Five mantras, before you start out as a startup employee

Congrats! You have decided to take up a job in a startup! But, first, are you aware how a startup world functions? If the word ‘startup’ sounds fancy and cool, it is advisable to check out a few things before you start out as a startup employee, lest the realm you enter turns out to be completely different from what you had imagined. A list of don’ts and dos for you to browse, therefore, and five startup mantras that can help you internalize what we are talking about :

Don’t ever join a startup to build your resume.

Of course, it sounds great on your resume to have worked for a kickass startup on an awesome project, but when you’re in a startup world, you just don’t have that luxury of time to experiment and see what works for yourself, especially if you’re a fresher.

Startup mantra: “Learn it quickly or quit it.”

Don’t expect a regular 9 to 5 routine.

Workdays could include Saturdays, sometimes Sundays; and, in some cases, even Diwalis and Duseras! Yes, be ready to sacrifice your holidays, catching up with friends and family. And if you have a gf/bf, help them understand, and set the right expectations about spending time with you :P

Startup mantra : “Tiny sacrifices today will pay off big in future.”

Don’t expect a high package.

Every startup employee may come across this one, more often when you meet your friends who’re working with big companies for a fat pay cheque. But don’t judge them too soon, to be “Cool” just from the money they’re making. Although they’ll be happy with their salary, if you have a close friend, just ask them about their personal satisfaction and they’ll bore you with all their frustration and won’t shut up about how sucky their job is for the rest of the evening :P

Startup mantra: “Focus on your interest, money will follow.”

Know what you’re doing.

If you want to work for a startup, passion alone won’t take you anywhere, unless you have some very specific skillsets to back it up. Startups will pick you for specific tasks and depend on you for the completion. So if you don’t know about your specialization, it’s high time to start working on that unique value-add which you contribute to a startup.

Startup mantra: “Know your job well to succeed.”

Open to explore.

You maybe be very excited about your role in a startup, but in every startup, there comes a point where apart from your regular work, you may have to stretch out of your domain and work on something completely new. It’s a wacky idea, but it also poses a challenge as it’s new to you. This is where your real learning skills will be tested, and being open to explore and learn new things comes in handy. It’s quite simple from one perspective. Remember how you learnt a whole new subject during your school/ college days, just to complete a mini project or for your exams. It’s that simple! All you have to do is, “Sit down and work on it till you get it”.

Startup mantra: “There is no alternative to hard work.”

This is only a suggestive and starter list. If you come across any new learning from your startup job experience, do share it with us.