Why You Should Intern At A Startup

If you’ve seen The Social Network, then you will be familiar with the mythos of startup culture. Give your decision to intern at a startup careful consideration (see my earAlier post for some perspective). You likely won’t walk away from the experience with the riches of Mark Zuckerbeg’s cohorts, but there are a lot of other great (for your career) reasons to intern at a startup

You will get real leadership opportunities.

The smaller the company, the easier it is to discern the relationship between your hard work and the company’s success. This is called “meaningful work.” You can visual how you impact the bottomline.

At my internship, I worked on the powerpoint deck shown in the company investor pitch. My contribution was easy to understand: good presentation = more money for the company.

We’ve all heard about the dreaded ‘coffee fetching’ internships. A startup has bigger problems, and thus, more than enough real work for you to do.

Your opinion matters.

Week one at my first internship, we had a brainstorm with the entire team; its purpose: What To Name The Company. At this point, I was still mustering up the courage to produce multiple-word comments in meetings. So, when it came down to 2 final contenders, and my boss asked our opinions, my thought, literally, was “I can’t believe I get a vote.” He was asking me to help name his baby.

Senior management is accessible.

The gist of this post is that the walls are low are startups, which works in your favor. You can use this opportunity to learn as much as you can about all aspects of the business — from sales to engineering. And if you want to have lunch with the founder, go ahead and ask!

Good luck getting a meeting with the CEO at a Fortune 500. At a startup, you’ll likely work side by side.

More flexible work environment

This is the part where I talk about the ping pong tables. Don’t bank on there being a beer fridge and free candy in the company cafeteria [and probably best not to ask too many questions about the perks in your interview], but these practices illustrate a principle most startups embrace: happy workers are better workers.

And, of course, happy is different for every person. So your job may cater to your needs and allow some flexibility with the conditions under which you work, including the hours and what you can wear.

But don’t confused ‘relaxed’ with lazy; every one works hard at startups. Just the corporate uniform is optional.

Bonus perk: You can drop the ‘intern’ from your title.

Large companies have strict hierarchies, and titles reinforce that hierarchy. At startups, these details are much less important. At the end of your internship, you can have a discussion with your boss about a title change, and he/she will likely be receptive, so long as the change accurately reflects the work you completed. “Social Media Coordinator” will look and sound a lot more impressive than “Intern” on your resume.

DISCLAIMER: Always ask your manager before making any title enhancements. Things could get awkward when a prospective employer calls up your old boss, who has no knowledge of your tenure as “Chief of Operations” at his company.

It’s exciting.

The air buzzes at startups. There is a feeling that you’re on the cusp of something — something big.

Likely the company won’t end up being the next Facebook, but it could be.

You’ll be surrounded by smart, ambitious people who are so passionate about an idea, they sacrificed job security, and, in in the Founder’s case, a lot of their own money, to see it through. The fervor is contagious.

#startup