Ask HN: Is experience in raising a startup valuable in a CV for a soft. eng.?

I'm not a recruiter, but in Si Valley I have reviewed thousands of resumes for my teams and as part of hiring committees, and have interviewed about 1k people, with perhaps 25% of that as fresh-grads.

First thing I would say is that you need to discount the current hiring signal instead of having it feed your about your skills rusting or being too old. If you are coming into the market as a fresh grad, late summer is an awkward point in the cycle. Most large companies have focused programs (and perhaps dedicated teams) that operate on an academic year schedule. Outreach is done in early Fall, interviews and headcount planning happen by late Fall, and offers to the budgeted slots are out by February, if not before.

A new grad applying outside this cycle needs a strong internal advocate and/or a resume that is amazing.

Smaller and less organized companies may not follow this tempo, but they may have fewer spots for new grads and weaker training programs also.

On the startup vs. employee role, I see no specific downside for the startup time, unless the experience changes your goals or attitude.

Eg. of goals - perhaps you decide that you really like the business side, and then try to transition back to hands-on tech. If your preference comes across on your resume or in the interview, you will be less likely to get hands-on tech roles.

Eg. of attitude - I've seen people who thing running a startup entitles them to very senior slots on the tech ladder. You will get bonus points for being an engineer with business knowledge, but you still need to be able to do the job.

If your startup idea doesn't work out, think of leaving your startup as a career change, and be humble about needing to learn if your new role requires new skills.

Someone else will need to reply for Europe or other geographies. I have heard of people who see these detours as signs of career confusion and job hoping risk, but Si Valley is pretty tolerant of people who have to remake themselves after ambition exceeds their reach (or luck).

1. cant you run startup on the side while working? i mean, maybe dont go all full time on it unless its delivering good cash flow, or unless you got some cash buffer

2. coming from failed startup is still counted as experience. the technologies you used, the sales and negotiation skills you honed and developed, those are valuable as hell.

3. even a cv with zero to minimal experience could get in doors. one is thru having a network of people that can refer you. another is thru applying to the right companies that may really need you, like small businesses or new startups that.

I wouldn't worry about interviewers frowning on your startup, as long as you're learning. The ones who will you won't want to work for. I have seen interviewers make the mistake of thinking someone is inexperienced just because they haven't 'worked on a team of X size' but as long as you can talk about the technical side and what you did/learned you should be fine.

No. Corporate drones don’t understand startups. (They don’t understand much of anything.) If you want to play their game, learn and follow their rules.