Friday, April 16, 2010

Applying for a VC analyst job

So I applied to for the analyst role at Union Square Ventures, an NYC venture fund made famous by A VC. It's been three days since they posted it, and already over 400 applications have come in for the two jobs combined. It's so crazy because 4 years ago when they did this only 30 people or so applied. If anything highlights how much the web has changed in those 4 years, this would be one of them. I'm assuming that most are not serious applications, but I'm still kicking myself for not applying when I read the post 4 years ago -- I just didn't want to go to New York. Now, moving to Manhattan for a couple of years sounds fun.

Even though it was like throwing a Hail Mary, I think it was a rewarding process. It forced me to think about what they want, what I want, where I'm going. I spent hours thinking about my application, which I think I'll be able to recycle into my business school applications assuming I don't get the job. Still I'm not going to give up hope yet, as I think I would be a good fit. They want someone who can do the due diligence, research and financial analysis required, but also someone who gets their investment theses and can provoke good discussions and add value to the decision making process.

I think my letter made a pretty good case that I can do that. Assuming that they read it, because they will probably filter a good percent of applicants based on the initial screen they get from LinkedIn (USV asked for LinkedIn profile and cover letter showing your web presence) that just shows your education and work experience. I guess we'll see how respected Rice is in the Northeast! Hmm, maybe I should be worried...

2 comments:

Jenn said...

How did you find out the stats about the apps? Also I'm not sure if that speaks to the web so much as it speaks to the current state of jobs in the US. I know lots of people that got offers that were later reneged or put off. It's a terrible time for jobs.

Unknown said...

We are definitely not just looking at LinkedIn! As this comment hopefully demonstrates.