
Ask HN: Are startups friendly to new grads? - coygui
graduate in may<p>I have sent emails to some startups asking if they will hire new grads, but none of them say &quot;yes&quot;; they are more interested in senior developers...<p>Indeed, on their websites, there&#x27;re no positions available for new grads, but they also suggest if you are interested in our company, please contact us. That&#x27; why I sent the emails. Does this imply they only need senior developers who are interested in their company?
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PaulHoule
For one thing it is a bad idea for a hiring manager to advertise that the
company wants a new grad because it can be perceived as age discrimination;
they could get sued. What they can say is that the position is "entry level".

Startups often like to hire young people for various reasons but in a company
that has 2 or 3 employees, everyone has to carry their own weight -- they
usually cannot give you a lot of on the job training.

One trends I have seen is companies who hire young people to make cold calls;
often these people have a PMA and some sales skills, but they don't understand
the offerings they are selling well and don't have a complete set of sales
skills.

An established company with name recognition and a well-worn playbook can get
away with that, but I see many small (<25 employees) companies that struggle
because there are two kinds of people you can talk to: (1) busy people and (2)
people who will talk all day and never buy anything. Since you get one chance
to make a first impression, an initial contact with a poor salesperson can be
a very bad thing.

Don't ask "do you hire new grads?" because the real question is "will you hire
me?" which can have a different answer if you communicate that you can bring
something special.

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fapi1974
Here is what all startups are interested in: passion. All startups will hire a
passionate new grad. So don't send 50 resumes! Don't ask if they are willing!
Pick the one you want and focus. Make a video. Write a case study on their
industry. Invite every single person in the startup out to coffee. Physically
show up at their office. If you do even a fraction of these things they will
hire you, really.

