Essential Skills for Working at Startups and How to Build Them
To thrive at a startup, you will likely need a variety of skills, interests and abilities. Building these skills now, as students, will set you apart from the field as you look for internships and jobs at these fast-growing companies.
Top skills sought by startups
Below is a list of some of the top skills startups look for in potential hirees:
Mental Fortitude: Persevering in the face of challenges is critical to life at a startup, as there are new things to learn, understand and overcome daily. At Mili Llama, a platform that connects individuals to substitute teaching assignments, Mental fortitude is a Top 3 required skill for employees at all levels,” emphasized Donavan Bennett, Mili Llama's founder.
Problem Solving: Creative thinking and problem solving can also help you overcome challenges and solve existing problems in new ways. Brain Buffs president Matt Schottland has seen the company grow significantly year over year because his team is willing to tackle the world of test preparation and studying with a technological mindset. “Anyone with an idea is given the full support of the team,” he said. “We thrive on new ideas.”
Resourcefulness: At startups, there are plenty of times when you may not know how to reach a target goal or to build something required for a project. When you find yourself in this situation, knowing how to find the answers, lean on other professionals or connect with the right companies can be critical to success.
Adaptability: At startups, an original course of action may turn out to be less than fruitful so the company will pivot in a new direction. In your day-to-day job, you may have to change the specific projects you are working on or adjust your aims to fit new circumstances. Adaptation is key to finding the right path forward for a startup – for your career within startups.
Self-Driven: Startups are not for those who need someone else to light their fire. A great idea will only go as far as you are willing to take it. To thrive at startups, you must be self-motivated.
Multi-Tasking: In a startup environment, employees will likely be asked to take on a variety of tasks ranging from engineering to pitching a product to investors, marketing or client relations. Depending on the company size, be prepared to take on a variety of tasks.
Collaboration: Startup success relies upon great teamwork. Just as your team projects in class require your ability to work with your teammates’ ideas and styles, a startup will require you to navigate working with a variety of people productively. Good collaboration is finding the way to get the most out of a group working towards a common goal.
Where can you build your skills?
All of the above are skills - meaning you can develop them, improve them, and lean on your best skills to set you apart. The best way to build any skill is through practice, reflection and trying again. Experiential learning is the kind of practice for work that will allow you to try these skills out. Before you graduate, consider the following:
Get an internship! Lean on Career Services to help you find an internship.
Get a job on campus! Student employment is a great way to build and test your skills.
Check out great Innovation and Entrepreneurship programs like Startup Summer, Catalyze CU and The New Venture Challenge!
Use tools like LinkedIn Learning to build new human and technical skills and even earn a credential along the way.
Gain experience in other ways! Examples are finding additional professional opportunities, becoming involved in student organizations or working off campus.
