Basic Startup Resume Construction
by Jeremy McCarthy, Loop One
VentureLoop
This list of startup resume tips was written by Jeremy McCarthy, the CEO of VentureLoop, who has over 15 years of experience working and recruiting with the venture capital community and with startups. This is only for guidance as there are many effective ways to write a compelling resume.
Length
• Try to keep your resume a maximum of two pages long. Three is acceptable, but try to be concise and keep it to two pages.
Font
• Use basic fonts like Arial or Times New Roman. Don’t try to get fancy or unique.
• Font size should be either 10 point or 12 point.
Objective
• I do not advise using an “Objective” on your resume. Many hiring managers and human resources individuals use this more often to screen people out. If you do use an objective, make it specific to the exact job and company you are pursuing and avoid generic objectives.
No Third Person
• Do not refer to yourself in the third person. This is a document prepared by you, for you. Many hiring managers find it odd that people write about themselves in the third person and will be turned off by that style.
Chronological, Not Functional
This might be an area of controversy for many of you. A chronological resume is considered standard and lists each employer in chronological order and then lists positions in each company along with accomplishments in those positions. A functional resume organizes by functional expertise and does not necessarily relate accomplishments to a specific job at a specific company. For example, a heading of “Management Experience” would outline all management experience without giving reference to specific companies where that management experience took place.
While functional resumes are pushed by many so-called experts in the field, I have heard too many hiring managers criticize their structure to recommend using them. Put yourself in the hiring manager’s position. If you read a resume that describes someone’s experience managing a team of product managers without associating it with a company or position, you may be left to guess whether the candidate had that experience at Oracle or at a failed startup eight years ago. There is also a big difference between having SEC experience at a large, complex organization, as compared to a small company with limited issues. A list of SEC experience on a resume without associating it to a specific company can be meaningless to a hiring manager.
Giving context to experience is very important to most hiring managers. Forcing them to put together a puzzle of where your experience took place and in which job will quickly agitate many who have very little time to review resumes, let alone solve puzzles.
Basic Structure
• List your company name and location, and include dates of employment. List employment in chronological order.
• Give a brief one or two sentence description of your company under each place of employment (e.g. A 50-person enterprise software company backed by XYZ Venture Capital with several Fortune-500 customers.). Many employers will not know anything about your past companies, and this will help give them perspective.
• Do not list multiple jobs at the same company in a manner that makes it look like they are separate positions with separate companies.
Example:
YES:
XYZ Company (5/04 – Present)
Director of Engineering (5/06 – Present)
• Accomplishment
• Accomplishment
• Success story
Senior Engineer (5/04 – 4/06)
• Accomplishment
• Accomplishment
• Success story
NO:
XYZ Company
Director of Engineering (5/06 – Present)
• Accomplishment
• Accomplishment
• Success story
XYZ Company
Senior Engineer (5/04 – 4/06)
• Accomplishment
• Accomplishment
• Success story
Most internal recruiters or hiring managers review hundreds of resumes, and they have very limited time for an initial scan of each resume. Listing different positions in the same company in a manner that makes it look like they were at different companies can give a quick impression that you jumped around a lot in your career, which is not the case.
• Use bullet points to outline your accomplishments under each job listed. Do not write in paragraph format, as the hiring manager will get lost in the details.
• Focus on accomplishments, not responsibilities. Quantify any areas where you have generated revenue, saved time, or saved money. Mention any awards, unique accomplishments, or how you stood out from your peers. Most candidates list only their prior responsibilities, and focusing on your accomplishments will make you stand out from your competition.
• List your educational background. Do not include your GPA unless you are a recent graduate. Include any scholarships or awards.
• List any unique interests/hobbies, awards, and certifications
Read the Job Description
This might sound obvious, but it is very important that you read the details of every job description and tailor your resume to the specific job. Many times companies have a junior person or HR individual review resumes as a first screening, and they may not be very familiar with identifying specific requirements for the job. Those screeners are normally looking for key words and directly related experience in a resume, so you had better make sure your resume reflects your experience in areas listed in the job description. If the description asks for experience developing “enterprise software” then you should spell it out if you have that experience. Don’t assume that a screener will know your last company’s product was considered “enterprise software”.
Things to Avoid
• Do not include any personal information, such as age, race, nationality, family, photo, weight, etc.
• Do not disclose salary history
• No unusual colors or designs for your printed resume. Use plain white or off-white paper when bringing copies of your resume to an interview.
• No references listed.
• Be honest! Do not put untrue or misleading information on your resume.
The Startup Edge
So what are startups really looking for, and how can you tailor your resume to increase the likelihood that they will select your resume? Here are some suggestions:
• Startup experience. Working for a startup company is different than working for a larger company, and startup veterans know that people who haven’t lived that difference often don’t survive a startup. Hiring managers want to see that a candidate has intimate knowledge of what to expect when working with a startup: long hours, limited resources, self-starter mentality, proactive, wearing many hats, and a lack of or changing direction of the company. If you don’t have startup experience, you should highlight as much similar experience as possible on your resume. Any startup business plans you worked on, pro-bono consulting to a friend’s startup, clients who were startups, school projects with startups, etc.
• Drive. No one has time to manage people in a startup culture, and the organizational structure is flat. Startups look for people who have drive, ambition, and are self-motivated. Focus on any accomplishments that demonstrate this trait. That includes personal accomplishments unrelated to work, such as running marathons, raising money for a charity, playing sports at a collegiate level, honors or awards. Show that you have taken initiative and that you don’t just follow the direction of others.
• Flexibility. Startup employees must have the ability to wear many hats and to chase a moving target. “Stability” is not a good description for startups, and hiring managers know that people who thrive on stability become quickly frustrated in a startup environment. Communicate in your resume the experiences you have with constantly changing strategies and plans, and show that you are comfortable filling more than one role within a company when the circumstances require it. Give examples of situations that demonstrate your ability to be flexible and pitch in when needed.