
Best Resume Ever: How to Woo a Startup - jasonshen
http://blog.ridejoy.com/how-to-woo-a-startup-the-best-resume-ever/
======
tptacek
Killjoy, I know, but you'd probably want to have permission from Spoon (or,
more likely, Merge Records) before repurposing their most popular track
commercially.

Similarly, annoying as it probably sounds, virtually anything a startup would
ever want to do with a piece of music anyone has heard of before† is probably
not kosher. On the flip side, there's thousands of amazingly talented
musicians willing to record tracks for tiny amounts of money, so maybe
investigate that instead of just grabbing random tracks from iTunes.

The obvious and (please presume) prolific apologies apply if rights to You Got
Yr Cherry Bomb were secured for this. Totally possible.

† _Including but not limited to putting it center stage on a cheerful and
uplifting branded company blog post about resumes._

~~~
margotleong
Good point! My understanding, from speaking with the SlideRocket team, is that
it's kosher to use another artist's song as your presentation soundtrack as
long as you attribute the song in your presentation somewhere. But if I were
doing a similar project in the future, I'd absolutely love to work with a
musician to record something - that's a terrific suggestion.

EDIT: Just spoke directly with a representative at SlideRocket, Sogol Motiey,
who says, "Nope! No copyright issues."

~~~
tptacek
Pretty sure that's totally not true, but, boy would I ever like to be proven
wrong about this. As I understand it, and excuse the language, but attribution
has fuck-all to do with the rights to music.

There's a whole market for "royalty-free music" (all of which costs money, but
at least doesn't cost money _per view_ ) that exists entirely --- again, as I
understand it --- because you can't just use random copyrighted songs in
presentations, on websites, &c.

Sliderocket even links to some of these sites on an article about adding audio
to presentations:

[http://www.sliderocket.com/blog/2010/07/incredible-
presentat...](http://www.sliderocket.com/blog/2010/07/incredible-
presentations-5-amazing-audio-resources/)

Note conspicuous lack of "and if you like Apples In Stereo, just drag an MP3
into this window and make sure to say thank you in your presentation". :)

In any case, so I don't sound too much like a message-board-crazy, let me at
least commend you on your taste in music. At least it wasn't Ke$ha.

~~~
a3camero
This might be a good place to get started:
<http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/Copyright>

Here's some more on "Fair Use":
<http://www.benedict.com/Info/FairUse/FairUse.aspx>

~~~
tptacek
A very good source on fair use:

[http://fairuse.stanford.edu/Copyright_and_Fair_Use_Overview/...](http://fairuse.stanford.edu/Copyright_and_Fair_Use_Overview/chapter9/)

Note the "four factors" in fair use:

* The extent to which the use _transforms_ the original work

* The _nature_ of the work being used

* The _amount and substantiality_ of the use

* The _effect_ of the use on the market

I'm pretty sure soundtracking your resume with almost the entirety of a signed
band's most popular track flunks all these tests --- charming though that
resume is.

I'm actually not at all concerned about musical resumes --- seriously, does
Britt Daniel care about resumes? Of course he doesn't --- so much as the
mentality at startups that this stuff is always going to be kosher. Not so. HN
just got finished shellacking a different YC company over this exact issue.

Be careful about music, is all I'm really saying.

~~~
tonecluster
You're correct that this would fail a fair-use test. Once it went up on a blog
it's akin to a public performance, and use of the master recording should be
licensed.

It is improbable that someone is going to issue a DMCA letter because of this,
but it does (to your point) outline a couple of problems in S.V., one of which
is the misconception that "It's not stealing if you attribute the artist" is
widespread. And incorrect, at least for anything (c)All Rights Reserved.

If in doubt, it's a good idea for startups to consult their attorney (and not
the PM, or lead engineer, or friend-in-a-band) when in doubt when using music,
art, or what-have-you in public fora.

~~~
tptacek
Everything is "(c) All Rights Reserved" unless it specifically says otherwise,
just to clarify a superficial point.

So am I crazy or did whoever this person talk to at Sliderocket give her
ludicrously bad advice?

~~~
chimeracoder
tonecluser responded to the wrong person, but you're both right - that was
very bad advice. There are definite copyright problems here.

Even if they could win this in court (which they probably couldn't), it's
certainly not so cut and dry that anyone would just say 'nope, no problems,
carry on' and be done with it.

------
grecy
Not trying to be a buzz-kill. It's a neat idea, sure...

1\. It's too slow. I want to know about you, now. I'm a fast reader and want
to get on with reading at my own pace, not the pace you've decided to have
fancy transitions slide in.

2\. I don't have a ton of time to sit through this.

3\. There is no detail. You show logos of some impressive places you've
(presumably) worked... but... what did you do there? What did you learn? How
will that experience make you a good fit at company x?

~~~
jasonshen
I agree that if this was the only thing Margot sent, it would not be as
compelling. But she also sent a resume and an exceptionally well-written cover
letter with a lot of great ideas about how she'd engage the Ridejoy community
(we ask for 5 ideas from all job applicants).

I think we would have at least phone screened her without this video
slideshow, but it took us from "interested" to "wow, this girl looks super
legit and really wants this job". If you're a job applicant, that might be
worth a lot.

~~~
dmd149
I now see what I was competing with. Great choice!

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kalvin
Not sure if this is too adorable (adorkable?) for Hacker News, but it's
certainly relevant!

It's a bit irrational to put this much effort into a job app-- but it's also
an incredibly strong positive signal.

For early-stage startups, passion for the space, the people, makes a huge
difference. You don't just want the right skills and talent (which Margot also
had in abundance), you want people who care.

(And of course, we're hiring a lead designer and engineer:
<http://www.ridejoy.com/jobs/>. Don't worry, preparing a slideshow is not
actually necessary.)

~~~
patio11
_It's a bit irrational to put this much effort into a job app_

It's perfectly rational if you're being savvy about how you approach your job
search. If you're playing a numbers game and sending out 200 resumes a day to
jobs you're poorly qualified to work at, this is very irrational, since it
will not meaningfully increase your hit rate but will severely decrease the
amount of resume spam you're capable of. Don't do that.

If, on the other hand, you've done your research and know that there are three
positions out there you'd be perfect for, spending two hours (or ten hours) on
a sales presentation is a pretty good use of your time. The NPV of a job
upgrade, particularly from unemployed or student to "first gainful employment
in a meanginful role", is _staggering_. Heck, I'd do this just to close
consulting sales if I thought it would meaningfully affect outcomes -- it's a
LOT less work than often goes into getting five figure engagements on the
calendar.

Now is it the best possible job search tactic ever? No. Major points for
creativity, and "do the job before you have the job" is one of the most
effective things you can do in sales, but you'd probably do even better to get
a warm intro to the hiring manager and convince them in person that you're the
perfect candidate for the position. The resume is optional at that point, but
if you've already met them, you're essentially guaranteed that they'll
actually review it. (The likelihood of falling out of the funnel before your
content is even seen is a major reason why I would suggest not just e.g.
throwing one of these into someone's inbox and praying.)

------
ericdykstra
I'm a big proponent of resumes that show personality and break the mold. Do a
search for examples of designer resumes and you'll see how much of a person
can be expressed through just the design choices, while still expressing all
of the relevant content that you expect.

I've heard from resume screeners that a lot of them are told to throw out
anything that doesn't match one of the standard formats, or that has color.
But do you want to work for a company that imposes such arbitrary, or at the
very least stale, rules from the get-go? I think the corporations (generally
larger ones) that have these kinds of restrictions could be missing out on the
most creative and self-driven employees.

~~~
SomeCallMeTim
Thinking about it, I am absolutely certain that I'm not interested in working
for a company that would throw out resumes with color.

In fact, I'm going to have to add color to my resume now just so that I don't
accidentally get an offer from a company like that. ;)

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vbl
Too long, didn't watch.

Seriously though, she could learn a thing or two about brevity and efficiently
communicating a message. I lost interest quickly.

~~~
tptacek
Your patience apparently didn't carry you to the part of the post where she
got the job because of this presentation.

------
TomGullen
Unrelated but something that irritates me with company blogs is no easy link
to view to product/go to homepage. I keep clicking logos on the page trying to
reach their homepage and see what their company is about, but it's all in
vain, I get frustrated and leave. I know I could manually type it in but I'm
too stubborn.

~~~
timjahn
I've noticed this more and more too. Blogs often have the same design/layout
as the actual site, but when you click on the company logo in the top left, it
links to the blog home page, not the company site home page.

Hate that!

~~~
jasonshen
Great feedback! We just edited the blog layout to make our logo go to
ridejoy.com!

------
darxius
Wow now that's a great use of an awesome piece of software. I wasn't expecting
that.

Putting myself in the shoes of an employer, this would be an instant win. It
shows she took the time to put something together that's more than just a
resume. However, I don't know how well this will fly with a large multi-
national company (think IBM, Alcatel, etc). That's why I like startups,
they're usually filled with happy people and good ideas.

------
aorshan
This is awesome. I love her initiative and even more I love how the guys at
ridejoy responded in kind. Really shows they love what they do and are having
a great time.

~~~
margotleong
Aw, thanks so much! I was absolutely blown away by how Ridejoy reciprocated; I
honestly wasn't expecting that at all. (I may even have teared up slightly,
but I'll never tell!) They're an incredible team and I am so lucky to be
working here.

~~~
zacharycohn
Congrats, Margot. Have a great time working with Jason & Crew!

~~~
margotleong
Thanks, Zachary! Looking forward to an awesome, if crazy ride with an
exceptional bunch. :)

------
dmragone
Perhaps this is a dumb question, but what does it mean to "Mainline RSS
Feeds"? (slide 12 from the link)

~~~
pinchyfingers
To consume them intravenously, as one would cocaine or heroin.

~~~
steve-howard
I did that once, but a typographical error landed me in the hospital for
months.

------
medius
Looking at all this incredible talent makes my mind boggle with amazement.
It's more than just the skill, it's being able to reach out to people in
innovative ways that make the best impression. Pumping up a resume seems to be
less and less relevant than showing what kind of person you are.

------
soosh
yeah, I'm too old for this.

~~~
lrobb
That's a lot of work to go through just for an _application_... How to _"woo"_
a startup? What was that about a shortage of tech talent?

~~~
georgieporgie
I'm curious how many other startups she sent basically the same template to...

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xpose2000
This is one of the few times I've disagreed with hacker news. Sorry. Not a
fan. :(

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jasonjei
This is a sort of weird criterion, but I'm partial to the CVs done in LaTeX...

~~~
mseebach
That not weird once you pick it apart. Chances are that you're not actually
partial to LaTeX CVs, you're partial to someone who shares your willingness to
invest the effort in learning the right tool for the job (and, boy, is LaTeX
ever the right tool for many jobs?), rather than shying away at the first sign
of difficulty.

------
kyrsey
What happens when this "best resume" becomes "best practice" and people really
take it seriously that this is "How to woo a startup"?

Do companies really want to sift through video slideshows for, say,
engineering jobs?

------
maneeshgoel
As a way to separate oneself from other candidates, this cannot be beat.
Amazing job, Margot, and RJ for the great reply.

I am so sick of that song.

------
alexwolfe
It's not the best resume ever but a terrific example of using some creativity
to make a connection. I'm surprised more people didn't take that away from
this slide show. It's about hustle, creativity, putting yourself out there.
The essence of this is doing something to set yourself apart from the 10 other
people looking for the same job.

------
jacques_chester
I was more impressed by the content than the presentation.

I guess that's why I and my local marketing organisation don't always see eye-
to-eye.

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harrisreynolds
This was absolutely brilliant. Great work @margotleong!! ... and great work
RideJoy too!

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davidtyleryork
Great resume, seriously.

Pictures are worth 1000 words, as they say

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bdg
My firewall blocked your slides because all the requests were sent with null
content-type headers.

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locci
this reminded me of <http://web.me.com/agueniot/Data/Flash/cven.html>

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pitdesi
We've found that candidates who submit a dynamic resume are good because

1) it shows personality

2) it shows initiative

and 3) a willing to think outside the box, all of which we value.

Obviously the content of the resume has to be great and everything else has to
line up too, but this gets you a lot of facetime that not everyone gets. We
were looking for a UI guy and got a ton of interest from folks (thanks HN!),
but one applicant stood out to us because he went through the effort of making
a site focused on getting the job with us (<http://jaredhardy.com/fee-
fighter/>). We hired him.

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gcb
Is she the author of all the power point emails my mom forwards me?

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henry_flower
Didn't like the resume (too slow). Very boring, imo.

Changed my mind after seeing her photo.

