- Finding a job in venture capital is notoriously difficult because it is so competitive.
- Emma Halls, a recruiter from Stem7 Executive Search, talks about what VC firms are looking for in candidates.
- A financial background is often important, but soft skills can help candidates stand out, says Halls.
This as told essay is based on a transcribed conversation with Emma Halls, director at Stem7 Executive Search, a financial services recruitment agency. Business Insider has verified her employment. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
Venture capital is one of the hardest industries to get into because it is so competitive.
As a recruiter for Stem7 Executive Search, I specialize in placing candidates in venture capital and private equity, especially at early-stage investment firms. We work with venture capital firms in London, Palo Alto, Paris, Berlin, Stockholm, Munich and New York.
For junior positions, our clients prefer candidates with a background in investment banking or management consulting. But that alone isn’t enough to land a job at VC.
It is useful if someone has work experience in technology or startups. But they are also looking for candidates whose resumes show that they are actually passionate about the entire VC ecosystem. It’s not enough to just say you’re passionate on your resume; you must demonstrate this through your experience.
VC firms are looking for networkers and disruptors
This can be through their education; Candidates may have a science or engineering degree and demonstrate a curiosity about how things work. This could be by starting an initiative yourself, such as a university association, or by building an app together with friends. This shows VC firms that the candidates were always doing things that caused some form of disruption.
One thing we tell candidates is that they are entering a highly networked industry. VC firms want to know if applicants have been able to network themselves for some type of startup role or internship. Have they reached out to people in the ecosystem to build connections? Have they participated in competitions in college related to startups or businesses? These things will show a VC that is hiring that this person has something extra in them.
An important quality that our clients look for is the ability to build interpersonal relationships. Have applicants been able to communicate with people and build relationships? Don’t just talk to people, actually build relationships, which means staying in consistent contact with that person. The other trait they look for is emotional intelligence, which comes out more in interviews.
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Before entering the interview stage, candidates should look at what this particular fund does and what sectors it operates in. In which areas and companies do these specific venture capital funds invest? What investment stage are they looking at?
There’s no point in applying to a biotech company and saying they’re really interested in AI. Normally the process would be that when they get to the interview stage, they are then asked to tell their background. They would be asked questions like, “If you were to invest in any market right now, what would it be?”
Emma Halls is director at Stem7 Executive Search. Stem7 Executive Search
There are a number of popular markets where our clients are quite interested in candidates who have experience. This includes, but is not limited to, artificial intelligence, biotechnology and health technology, climate technology and financial services.
So when candidates come to an interview, the person interviewing them will want to know, “What are the investments we are making within our portfolio? Which ones do they like? Which ones would they invest in and why? Which ones would they support?” really do well?”
They want to know that the candidate has done a lot of research on their portfolio before joining the company.
Candidates without a financial background can stand out
Over the past five years we have seen many different routes to venture capital. People have networked in these areas and we encourage candidates to absorb all available information through podcasts and social media.
This will help candidates learn more about the areas, but they will also know for themselves whether they have that real passion and curiosity that will set them apart.
We have also seen doctors and people with a background in life sciences applying for more niche funds, such as biotechnology and healthcare, in those areas.
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One of the most common mistakes candidates make is not sufficiently mentioning on their resume what they have done that makes them stand out. They need to make sure they’ve listed everything they did in college, what they do outside of work, all the research they’ve done, and even what podcasts they listen to.
Candidates often forget that they need to show why they think they are good for the company. So instead of saying, “I would like to have the opportunity to work at your company because your company is really exciting,” they should write about, “I would really like to have the opportunity to interview with you because I think that in these ways I could contribute.”
Avoid long application letters
Often a candidate will write a very, very long cover letter, and that is essentially unnecessary. They might unknowingly trip themselves up. Our advice to candidates is that it’s fine to write a few sentences about why they want to work at that organization specifically and why they really like the company’s portfolio. They should explain why they feel the skills they have match what the company is looking for at that level.
When I look at why our candidates are rejected from actual job interviews, it’s often because they don’t demonstrate that they have certain soft skills. Can they communicate? It’s very easy for candidates to get absorbed in their phones instead of talking to people face-to-face – which will come out in interviews if they don’t have those coveted communication skills.