Tips For Writing Professional Job Search Documents: Fill & Download for Free

I have been asked this question often since joining Physic @Ventures in 2009, upon my graduation from Harvard Business School. To share my background, prior to graduate school I worked in public health and consulting. As you are probably wondering – I had not started a company, I had no technical or operations background, and I had never worked for a start-up at the time I was hired. But, I was able to demonstrate through my job search process that I had a lot of the skills good VCs share. Here are tips for how you can, too.VCs diligently scout areas of target investment – develop your own target list of VCsThe most basic question you need to ask yourself when you begin to look for a job in ventures is, “What sector and stage are right for me?” Think about the various opportunities you see in seed, VC, growth, and PE investing and pick what truly matches your interests and background. Do you want to invest to big data? Enterprise software? Medical devices? In my opinion, the VC industry is not like consulting or banking, where the inherent role at McKinsey is pretty much the same as at BCG. Each firm has expertise in different areas, different investment strategies, and different expectations of junior professionals. There are pros and cons of being at large and also at small funds. Find firms that have invested in companies you like – and then talk to the partner who led the deal. If you need help, you can generally get this information for free on CrunchBase, firm websites, or even company websites (if they feature the board). You can save yourself a lot of time by pursuing a focused list of individuals doing deals that excite you.VCs live in a world of pitches – be prepared to pitch yourselfThe job of a VC includes hearing a lot of pitches. Obviously, VCs receive company pitches on a daily basis. They also regularly hear from executives looking for jobs and from bankers, head hunters and lawyers looking to provide services. VCs are invited to speak at conferences and judge at business plan competitions. Time is precious and needs to be carefully managed– and just like a bright and ambitious CEO seeking potential investment , I suggest job seekers pitch their best qualities as a potential hire. Put together a 5-slide deck. Document for the VC in a credible and genuine way your ability to source companies, describe your investment thesis, explain the diligence questions you’d love to ask, and describe the exit environment for your sector of choice. Prove to your desired employer that you are thinking about investing in a unique way and have given her something new to think about. Amid dozens of coffee chats with other MBAs, your interviewer will remember that you showed her new companies and new ideas.VC is a relationship business – manage your job search to prove your ability to build meaningful relationshipsAs a young VC, you will be representing the firm at conferences, Demo Days, to entrepreneurs and to other firms. You will most likely be responsible for a significant amount of deal sourcing. All of these activities require great people skills, and as a new hire you need to demonstrate your poise, amenable personality, ability to keep in touch and above all – your judgment. Listen to the VC on the other side of the table, and follow up with articles, research, and (best of all) companies that fit the VC’s interest. You will likely speak to many VCs before you land your dream job, but embrace the process and use it to demonstrate how you build valuable relationships. Your VC can’t test for your relationship-building skills – but he will be looking to observe it. And once you are hired, the relationships you honed in your job search will be the foundation of your network in the industry.VC is both an independent competition and a team sport – show you can do both by offering to do a projectMost junior people at VC shops work with a high degree of independence. To a varying degree, they often independently decide which conferences to attend, which companies to pursue, design diligence processes, and write investment memos. There is not a lot of structure nor clearly defined deliverables. Being able to focus, prioritize, pace, and manage yourself is essential. Likewise, knowing when to push up an opportunity to your seniors, how to collaborate on diligence and documents, and joining company and fund management conversations are real team activities. Offer to do some free or for-credit work for your firm of choice. Prove how easily you can take an investment theme and run with it, scouting dozens of companies, generating market intelligence and insights, and sharing some recommendations with your chosen VC. Then offer to partner with the VC on diligence.Hiring is often done when a new fund is raised – hustle after a job opportunity in the same way you’d go after a hot dealIf you are not following VentureWire, PE Hub, TechCrunch or another source of industry news – you need to be. When a new fund is raised, this means incremental fees are being generated on top of fees still incoming from prior funds. New fees = unallocated budget, possibly for new hires. Positions may not be advertised, but you can network your way to the right people with the power to hire. Be persistent, be value-add – but be respectful of the process and context as you negotiate towards a job.It can take tenacity to be hired into a VC job. But if you use the job search process to demonstrate the same skills that would make you a success on the job, you’ll have a competitive edge.Finally, some additional suggestions related to your VC job search:Be patient. Investing is risky; if you can’t take risks in your job search (e.g. stay uncommitted to a job until you graduate or even beyond) then maybe this isn’t the right career for you.Don’t get discouraged. For some reason I can’t put my finger on, there is a lot of general discouragement offered when one announces they are looking for a job in VC. Try to ignore it – and keep up the hustle.Many people apply to the Kauffman Fellows program as a potential means of getting a leg up in the job search process.Plan to budget a few flights towards your job search. It is important to meet face to face, and this expense is likely on you.For the ladies – you will see a lot of VC website “team” pages with not a single woman’s face. Take a deep breath and then look for the opportunity to blaze your own path.You are probably asking people you admire to share their career advice with you. This is helpful –to a point. I found most people advised me to follow a path that looked suspiciously similar to the path they had taken, regardless of differences in our backgrounds, interests, expertise, etc. Bottom line is there is no clear path to being a great VC – you have to make it on your own with a little luck.

A cover letter is a one-page document that you send to recruiters, along with your resume. It gives the recruiter an introduction of yourself, and explains why you’re interested in the job. It should also tell the recruiter why you think you’d be a good fit for the company. Think of it as a one-page advertisement of yourself that you get to show your recruiter. You need to make it count.Introducing yourselfIf you don’t tell the recruiter who you are, your chances of catching their interest are low. I mean, put yourselves in the shoes of a recruiter. Imagine receiving an application that doesn’t even have a name or self-introduction. It only contains a few scribbles about his or her education and job experience. Would you be interested in hiring this mystery person you know absolutely nothing about? Probably not, right?Elaborate on your experiencesYes, the resume already contains an overview of your past experience and educational background, but that is all it is. An overview. In your cover letter, you can expand on these points, giving more details on your performance at the previous job you had, or the extracurricular activities you took up in school. Don’t just list out experiences again – pick one or two memorable ones and talk about them in detail.Explain why you are suitable for the jobDon’t just go on and on about yourself. Talk about the company, and why it would be better off if you were to become a member of its staff. Make it all about them, and what you could potentially do for them. Draw the relevant links between your experience and skills, and what the company needs. This is what the recruiter is interested in. They only want to know who you are and what you can do in relation to the company itself.If you want more information on how to write the perfect cover letter, check out How to write a cover letter - as well as our e-book series Adulting in Progress, which will be released early 2019. All the best in your job search!

5 Simple Steps to Land a Job as UX Designer with No ExperienceWant to get a job as UX designer even without design experiences? 5 simple steps and tips for you to become a great UX designer even with no experience.Do you know the average salary of a senior UX (user experience) designer has been up to $86,071 per year till 2017? Do you know UX designer has been ranked 14th in a top 100 job list delivered by CNN? Or do you know hundreds of, thousands of or even far more UX design positions will be created in the next ten years?Are you also considering to get a job as UX designer but still hesitating since you have no any UX design experiences? No worry! Here are 5 simple steps and tips for you to find a job as UX designer even with no experiences:What to Do Before You Follow 5 Steps to Find a UX Designer Job?Honestly, it will be a really tough and long way to go if you have not made up your mind to be a UX designer. Hence, in case that you will give up halfway, before you follow the listed five steps to find a job as UX designer, you’d better firstly ask yourself a series of questions to see whether you have prepared yourself physically and mentally:1). Why do you want to be a UX designer?The answer to this question can not only let you know your real feelings about UX design, and also can become a powerful motivation that encourages you to overcome different problems and hardships in the future. Of course, if you are not determined yet, the answer also can be a good excuse to give up.Hence, take this question seriously and write down all answers, if possible. In this way, you can read them at any time when you cannot hold on and think of giving up in the future.2). How much do you know about UX design or UX designer?Are you a UX designer with no design experiences or merely a newbie who knows nothing about UX design? Or how much do you know about UX design or UX designer? Actually, the answer to such questions can let you know your real situations. And That could not only help you make a practicable learning plan, and also find a proper position while applying for a UX designer job online later.Hence, make sure all your answers to such questions are real and practical.3). Which field or business do you want to fall into?In order to make full use of your time, before you follow the steps to be a UX designer, you’d better also figure out which field or business you prefer to falling into.For example, if you want to be a UX designer that will design and develop interfaces of a mobile phone app in the future, you’d better focus on the knowledge of designing and improving mobile phone application interfaces, like learning from design works by excellent UX designers.Of course, if possible, also specially learn and acquire at least a prototype tool that allows you to build an interactive mobile app prototypes, like the easy and high-efficient tool - Mockplus. And then, while scanning a UX designer position online, you can also choose some companies that are involved in researching and developing mobile apps.Hence, the answer to this question can help you get a right direction to guide your future learning and job searching. It is also important.4). How much do you want to be paid as UX designer in the future?As the picture above shows, the average salary of a common senior UX designer is $86,071 per year. And how much do you want to be paid as UX designer in the future? Actually, the answer to this question can also motivate you to keep learning and fighting for a better position.In short, no matter what your actual answers to these questions are in details, you’d better take them seriously and let them guide you to make a practical learning and job searching plan.How to Get a Job as UX Designer even without Design ExperiencesAfter knowing your real feelings about UX design and making up your mind, what can you do now to get a job as UX designer even without any professional design experiences? No worry! Here are 5 simple steps and tips for you:Step 1. Keep learning and improving your UX design skillsNo matter whether you are a newbie knowing nothing about UX design or a UX designer only with no experiences, your real UX designing abilities and skills matter a lot while you are trying to find a job as UX designer. Hence, before you really start to apply for a UX designer position online, you’d better also keep learning and improve your design skills. And, here are some common ways for you:Read UX design books and articlesHonestly, reading UX design books and articles is pretty useful and practical to broaden your knowledge in UX Design and improve your design skills. So, go to local libraries and choose some must-read UX design books and articles.Use online course websites to learn UX designExcept following a traditional way to read books and articles, you can also try some professional online course websites. Actually, there are many online design course websites that can not only offer users online courses (including some design course videos) and also allow them to subscribe or download useful UX design materials. Moreover, these websites can often be reached and opened through both of mobile devices and computers. That could be really fast, convenient and vivid for you to learn UX design. And let’s take 3 best online course websites as examples:*Hack DesignInsights of the industry-leading UXers and PMs in ChinaUXer TalksHack Design is free and easy for you to follow different design courses and receive design lessons in your inbox each week. And these delivered lessons also include links to many useful and popular articles, tutorial and even task lists for you to follow.*CourseraCoursera offers 2000 courses from well-known schools like Standford and Yale. Many courses also offer verified certificates and specializations which can be shared via LinkedIn after your participation.*My. pathMy. Path offers both of free and paid learning materials. And you can choose your desired courses, articles and videos based on your own needs.Join an online or offline course of UX designAn online or offline course is also a good way for you to learn UX design knowledge more systematically. Moreover, if your teacher is coincidentally a UX design expert, it also could be a nice chance for you to learn useful skills and experiences that you cannot get from a book.Hence, join a full-time/part-time online or offline UX design course, if possible.Follow excellent UX designers and learn something from their design worksDo you know any excellent UX designers that can give you useful suggestions and share their experiences? If your answer is unfortunately “No”, also do not panic! You can easily find them through Twitter, Facebook, Dribbble and more similar social platforms. Merely follow them and learn from their design works. If possible, also be brave to talk with them and keep a friendship there.Overall, just adopt all possible ways you can find to improve your UX design skills.Step 2. Master at least one prototyping tool for UX designWhich prototyping tool do you use to translate your ideas into visual and interactive prototypes? In fact, prototyping tools, as commonly-used tools for UX designers, can not only help you verify some useful theories and principles learning from books or online courses, and also help you practice and improve your UX design skills. Needlessly to say it also could be a spark of your resume.So, if you get no any prototyping tool for UX design or have not found a proper prototype design tool yet, you can go try Mockplus:Mockplus is an easy, fast and all-in-one prototyping tool that offers designers many useful functions like:* Allow you to create, preview, cloud sync, publish and share a project easily with one click.*Drag and drop a linking point to quickly create interactions.*Offer a powerful component and icon library, including over 200 components and 3000 icons.*Support 8 ways for designers to preview and share a project with computers or mobiles.*Offer team collaboration that allows multiple designers to edit and complete the same project.Overall, no matter whether you are a beginner or expert in UX design, it could be a nice tool for you to build a beautiful interactive prototype with ease and efficiency.Step 3. Build Your Own Portfolio Site OnlineOnline portfolio site, as one of the best ways to show your actual UX design abilities and skills, also plays an important role while you are trying to attract the attention of interviewers. Hence, after mastering a prototyping tool, you’d better also start to build your own portfolio site online.And here are several tips for you to build and improve your own portfolio site:Offer a proper profileSince the portfolio site will be checked by interviewers, you’d better also offer a proper profile there:*Write a clear introduction of yourself*Add lists to show more information*Upload a high-quality and proper photoOverall, always show your positive sides there.Leave your contact informationAnd also leave your contact information so that interviewers can directly contact you when they have any question or concern about you. For example, merely leave a valid email or your twitter/facebook/dribbble link there.List your design works thereAs the main part of a portfolio site, your UX design works should be the core part. Hence, upload and list your best design works there.If you do get no any professional design works as a newbie, also do not worry. Build some mobile or web application prototypes with the help of good prototyping tools, like the easy and high-efficient tool - Mockplus mentioned above.Of course, if possible, also send them to some famous UX designers and let them give you some suggestions or comments. That could be a nice way to work out an excellent prototype.Step 4. Make an Awesome ResumeA unique resume is also another important document to apply for a good UX design position. So, also make an awesome resume based on your own situations and conditions.Directly download a free template online and improve it based on your needs or make it all by yourself.No matter which ways you choose, always highlight strong points and avoid weak points.Step 5. Search best online Job Sites to Apply for a UX Designer PositionAfter making an awesome resume, you can search best online job sites to apply for a UX designer position online. And here are 5 best online job sites for you:A. Job Search | IndeedAs the world’s largest job site, Job Search | Indeed can help you search and apply for UX designer positions offered by companies from different countries and regions in the world.B. LinkedIhttp://n.comAs the largest social networking site in America, Log In or Sign Up can not only help you search jobs to get hired, and also allows you to know more UX designers registered there.C. We are what we doAs a website that allows users to create different groups and meet people nearby, We are what we do can help you join professional UX design groups and meet more UX design experts. And it also could be a nice chance for you to find a good UX design job there.D. Upwork, the world's largest online workplaceAs the world’s largest online workplace for freelancers, Upwork, the world's largest online workplace is also a good site for you if you also want to be a freelancer in UX design.E. UXhttp://designerjobs.comAs an online site made for UX designers, you can search and apply for different UX designer jobs there based on your own conditions and needs.ConclusionNo matter whether you are new to UX design or have been a UX designer with limited experiences, you’d better follow the five steps carefully and keep learning to broaden knowledge in UX design and improving your UX design skills.Moreover, you’d better keep in mind: it could be a long way to go if you know nothing about UX design. Just be brave and sturdy. Of course, if you are a UX designer with no experiences, also do not blindly set unrealistic high goals. Just choose a position that can offer you opportunities to learn and grow. Overall, hope you can find your job as UX designer successfully in the end.SEE ALSO:Landing Your First Job as an UX Designer5 Simple Steps to Land a Job as UX Designer with No ExperienceThe Job Market Prospect for UX Designers16 Sites to Get Web Design Freelance Jobs20 Best UX Design Tools, Tutorials and Resources You Won't Miss Out in 20165 Tips To A Successful UX Design Interview10 Essential UI/UX Design Questions for Interview5 Tips To A Successful UX Design Interview12 UX Designer Interview Questions to Help You Pass the InterviewTop 20 UX Design Blogs and Resources You Should Follow in 2018 (Updated)10 Best Android and iOS Development Courses for Beginners and Get a JobHow Long Does It Take to Learn Web Development and Get a Job?