At the end of almost every job interview you will be given an opportunity to ask your interviewer questions. When this time arrives, you have to ask at least one question. This will show your interviewer that you are serious about the interview and truly interested in working for their company. If the employer has given you literature about the organization before the interview, they expect you to read it and formulate questions about it. Be sure not to ask obvious questions that could have been answered by reading the brochures or looking at the company’s website. This wastes the interviewers time and does not speak well of you. It is also important to NEVER ask questions about salary, stock options,benefits or vacation/holiday schedules at this time. You should also avoid asking personal questions or any questions that are not directly related to the job. Here are some questions to consider:

* What are the day-to-day expectations and responsibilities of this job?
* Can you describe a typical day for someone in this position?
* What are the most difficult problems that this jobs entails?
* How will my leadership responsibilities and performance be measured? And by whom? How often?
* Why is this position available right now?
* Can you describe the company’s management style?
* Can you discuss your take on the company’s corporate culture?
* Does the organization support ongoing training and education for employees to stay current in their fields?
* What do you think is the greatest opportunity facing the organization in the near future? The biggest threat?
* How is this department perceived within the organization?
* What are my options for advancement?
* Is there a formal process for advancement within the organization?
* What are the traits and skills of people who are the most successful within the organization?
* What would you most like to see done in the next 6 months?
* What changes do you envision in near future for this company?
* What is the organization’s policy on transfers to other divisions or other offices?

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Your resume gives a potential employer the first impression of you and your skills. Make sure it is a good one!

• Sell yourself, but don’t lie on your resume. Treat your resume as an advertisement for yourself. Highlight your strengths and mention skills you are capable of. But don’t push it too far by going beyond the truth.
• Include relevant information. If you have experience, list your technical knowledge first. If you are a new graduate, focus on education and grades first.
• Make your resume as brief as possible while still highlighting your relevant experiences and strengths. In general, one page should be sufficient for a new graduate and two pages should be enough for someone with a few years of experience.
• Use a cover letter and be sure to customize it and your resume for each company you are applying to. Some small modifications can go a long way in getting your resume to “fit” the job you are applying for.
• Make it easy to read and follow a standard resume format. Make sure the page is not “too busy”. Keep the font simple and big enough to be easy to read.
• Proofread, and then proofread again. Use a spell checker. Misspelled words and typos are unacceptable for any job position. Your resume needs to be grammatically perfect.
• Have references ready. List two or three references printed on a separate sheet of paper and only provide them when asked for.

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This is one of our favorite questions…and the picture below makes it even better!

How much should you charge to wash all the windows in Seattle?

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Keep the following in mind…

There are numerous posts that I came across on the web for what an entrepreneur should do, or for that matter, not do, while running a startup. These are typically directed at the founders. I haven’t yet come across good write ups on what should an employee at a startup do. Having worked with two startups Thumbspeed and now MangoSpring, I thought of putting down what I have learned.

1. When you joined the startup, you had a strong reason. This could be a desire to work with an exciting product company, to feel a sense of ownership which only a startup can offer, to be able to wear multiple hats, to be able to contribute across the spectrum - ideation and development or something similar.You need to constantly ask yourself if you are doing what you initially joined the startup to do. If you wanted to wear multiple hats, what efforts have you taken in the last week to be able to multi-task? If you wanted the feeling of owning something end to end, what actions did you take which demonstrate your ownership of a project or feature? I personally remember asking myself this question in my early days at Thumbspeed. It was this that led me to push my way into the product development team from a sales team . If you are not doing what you joined the startup to do…speak to the founders (sorry startups typically don’t have managers).
2. Startups are managed by a small set of motivated and hardworking individuals. You have little choice but to match up with their energy levels. Your extra bursts of energy rarely go unnoticed and are always rewarded in one form or the other. It’s the only place where you shall have your boss always working more than you. And trust me, it’s a very embarrassing feeling.
3. When at a startup don’t just point out what’s broken, fix it. Though true everywhere else, this is all the more relevant at a startup. There are always a dozen things that could be done better, and there is always more to do than there is time for. Hence, its helpful if you fix whatever is broken. This could be inadequate information on the company website, bad network management, or anything else. If you can help do it better, no one will ask you why you did it. There are no possessive team leaders here!
4. The company’s success is your success, and vice versa. Do not try and separate the two things. Work towards making the company a success and you shall be one. You rarely have successful employees of an unsuccessful startup. Successes of a startup doesn’t always mean a billion dollar company. Success means doing whatever you had set out to do, and doing it right. It means creating the right work environment, the right work practices, the right code, and the right features. Each day work towards making your company a successful company and I guarantee you will reap the benefits.
5. Always remember it’s your company. Ownership does not end at your tasks. Just like you own the code base, the features; you also own the company’s limitations, its finances. Save where ever you can. Save paper, electricity. Of course don’t over do it at the expense of your comfort or efficiency . But wasteful expenses should be kept at the minimum.
6. Since the company management is easily accessible and extremely responsive in a startup, we often tend to get in the ‘ask’ mode. One must resist the temptation of asking for things.
7. Self-drive and self controlled. There are no IT policies, no IT departments blocking access to sites. There are no time sheets to keep track of how many hours you have been working. This is none of this because startups don’t have the resources to do so. Its because startup founders find it very hard to believe that someone would waste time when he/she has so much to do! Working in a startup requires a great deal of self control and you need to be able to motivate yourself to produce 110% output on a daily basis.

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