NYC Startup Job Fair: How Graduates Can Get a Great Job at a Startup

As the season turns to spring in the U.S., many soon-to-be college graduates and their soon-to-be employers turn their focus to the job market. In answer to the questions that graduates inevitably face from friends and family - "What will you do with your degree?" - one response should certainly be, "Find work with an exciting startup."

While some colleges are developing solid entrepreneurial programs, many graduates are still prone to believe that their best post-college employment prospects are to be found with more established companies. To change that perception, the Columbia Venture Company and the NYU Venture Company are hosting the first annual NYC Startup Job Fair.

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Since there remains much that higher education can do to nurture startups and to prepare and encourage students to seek opportunities there, the class of 2010 college graduates can and should look to startups as opportunities to launch their careers. Likewise, the class of 2010 and their search for post-college employment can and should provide startups with an opportunity to recruit the best and the brightest to join their ranks.



Just as there are many myths surrounding the risks associated with launching a startup as an entrepreneur, there are many myths associated with joining a startup as an employee - whether as a recent college graduate or as someone with more substantial work experience. However, as Chris Dixon notes, this career move may actually be less risky than one might believe. He cites the following reasons that college graduates should consider joining a startup:

Big companies aren't as stable as you think.

Big companies aren't loyal to employees.

Startups with financing pay pretty well.

Startups tend to be loyal to employees.

Joining a startup means joining a network of employees and investors - a connection that can translate into future ventures and future job opportunities.

While college graduates know to turn to job search websites (and there are many that match graduates with startup firms, including Startupzone.com, VentureLoop, and Startuply) in order to post their resumes and to find post-college employment, nothing can compare with the chance to interact with potential employers on a face-to-face basis. While more established companies still dominate the college campus job fair, a unique event in New York City on April 9 will provide an opportunity for recent and soon-to-be college graduate and startup companies to interact.



The first annual NYC Startup Job Fair seeks to "bring students, young alumni and startups together to connect bright, motivated individuals with exciting and innovative New York-based companies." Hoping to spur a grassroots awareness about startup opportunities throughout college campuses in the New York City area, the NYC Startup Job Fair has effectively sold out due to an overwhelming response from those who have RSVPed for the event.

One of the event organizers, Alex Horn, realized the need for this sort of event as he prepared to graduate from Columbia University, noting that there was "an information gap for graduates seeking out startup job opportunities; the Career Services Center at Columbia did a great job of promoting big financial institutions but very little to show students that there were other viable options out there." Horn hopes Friday's event "will enhance credibility for NY startups among young qualified job-seekers, lead to some resume exchanges, and convert some would-be bankers and googlers to entrepreneurs."

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