Here’s a Secret- When it comes to start-ups,it’s not always what’s on your resume that matters most and that’s what really distinguishes a start-up from the rest . Candidates are selected on intangible qualities like- passion, enthusiasm, skills etc.

1-Cultural fitment–

An interviewer should make sure the Applicant fit the start-up culture well,  after all the  candidates will be joining the team & any so the addition to the team should fit in perfect both now or in future . After selection if candidates fails to adopt to the culture environment , To avoid such,  The interviewer should ensure that the candidates thought process align with the culture prevailing in Organization.

2-Passion for  learning new things–

All companies have their own business ideas and strategy & hence, they would not bring anyone on board to help turn their vision into reality unless the applicant feels the same way . It takes passionate & driven people to grow a company and that’s exactly what start-ups look for in  their employees

3- Stability-

Working with start-up involves a lot of risk and that’s no secret , job seekers avoid start-ups company due to stability concern As a lot of start-up have shut-shock over a past few years .  It’s the interviewer’s responsibility to instill confidence about their organization in mind of a jobseekers . On the other hand the interviewer is also responsible to gauge the inclination of a candidates and draw conclusion about whether he or she prefer to switch job frequently or look for growth in the same organization for periods of two or more years.

 4-Ownership-

The interviewer should also access the ownership qualities of the candidates. This can only be done by going through their personal or work history and delving into an individual scenario  or test case scenario . This is verily important step as it help organization in judging if a candidate will take owns of completing the task assign to him/her and also if they will take initiative to take value to the organization.

5- Communication skills –

Excellent communication skills are essential for work place success . A hiring manager will ask you about communication skills including – how you address issues, how you handle challenging situations etc. Candidates should be confident while answering. Communication skills is not only about how you speak but also the hiring manager will be evaluating your listening skills , nonverbal communication, Language , Confidence , and Friendliness . In some cases , English is not the only criteria from assigning communication skills, An interviewer could also want to check the fluidity of candidates thought process, wherein Language  used is not the basic criteria.

6- Flexibility & Adaptability –

Each companies have their own define work culture & any potential candidates has to be flexible enough to adopt to the prevailing culture . Most start-up look for dynamic candidates who would be open to multi task or not shy away from taking up work which have not been assign to them i.e some one who is proactive enough to explore additional work & ask for work responsibilities .

7- Young Leaders-

Interviewer may  hire someone who’s not only capable of leading a team toward success , but  also who will  motivate the team to do so. During the interview the interviewer would gauge these leadership  skill based on multiple parameters like conflict resolution , Adaptability , creativity, negotiation , decision making, people management.

8-Team Player-

Every organization relies on good teams. Effective team working the workplace helps drive the organization toward success. Most interviewers try to figure this out either by probing a candidate about his previous work experience or factors like their participation in a team sport like cricket, football etc Competition can be healthy when the employees are completing with each other and at the same time are thinking about the organization as a whole but at the same time aspects like ego sometimes tend to make this competition ugly & hence companies work to prefer to work with team player.

9- Winners-

It’s not always the skills that will get the candidates a job but also the candidates personality & an attitude  because companies don’t just hire you they hire personality . The highest quality that an interviewer looks for in a candidates is their capacity to self-motivate, their wiliness to grow and achieve more in life and a winners attitude . Someone who craves for reorganization through their work . 

If you decide to work for a start-up you should definitely keep the above listed factor in mind and try to elaborate on these attributes during the interview.