service, increased by 23 percent over the last year. The market is so strong that 500 executive-level jobs have been posted, a rarity in an industry that usually relies on headhunters and the old boys' network to fill top slots. Indeed, after a long, painful slump, jobs for skilled IT employees are growing steadily throughout the economy and not just in startups.
[ The IT certs that no longer pay extra -- and the new skills that do. | InfoWorld uncovers the 10 highest-paying U.S. cities for IT jobs and the 6 hottest new IT jobs in the market today, and Neil McAllister reveals the 5 hot programming careers to prepare for. | Get a digest of the key stories each day in the InfoWorld Daily newsletter. ]
There is a caveat. Though the raw numbers make it look like jobs at startups are yours for the asking, that's not entirely true, says Steve Roberson, CEO of StartUpHire.com. "Are people getting rejected when they apply for these positions? Absolutely. If you're a 20-person company and you make just a few bad hires, you have a serious problem. So the bar is very high," he tells me.
Also, if you're seeking work in administration, finance, or HR, you'll have a tough time, at least in the startup world. Applicants for those jobs outnumber openings by more than three to one, an unsurprising mismatch since startups look for technical people long before they hire support personnel.
Clearing the startup hiring bar
What can you do to move to the head of the line at a startup's door? "It's not enough to know how to program," says Roberson, a veteran programmer who's been around the block more than once before launching the job board. "They want to see that you're an expert."
Contribute to open source. One thing you can do to bolster your cred is to participate in open source projects. "If you make contributions, it says that you have passion and so much dedication you're willing to do it on your own time," he says. What's more, code you contribute to an open source project is there for all to see, unlike the proprietary work you've done for an employer.
Use the company's APIs. Walking into an interview with something you built using the company's APIs will get you noticed because it shows a level of commitment, interest, and ingenuity that's attractive to startups. "Of course, you need to have an understanding of which are the up-and-coming technologies," Roberson says. What's in demand? As you'd expect, he mentions Python, Ruby, Node.js, JavaScript, and PHP, even though they're hardly new.
Be a generalist. Being a generalist will get you noticed, too. Big companies can afford to have people with narrow skill sets, but startups can't, says Vijay Krishan, co-founder of Infoaxe, an intelligent-search startup with just 18 employees. Instead, startups are looking for people with passion who value the significantly greater opportunity to learn and grow at a fledgling firm compared to working with a larger, established company.
Showcase previous startup experience. Where you've worked in the past matters. Startups have a preference for people who've worked at startups previously. In fact, nearly one-quarter of the applicants on StartUpHire.com have at least one startup under their belt. On the other hand, there's an unfortunate stereotype in the industry regarding government contractors; people think they have a "fat and happy" attitude, says Roberson, making it harder for government-experienced techs to get startup jobs.
Focus on your cover letter. Although this bit of advice sounds old-fashioned, it isn't: Spend a lot of time on your cover letter -- don't just repeat what's already in your résumé. "Connect the dots, emphasize how you've helped other companies solve problems and pushed the envelope," counsels Roberson.
The question of age. This factor is very hard to pin down. Age discrimination is illegal, but many people suspect that the long hours and fierce dedication needed at a startup make it tough for anyone with gray hair to be hired. Roberson says he's not seeing that bias these days, although we've all heard anecdotal evidence to the contrary.
Where the startup jobs are
Not surprisingly, California has the largest number of startup jobs listed on StartUpHire: 36 percent or more than 5,000 positions, an increase of 123 percent over last year. As you'd expect, the other hot spots are New York, Massachusetts, Washington, and Texas.
In terms of industry, more than half the jobs are located in two sectors: software, with 36 percent of the jobs, and IT services, with just under 21 percent. No other sector has as much as 6 percent of the remaining jobs. Of those also-rans, business services leads at 5.7 percent, followed by clean tech and networking, each registering 4.8 percent of the posted slots.
Engineering and product development have the highest ratio of jobs to applicants, followed by IT (in general), quality assurance and testing, and sales. On the other side of the curve, administration, HR, manufacturing, and operations have the highest ratio of applicants to jobs.
Some of these jobs are hard to get, but the balance of power has shifted to the applicant, says Krishan: "It's simple. There are too many opportunities and not enough talent." Go for it, and good luck.
I welcome your comments, tips, and suggestions. Post them here (Add a comment) so that all our readers can share them, or reach me at bill@billsnyder.biz. Follow me on Twitter at BSnyderSF.
This article, "Startup tech jobs go begging -- how to get yours," was originally published by InfoWorld.com. Read more of Bill Snyder's Tech's Bottom Line blog and follow the latest technology business developments at InfoWorld.com. For the latest business technology news, follow InfoWorld.com on Twitter.