How I got my 'start up' at Redux Inc.

It all started when I was scouring job boards for technical entry-level positions. As some of you know, it started back in November and I've been chugging along, applying for the positions that I was passionate about and culminating in phone interviews at Google, Laserfiche and the Government of Alberta.

After sifting through various online job postings, I found startuply, an online job board that features startup jobs at startup companies. Maybe it was the whole story of how Google started out as a startup company themselves or the fact that there are several, very interesting startup companies with very interesting ideas currently out there now but there was a part of me that was intrigued by the idea of startup companies and what it would be like to be a part of one.

After I thought I had broken through the Catch-22 of technical opportunities (ie. you must have previous technical experience to get a technical job in the first place), it turned out that (in my experience) you need startup experience before you can get a startup job. I have always found that a bit strange but I suppose it makes sense -- how does one get the startup experience that they need then?

I suppose there are two main ways I can think of:

1. Start your own startup company

2. Intern for a startup company to gain experience

Actually, now that I've given it some more thought, there's probably a few more (like some where you're connected in some way to a startup company through your personal contacts or friends) but as I just graduated out of university and did not have many friends who were as passionate as I am about startups, that was not a strategy I could pursue.

I subscribed to the job feed for startuply and every day, I would look at the job postings thinking about how much more experience I would need until I could actually apply to the job (much less have the knowledge to do it). It's funny because the job postings were extremely motivational to me but at the same time, I knew that when I actually reached that point in my life, that particular job would probably be taken by someone else already.

That was when I saw a posting by Redux Inc. Here was a company looking for interns to post interesting articles, videos, images and all sorts of other links to streams on their site so that people would have access to the best links and comment and have discussions with others around that content. I applied and didn't really think much about it until I got an e-mail from an executive asking if a few more questions about my interest in Redux and why I would be a good candidate.

Well, it's been a month into my internship and I can say that it has been quite fun posting all sorts of good content on redux and having conversations around that content on the site. I subscribe to a lot of feeds on Reader and normally I just star the ones I like, maybe tag them with a key word and then move on to other things -- but that's all changed because now depending on the link, I may post it to FriendFeed, Twitter, Redux, Facebook, Tumblr, or all five! Suffice to say, it takes up some time when I have to post to that many sites (I am aware of ping.fm but I guess I'm not used to it yet)

What I'm really trying to say is that I was really lucky to find something I really like doing in my spare time and then finding a job whose tasks are almost exactly the same (and for a startup company too! That's got to be great experience for the future, even if I never work for a startup) and sometimes, you have to work your way from the bottom up. My Redux internship is providing me with valuable experience about sharing content, generating discussions and marketing Redux to other users and you never know when that experience will give you that edge in your next job application. I guess that's why they call it 'start up' experience because when you start, the only way to go is up.

Another Phone Interview But Not The Same Strategy

Recently, I had a phone interview with the Government of Alberta for probably one of the coolest positions I have seen in a while. I'm so glad that they called for a phone interview - even if I don't get the job, it helps to boost my confidence that I am putting out good resumes and cover letters that attract employers.

To prep, I did much of the same work I did for my previous phone interviews at Google and Laserfiche. I wrote down questions that I thought they would ask and then answered them myself while practicing my stories over and over. Even though I do have a pretty decent memory, I won't be able to memorize and recite any of my stories during the interview - but that doesn't matter, the fact that I have thought about the stories I want to talk about and also the different experiences that I highlight in each story helps me trigger responses during the actual interview.

When doing a phone interview, or any interview for that matter, every little bit helps. I didn't dress super fancy, but I certainly wore a dress shirt and some nice pants to help me feel that I was in an interview (or formal setting). I made sure that I sat up and my posture was good so that I sound confident and relaxed over the phone. Sure a lot of these things are in other interview articles but to read about them and to practice them are two very different things.

I think what was very different about this preparation however, was the fact that I actually tailored a lot of my answers to the questions I thought I would give. For instance, if they asked "tell me about your approach to problem solving", I would describe a time I solved a problem and all the steps I took, then (and this is the important part), I would think about what kind of problem solving this opportunity had and then tie that into my answer.

So for example: Tell me about your approach to problem solving (position is web administrator)

During my work as ... for ...

....

.... (story over)

I know that this experience in problem solving will be valuable in my role as ... when I am helping to troubleshoot bugs on web pages.


I'm not even sure why I never did this before because it is such a simple thing to do and makes it easy for the interviewer to see that

1. You've done your research and you're pretty enthusiastic about the responsibilities of this position

2. You have good experience and it is transferable to the new position

3. You sum up your answers (which is good if you've talked a fairly long time about your experience)


Good luck with all your job searches!