Mixing
What to list under a job where I achieved nothing (and the business went bust)?
Clash Royale CLAN TAG#URR8PPP
.everyoneloves__top-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__mid-leaderboard:empty margin-bottom:0;
up vote
25
down vote
favorite
I spent about one year - my first job out of college - at a quasi-startup company, which went bust soon after I left.
I believe my contributions were negligible and had no major influence on the company's success. I worked on the bare minimum one would expect from someone in my function/profession and added no immediate monetary value to the company.
If I really added no value to the company, what should I mention on the CV/resume?
resume
asked Aug 31 '14 at 23:46
IamGROOT
12923
suggest improvements |Â
up vote
25
down vote
favorite
I spent about one year - my first job out of college - at a quasi-startup company, which went bust soon after I left.
I believe my contributions were negligible and had no major influence on the company's success. I worked on the bare minimum one would expect from someone in my function/profession and added no immediate monetary value to the company.
If I really added no value to the company, what should I mention on the CV/resume?
resume
asked Aug 31 '14 at 23:46
IamGROOT
12923
2
Maybe you didn't add anything to the company, but what did you get out of the experience? Try adding that.
– Burhan Khalid
Sep 2 '14 at 12:17
suggest improvements |Â
up vote
25
down vote
favorite
up vote
25
down vote
favorite
I spent about one year - my first job out of college - at a quasi-startup company, which went bust soon after I left.
I believe my contributions were negligible and had no major influence on the company's success. I worked on the bare minimum one would expect from someone in my function/profession and added no immediate monetary value to the company.
If I really added no value to the company, what should I mention on the CV/resume?
resume
asked Aug 31 '14 at 23:46
IamGROOT
12923
I spent about one year - my first job out of college - at a quasi-startup company, which went bust soon after I left.
I believe my contributions were negligible and had no major influence on the company's success. I worked on the bare minimum one would expect from someone in my function/profession and added no immediate monetary value to the company.
If I really added no value to the company, what should I mention on the CV/resume?
resume
asked Aug 31 '14 at 23:46
IamGROOT
12923
asked Aug 31 '14 at 23:46
IamGROOT
12923
asked Aug 31 '14 at 23:46
IamGROOT
12923
asked Aug 31 '14 at 23:46
IamGROOT
12923
12923
2
Maybe you didn't add anything to the company, but what did you get out of the experience? Try adding that.
– Burhan Khalid
Sep 2 '14 at 12:17
suggest improvements |Â
2
Maybe you didn't add anything to the company, but what did you get out of the experience? Try adding that.
– Burhan Khalid
Sep 2 '14 at 12:17
2
2
Maybe you didn't add anything to the company, but what did you get out of the experience? Try adding that.
– Burhan Khalid
Sep 2 '14 at 12:17
Maybe you didn't add anything to the company, but what did you get out of the experience? Try adding that.
– Burhan Khalid
Sep 2 '14 at 12:17
suggest improvements |Â
7 Answers
7
active
oldest
votes
up vote
38
down vote
Whether your contributions had an influence on the company's success or not, you can still list what you contributed. Redesigning their database is a valid achievement even if they never migrated to the new database, for example.
If you can't think of anything that you actually accomplished, it's probably better to avoid trying to to so and just list "Developer on whatever-it-was" (or whatever's appropriate).
If you never did anything at all... I dunno what to tell you; it's hard to make a positive out of that.
answered Sep 1 '14 at 0:13
keshlam
41.5k1267144
suggest improvements |Â
up vote
26
down vote
It's a common piece of advice that your résumé looks better if you can list some actual accomplishments, in real business terms.
But that's to make your résumé stand out amongst the crowd that just reel off a list of duties. Or in the case of tech people, just a list of programming languages and frameworks.
If you're in the situation where you really can't brag about any actual accomplishments, then sadly, you're going to need to just relate a bland list of duties that your job involved.
Obviously this is less impressive than glorious achievements which catapulted this startup company into the realms of success. But two important things to remember:
- It was your first job out of college! Not many people achieve great things in their first job out of college! I know I didn't!
- A boring job looks a lot better on your résumé than a one year gap!
answered Sep 1 '14 at 1:56
Carson63000
7,1712748
7
Adding to #2: a boring job in your desired field is better than acing the job of sweeping the floor at a hair salon (unless that's your desired field).
– Torben Gundtofte-Bruun
Sep 1 '14 at 8:22
suggest improvements |Â
up vote
11
down vote
What did you expect, given your work experience and skills set? You weren't paid to run the company. You weren't paid to do nothing either. So list your tasks, trivial and menial as they may be and be done with it.
answered Sep 1 '14 at 0:39
Vietnhi Phuvan
68.9k7118254
suggest improvements |Â
up vote
9
down vote
Focus on what you did and ignore the business result.
No matter what the results and succes of your work becomes, you gained some experience by doing it. Those are valuable regardless of the value of the result produced by the work.
In fact, even when things turn out to be a complete failure, that is still a valuable lesson.
answered Sep 1 '14 at 8:14
hlovdal
275410
2
+1 "Learned X skill" is a valid accomplishment (especially in a first job after college), even if it did nothing to stop a doomed company going under. If you didn't learn hard skills, think about the soft skills people learn in their first job e.g. team working, dealing with challenging problems, adapting to change, etc etc
– user568458
Sep 1 '14 at 16:25
suggest improvements |Â
up vote
7
down vote
Instead of looking what you have achieved for the company, you can explain what you've learned from that period. Recruiters/HRM are not solely interested in what you've achieved, but also how you became a better person from a certain situation.
As such, carefully explain the situation in a few words and take an advantage by describing what you've learned. Words like "Even though the company failed in achieving it's goals, I've learned to persevere when the outlook looked grim" might give you precedence over those that actually just graduated.
Any experience in corporate live is often preferred against none, especially if there is no difference in salary.
answered Sep 1 '14 at 9:39
Luceos
4531512
1
Your example sounds like the hypothetical employee gained/improved a personal quality, rather than a professional one. Could you provide an example where one learns something more related to the actual duties?
– user1306322
Sep 1 '14 at 11:13
2
cultures are different, sometimes explaining how one evolved personally directly impacts the professional work environment. Having perseverance is often seen as beneficial to the work environment.
– Luceos
Sep 1 '14 at 11:36
2
Readers aren't interested in what value you added to a defunct startup, they're interested in how you'd add value to THEIR company. Working in a start-up (like) environment is very different from an established company. What did you learn about that, and about yourself? Especially if you interview at another start-up, they will be very interested in that - they don't hire 'skillsets'. Not if they have brain one.
– Spike0xff
Sep 2 '14 at 14:17
suggest improvements |Â
up vote
6
down vote
You can state, by example, that you've learned the importance of careful planning in a startup environment, and how to usefully manage limited resources. Of course, in an interview, they will ask you what do you mean by that - and there you have a chance to explain how that failure helped you have a more realistic understanding of businesses.
I spent the first 8 months of my career trying to develop, all by myself, a military grade surveillance system. I have learned the importance of senior people in a project. Also, I've learned that estimates, in both time and money, are an important tool for the job. I learned that being realistic is more important than being smart.
You look like you've seen, the hard way, how not to manage a business. That's a valuable lesson. Embrace it.
answered Sep 1 '14 at 8:35
Sam
1785
3
As of now, this does not answer the question. Could you edit your answer to make it more helpful?
– prockel
Sep 1 '14 at 9:03
2
Putting "I learned how not to run a business" on your resume sounds pretty scary to me :D
– user1306322
Sep 1 '14 at 11:16
1
Well, there are ways to state that in a positive way - see my edit above. I think that's a pretty valuable lesson, and any seasoned dev/hiring manager would be happy to hire someone who learned it on someone else's money. Of course, you have to convince them that you actually learned something...
– Sam
Sep 1 '14 at 11:42
I was told by the CFO of a (now) billion-dollar company that a CFO who's been through a bankruptcy is viewed positively: "They know what to look for" (Exact words). A lot of technical (and other) proficiency is avoiding mistakes and dead-ends. "I saw how bad X was" is miles ahead of "My professors told me not to do X."
– Spike0xff
Sep 2 '14 at 14:24
suggest improvements |Â
up vote
0
down vote
Don't underestimate doing what you're told and getting things done on time. This is what would stick out in the mind of someone at this company and that person could make a great reference.
Skill sets and getting along with others are key attributes for recent graduates/those with no experience, but once you've been employed for a year, it's important to have people who can vouch for your previous experience.
It's not perfect, but prior behaviors tend to be the best future predictors.
suggest improvements |Â
StackExchange.ready(function ()
$("#show-editor-button input, #show-editor-button button").click(function ()
var showEditor = function()
$("#show-editor-button").hide();
$("#post-form").removeClass("dno");
StackExchange.editor.finallyInit();
;
var useFancy = $(this).data('confirm-use-fancy');
if(useFancy == 'True')
var popupTitle = $(this).data('confirm-fancy-title');
var popupBody = $(this).data('confirm-fancy-body');
var popupAccept = $(this).data('confirm-fancy-accept-button');
$(this).loadPopup(
url: '/post/self-answer-popup',
loaded: function(popup)
var pTitle = $(popup).find('h2');
var pBody = $(popup).find('.popup-body');
var pSubmit = $(popup).find('.popup-submit');
pTitle.text(popupTitle);
pBody.html(popupBody);
pSubmit.val(popupAccept).click(showEditor);
)
else
var confirmText = $(this).data('confirm-text');
if (confirmText ? confirm(confirmText) : true)
showEditor();
);
);
7 Answers
7
active
oldest
votes
7 Answers
7
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
38
down vote
Whether your contributions had an influence on the company's success or not, you can still list what you contributed. Redesigning their database is a valid achievement even if they never migrated to the new database, for example.
If you can't think of anything that you actually accomplished, it's probably better to avoid trying to to so and just list "Developer on whatever-it-was" (or whatever's appropriate).
If you never did anything at all... I dunno what to tell you; it's hard to make a positive out of that.
answered Sep 1 '14 at 0:13
keshlam
41.5k1267144
suggest improvements |Â
up vote
38
down vote
Whether your contributions had an influence on the company's success or not, you can still list what you contributed. Redesigning their database is a valid achievement even if they never migrated to the new database, for example.
If you can't think of anything that you actually accomplished, it's probably better to avoid trying to to so and just list "Developer on whatever-it-was" (or whatever's appropriate).
If you never did anything at all... I dunno what to tell you; it's hard to make a positive out of that.
answered Sep 1 '14 at 0:13
keshlam
41.5k1267144
suggest improvements |Â
up vote
38
down vote
up vote
38
down vote
Whether your contributions had an influence on the company's success or not, you can still list what you contributed. Redesigning their database is a valid achievement even if they never migrated to the new database, for example.
If you can't think of anything that you actually accomplished, it's probably better to avoid trying to to so and just list "Developer on whatever-it-was" (or whatever's appropriate).
If you never did anything at all... I dunno what to tell you; it's hard to make a positive out of that.
answered Sep 1 '14 at 0:13
keshlam
41.5k1267144
Whether your contributions had an influence on the company's success or not, you can still list what you contributed. Redesigning their database is a valid achievement even if they never migrated to the new database, for example.
If you can't think of anything that you actually accomplished, it's probably better to avoid trying to to so and just list "Developer on whatever-it-was" (or whatever's appropriate).
If you never did anything at all... I dunno what to tell you; it's hard to make a positive out of that.
answered Sep 1 '14 at 0:13
keshlam
41.5k1267144
answered Sep 1 '14 at 0:13
keshlam
41.5k1267144
answered Sep 1 '14 at 0:13
keshlam
41.5k1267144
answered Sep 1 '14 at 0:13
keshlam
41.5k1267144
41.5k1267144
suggest improvements |Â
suggest improvements |Â
up vote
26
down vote
It's a common piece of advice that your résumé looks better if you can list some actual accomplishments, in real business terms.
But that's to make your résumé stand out amongst the crowd that just reel off a list of duties. Or in the case of tech people, just a list of programming languages and frameworks.
If you're in the situation where you really can't brag about any actual accomplishments, then sadly, you're going to need to just relate a bland list of duties that your job involved.
Obviously this is less impressive than glorious achievements which catapulted this startup company into the realms of success. But two important things to remember:
- It was your first job out of college! Not many people achieve great things in their first job out of college! I know I didn't!
- A boring job looks a lot better on your résumé than a one year gap!
answered Sep 1 '14 at 1:56
Carson63000
7,1712748
7
Adding to #2: a boring job in your desired field is better than acing the job of sweeping the floor at a hair salon (unless that's your desired field).
– Torben Gundtofte-Bruun
Sep 1 '14 at 8:22
suggest improvements |Â
up vote
26
down vote
It's a common piece of advice that your résumé looks better if you can list some actual accomplishments, in real business terms.
But that's to make your résumé stand out amongst the crowd that just reel off a list of duties. Or in the case of tech people, just a list of programming languages and frameworks.
If you're in the situation where you really can't brag about any actual accomplishments, then sadly, you're going to need to just relate a bland list of duties that your job involved.
Obviously this is less impressive than glorious achievements which catapulted this startup company into the realms of success. But two important things to remember:
- It was your first job out of college! Not many people achieve great things in their first job out of college! I know I didn't!
- A boring job looks a lot better on your résumé than a one year gap!
answered Sep 1 '14 at 1:56
Carson63000
7,1712748
7
Adding to #2: a boring job in your desired field is better than acing the job of sweeping the floor at a hair salon (unless that's your desired field).
– Torben Gundtofte-Bruun
Sep 1 '14 at 8:22
suggest improvements |Â
up vote
26
down vote
up vote
26
down vote
It's a common piece of advice that your résumé looks better if you can list some actual accomplishments, in real business terms.
But that's to make your résumé stand out amongst the crowd that just reel off a list of duties. Or in the case of tech people, just a list of programming languages and frameworks.
If you're in the situation where you really can't brag about any actual accomplishments, then sadly, you're going to need to just relate a bland list of duties that your job involved.
Obviously this is less impressive than glorious achievements which catapulted this startup company into the realms of success. But two important things to remember:
- It was your first job out of college! Not many people achieve great things in their first job out of college! I know I didn't!
- A boring job looks a lot better on your résumé than a one year gap!
answered Sep 1 '14 at 1:56
Carson63000
7,1712748
It's a common piece of advice that your résumé looks better if you can list some actual accomplishments, in real business terms.
But that's to make your résumé stand out amongst the crowd that just reel off a list of duties. Or in the case of tech people, just a list of programming languages and frameworks.
If you're in the situation where you really can't brag about any actual accomplishments, then sadly, you're going to need to just relate a bland list of duties that your job involved.
Obviously this is less impressive than glorious achievements which catapulted this startup company into the realms of success. But two important things to remember:
- It was your first job out of college! Not many people achieve great things in their first job out of college! I know I didn't!
- A boring job looks a lot better on your résumé than a one year gap!
answered Sep 1 '14 at 1:56
Carson63000
7,1712748
answered Sep 1 '14 at 1:56
Carson63000
7,1712748
answered Sep 1 '14 at 1:56
Carson63000
7,1712748
answered Sep 1 '14 at 1:56
Carson63000
7,1712748
7,1712748
7
Adding to #2: a boring job in your desired field is better than acing the job of sweeping the floor at a hair salon (unless that's your desired field).
– Torben Gundtofte-Bruun
Sep 1 '14 at 8:22
suggest improvements |Â
7
Adding to #2: a boring job in your desired field is better than acing the job of sweeping the floor at a hair salon (unless that's your desired field).
– Torben Gundtofte-Bruun
Sep 1 '14 at 8:22
7
7
Adding to #2: a boring job in your desired field is better than acing the job of sweeping the floor at a hair salon (unless that's your desired field).
– Torben Gundtofte-Bruun
Sep 1 '14 at 8:22
Adding to #2: a boring job in your desired field is better than acing the job of sweeping the floor at a hair salon (unless that's your desired field).
– Torben Gundtofte-Bruun
Sep 1 '14 at 8:22
suggest improvements |Â
up vote
11
down vote
What did you expect, given your work experience and skills set? You weren't paid to run the company. You weren't paid to do nothing either. So list your tasks, trivial and menial as they may be and be done with it.
answered Sep 1 '14 at 0:39
Vietnhi Phuvan
68.9k7118254
suggest improvements |Â
up vote
11
down vote
What did you expect, given your work experience and skills set? You weren't paid to run the company. You weren't paid to do nothing either. So list your tasks, trivial and menial as they may be and be done with it.
answered Sep 1 '14 at 0:39
Vietnhi Phuvan
68.9k7118254
suggest improvements |Â
up vote
11
down vote
up vote
11
down vote
What did you expect, given your work experience and skills set? You weren't paid to run the company. You weren't paid to do nothing either. So list your tasks, trivial and menial as they may be and be done with it.
answered Sep 1 '14 at 0:39
Vietnhi Phuvan
68.9k7118254
What did you expect, given your work experience and skills set? You weren't paid to run the company. You weren't paid to do nothing either. So list your tasks, trivial and menial as they may be and be done with it.
answered Sep 1 '14 at 0:39
Vietnhi Phuvan
68.9k7118254
answered Sep 1 '14 at 0:39
Vietnhi Phuvan
68.9k7118254
answered Sep 1 '14 at 0:39
Vietnhi Phuvan
68.9k7118254
answered Sep 1 '14 at 0:39
Vietnhi Phuvan
68.9k7118254
68.9k7118254
suggest improvements |Â
suggest improvements |Â
up vote
9
down vote
Focus on what you did and ignore the business result.
No matter what the results and succes of your work becomes, you gained some experience by doing it. Those are valuable regardless of the value of the result produced by the work.
In fact, even when things turn out to be a complete failure, that is still a valuable lesson.
answered Sep 1 '14 at 8:14
hlovdal
275410
2
+1 "Learned X skill" is a valid accomplishment (especially in a first job after college), even if it did nothing to stop a doomed company going under. If you didn't learn hard skills, think about the soft skills people learn in their first job e.g. team working, dealing with challenging problems, adapting to change, etc etc
– user568458
Sep 1 '14 at 16:25
suggest improvements |Â
up vote
9
down vote
Focus on what you did and ignore the business result.
No matter what the results and succes of your work becomes, you gained some experience by doing it. Those are valuable regardless of the value of the result produced by the work.
In fact, even when things turn out to be a complete failure, that is still a valuable lesson.
answered Sep 1 '14 at 8:14
hlovdal
275410
2
+1 "Learned X skill" is a valid accomplishment (especially in a first job after college), even if it did nothing to stop a doomed company going under. If you didn't learn hard skills, think about the soft skills people learn in their first job e.g. team working, dealing with challenging problems, adapting to change, etc etc
– user568458
Sep 1 '14 at 16:25
suggest improvements |Â
up vote
9
down vote
up vote
9
down vote
Focus on what you did and ignore the business result.
No matter what the results and succes of your work becomes, you gained some experience by doing it. Those are valuable regardless of the value of the result produced by the work.
In fact, even when things turn out to be a complete failure, that is still a valuable lesson.
answered Sep 1 '14 at 8:14
hlovdal
275410
Focus on what you did and ignore the business result.
No matter what the results and succes of your work becomes, you gained some experience by doing it. Those are valuable regardless of the value of the result produced by the work.
In fact, even when things turn out to be a complete failure, that is still a valuable lesson.
answered Sep 1 '14 at 8:14
hlovdal
275410
edited Sep 2 '14 at 8:37
answered Sep 1 '14 at 8:14
hlovdal
275410
answered Sep 1 '14 at 8:14
hlovdal
275410
answered Sep 1 '14 at 8:14
hlovdal
275410
275410
2
+1 "Learned X skill" is a valid accomplishment (especially in a first job after college), even if it did nothing to stop a doomed company going under. If you didn't learn hard skills, think about the soft skills people learn in their first job e.g. team working, dealing with challenging problems, adapting to change, etc etc
– user568458
Sep 1 '14 at 16:25
suggest improvements |Â
2
+1 "Learned X skill" is a valid accomplishment (especially in a first job after college), even if it did nothing to stop a doomed company going under. If you didn't learn hard skills, think about the soft skills people learn in their first job e.g. team working, dealing with challenging problems, adapting to change, etc etc
– user568458
Sep 1 '14 at 16:25
2
2
+1 "Learned X skill" is a valid accomplishment (especially in a first job after college), even if it did nothing to stop a doomed company going under. If you didn't learn hard skills, think about the soft skills people learn in their first job e.g. team working, dealing with challenging problems, adapting to change, etc etc
– user568458
Sep 1 '14 at 16:25
+1 "Learned X skill" is a valid accomplishment (especially in a first job after college), even if it did nothing to stop a doomed company going under. If you didn't learn hard skills, think about the soft skills people learn in their first job e.g. team working, dealing with challenging problems, adapting to change, etc etc
– user568458
Sep 1 '14 at 16:25
suggest improvements |Â
up vote
7
down vote
Instead of looking what you have achieved for the company, you can explain what you've learned from that period. Recruiters/HRM are not solely interested in what you've achieved, but also how you became a better person from a certain situation.
As such, carefully explain the situation in a few words and take an advantage by describing what you've learned. Words like "Even though the company failed in achieving it's goals, I've learned to persevere when the outlook looked grim" might give you precedence over those that actually just graduated.
Any experience in corporate live is often preferred against none, especially if there is no difference in salary.
answered Sep 1 '14 at 9:39
Luceos
4531512
1
Your example sounds like the hypothetical employee gained/improved a personal quality, rather than a professional one. Could you provide an example where one learns something more related to the actual duties?
– user1306322
Sep 1 '14 at 11:13
2
cultures are different, sometimes explaining how one evolved personally directly impacts the professional work environment. Having perseverance is often seen as beneficial to the work environment.
– Luceos
Sep 1 '14 at 11:36
2
Readers aren't interested in what value you added to a defunct startup, they're interested in how you'd add value to THEIR company. Working in a start-up (like) environment is very different from an established company. What did you learn about that, and about yourself? Especially if you interview at another start-up, they will be very interested in that - they don't hire 'skillsets'. Not if they have brain one.
– Spike0xff
Sep 2 '14 at 14:17
suggest improvements |Â
up vote
7
down vote
Instead of looking what you have achieved for the company, you can explain what you've learned from that period. Recruiters/HRM are not solely interested in what you've achieved, but also how you became a better person from a certain situation.
As such, carefully explain the situation in a few words and take an advantage by describing what you've learned. Words like "Even though the company failed in achieving it's goals, I've learned to persevere when the outlook looked grim" might give you precedence over those that actually just graduated.
Any experience in corporate live is often preferred against none, especially if there is no difference in salary.
answered Sep 1 '14 at 9:39
Luceos
4531512
1
Your example sounds like the hypothetical employee gained/improved a personal quality, rather than a professional one. Could you provide an example where one learns something more related to the actual duties?
– user1306322
Sep 1 '14 at 11:13
2
cultures are different, sometimes explaining how one evolved personally directly impacts the professional work environment. Having perseverance is often seen as beneficial to the work environment.
– Luceos
Sep 1 '14 at 11:36
2
Readers aren't interested in what value you added to a defunct startup, they're interested in how you'd add value to THEIR company. Working in a start-up (like) environment is very different from an established company. What did you learn about that, and about yourself? Especially if you interview at another start-up, they will be very interested in that - they don't hire 'skillsets'. Not if they have brain one.
– Spike0xff
Sep 2 '14 at 14:17
suggest improvements |Â
up vote
7
down vote
up vote
7
down vote
Instead of looking what you have achieved for the company, you can explain what you've learned from that period. Recruiters/HRM are not solely interested in what you've achieved, but also how you became a better person from a certain situation.
As such, carefully explain the situation in a few words and take an advantage by describing what you've learned. Words like "Even though the company failed in achieving it's goals, I've learned to persevere when the outlook looked grim" might give you precedence over those that actually just graduated.
Any experience in corporate live is often preferred against none, especially if there is no difference in salary.
answered Sep 1 '14 at 9:39
Luceos
4531512
Instead of looking what you have achieved for the company, you can explain what you've learned from that period. Recruiters/HRM are not solely interested in what you've achieved, but also how you became a better person from a certain situation.
As such, carefully explain the situation in a few words and take an advantage by describing what you've learned. Words like "Even though the company failed in achieving it's goals, I've learned to persevere when the outlook looked grim" might give you precedence over those that actually just graduated.
Any experience in corporate live is often preferred against none, especially if there is no difference in salary.
answered Sep 1 '14 at 9:39
Luceos
4531512
answered Sep 1 '14 at 9:39
Luceos
4531512
answered Sep 1 '14 at 9:39
Luceos
4531512
answered Sep 1 '14 at 9:39
Luceos
4531512
4531512
1
Your example sounds like the hypothetical employee gained/improved a personal quality, rather than a professional one. Could you provide an example where one learns something more related to the actual duties?
– user1306322
Sep 1 '14 at 11:13
2
cultures are different, sometimes explaining how one evolved personally directly impacts the professional work environment. Having perseverance is often seen as beneficial to the work environment.
– Luceos
Sep 1 '14 at 11:36
2
Readers aren't interested in what value you added to a defunct startup, they're interested in how you'd add value to THEIR company. Working in a start-up (like) environment is very different from an established company. What did you learn about that, and about yourself? Especially if you interview at another start-up, they will be very interested in that - they don't hire 'skillsets'. Not if they have brain one.
– Spike0xff
Sep 2 '14 at 14:17
suggest improvements |Â
1
Your example sounds like the hypothetical employee gained/improved a personal quality, rather than a professional one. Could you provide an example where one learns something more related to the actual duties?
– user1306322
Sep 1 '14 at 11:13
2
cultures are different, sometimes explaining how one evolved personally directly impacts the professional work environment. Having perseverance is often seen as beneficial to the work environment.
– Luceos
Sep 1 '14 at 11:36
2
Readers aren't interested in what value you added to a defunct startup, they're interested in how you'd add value to THEIR company. Working in a start-up (like) environment is very different from an established company. What did you learn about that, and about yourself? Especially if you interview at another start-up, they will be very interested in that - they don't hire 'skillsets'. Not if they have brain one.
– Spike0xff
Sep 2 '14 at 14:17
1
1
Your example sounds like the hypothetical employee gained/improved a personal quality, rather than a professional one. Could you provide an example where one learns something more related to the actual duties?
– user1306322
Sep 1 '14 at 11:13
Your example sounds like the hypothetical employee gained/improved a personal quality, rather than a professional one. Could you provide an example where one learns something more related to the actual duties?
– user1306322
Sep 1 '14 at 11:13
2
2
cultures are different, sometimes explaining how one evolved personally directly impacts the professional work environment. Having perseverance is often seen as beneficial to the work environment.
– Luceos
Sep 1 '14 at 11:36
cultures are different, sometimes explaining how one evolved personally directly impacts the professional work environment. Having perseverance is often seen as beneficial to the work environment.
– Luceos
Sep 1 '14 at 11:36
2
2
Readers aren't interested in what value you added to a defunct startup, they're interested in how you'd add value to THEIR company. Working in a start-up (like) environment is very different from an established company. What did you learn about that, and about yourself? Especially if you interview at another start-up, they will be very interested in that - they don't hire 'skillsets'. Not if they have brain one.
– Spike0xff
Sep 2 '14 at 14:17
Readers aren't interested in what value you added to a defunct startup, they're interested in how you'd add value to THEIR company. Working in a start-up (like) environment is very different from an established company. What did you learn about that, and about yourself? Especially if you interview at another start-up, they will be very interested in that - they don't hire 'skillsets'. Not if they have brain one.
– Spike0xff
Sep 2 '14 at 14:17
suggest improvements |Â
up vote
6
down vote
You can state, by example, that you've learned the importance of careful planning in a startup environment, and how to usefully manage limited resources. Of course, in an interview, they will ask you what do you mean by that - and there you have a chance to explain how that failure helped you have a more realistic understanding of businesses.
I spent the first 8 months of my career trying to develop, all by myself, a military grade surveillance system. I have learned the importance of senior people in a project. Also, I've learned that estimates, in both time and money, are an important tool for the job. I learned that being realistic is more important than being smart.
You look like you've seen, the hard way, how not to manage a business. That's a valuable lesson. Embrace it.
answered Sep 1 '14 at 8:35
Sam
1785
3
As of now, this does not answer the question. Could you edit your answer to make it more helpful?
– prockel
Sep 1 '14 at 9:03
2
Putting "I learned how not to run a business" on your resume sounds pretty scary to me :D
– user1306322
Sep 1 '14 at 11:16
1
Well, there are ways to state that in a positive way - see my edit above. I think that's a pretty valuable lesson, and any seasoned dev/hiring manager would be happy to hire someone who learned it on someone else's money. Of course, you have to convince them that you actually learned something...
– Sam
Sep 1 '14 at 11:42
I was told by the CFO of a (now) billion-dollar company that a CFO who's been through a bankruptcy is viewed positively: "They know what to look for" (Exact words). A lot of technical (and other) proficiency is avoiding mistakes and dead-ends. "I saw how bad X was" is miles ahead of "My professors told me not to do X."
– Spike0xff
Sep 2 '14 at 14:24
suggest improvements |Â
up vote
6
down vote
You can state, by example, that you've learned the importance of careful planning in a startup environment, and how to usefully manage limited resources. Of course, in an interview, they will ask you what do you mean by that - and there you have a chance to explain how that failure helped you have a more realistic understanding of businesses.
I spent the first 8 months of my career trying to develop, all by myself, a military grade surveillance system. I have learned the importance of senior people in a project. Also, I've learned that estimates, in both time and money, are an important tool for the job. I learned that being realistic is more important than being smart.
You look like you've seen, the hard way, how not to manage a business. That's a valuable lesson. Embrace it.
answered Sep 1 '14 at 8:35
Sam
1785
3
As of now, this does not answer the question. Could you edit your answer to make it more helpful?
– prockel
Sep 1 '14 at 9:03
2
Putting "I learned how not to run a business" on your resume sounds pretty scary to me :D
– user1306322
Sep 1 '14 at 11:16
1
Well, there are ways to state that in a positive way - see my edit above. I think that's a pretty valuable lesson, and any seasoned dev/hiring manager would be happy to hire someone who learned it on someone else's money. Of course, you have to convince them that you actually learned something...
– Sam
Sep 1 '14 at 11:42
I was told by the CFO of a (now) billion-dollar company that a CFO who's been through a bankruptcy is viewed positively: "They know what to look for" (Exact words). A lot of technical (and other) proficiency is avoiding mistakes and dead-ends. "I saw how bad X was" is miles ahead of "My professors told me not to do X."
– Spike0xff
Sep 2 '14 at 14:24
suggest improvements |Â
up vote
6
down vote
up vote
6
down vote
You can state, by example, that you've learned the importance of careful planning in a startup environment, and how to usefully manage limited resources. Of course, in an interview, they will ask you what do you mean by that - and there you have a chance to explain how that failure helped you have a more realistic understanding of businesses.
I spent the first 8 months of my career trying to develop, all by myself, a military grade surveillance system. I have learned the importance of senior people in a project. Also, I've learned that estimates, in both time and money, are an important tool for the job. I learned that being realistic is more important than being smart.
You look like you've seen, the hard way, how not to manage a business. That's a valuable lesson. Embrace it.
answered Sep 1 '14 at 8:35
Sam
1785
You can state, by example, that you've learned the importance of careful planning in a startup environment, and how to usefully manage limited resources. Of course, in an interview, they will ask you what do you mean by that - and there you have a chance to explain how that failure helped you have a more realistic understanding of businesses.
I spent the first 8 months of my career trying to develop, all by myself, a military grade surveillance system. I have learned the importance of senior people in a project. Also, I've learned that estimates, in both time and money, are an important tool for the job. I learned that being realistic is more important than being smart.
You look like you've seen, the hard way, how not to manage a business. That's a valuable lesson. Embrace it.
answered Sep 1 '14 at 8:35
Sam
1785
edited Sep 2 '14 at 4:52
user22432
answered Sep 1 '14 at 8:35
Sam
1785
answered Sep 1 '14 at 8:35
Sam
1785
answered Sep 1 '14 at 8:35
Sam
1785
1785
3
As of now, this does not answer the question. Could you edit your answer to make it more helpful?
– prockel
Sep 1 '14 at 9:03
2
Putting "I learned how not to run a business" on your resume sounds pretty scary to me :D
– user1306322
Sep 1 '14 at 11:16
1
Well, there are ways to state that in a positive way - see my edit above. I think that's a pretty valuable lesson, and any seasoned dev/hiring manager would be happy to hire someone who learned it on someone else's money. Of course, you have to convince them that you actually learned something...
– Sam
Sep 1 '14 at 11:42
I was told by the CFO of a (now) billion-dollar company that a CFO who's been through a bankruptcy is viewed positively: "They know what to look for" (Exact words). A lot of technical (and other) proficiency is avoiding mistakes and dead-ends. "I saw how bad X was" is miles ahead of "My professors told me not to do X."
– Spike0xff
Sep 2 '14 at 14:24
suggest improvements |Â
3
As of now, this does not answer the question. Could you edit your answer to make it more helpful?
– prockel
Sep 1 '14 at 9:03
2
Putting "I learned how not to run a business" on your resume sounds pretty scary to me :D
– user1306322
Sep 1 '14 at 11:16
1
Well, there are ways to state that in a positive way - see my edit above. I think that's a pretty valuable lesson, and any seasoned dev/hiring manager would be happy to hire someone who learned it on someone else's money. Of course, you have to convince them that you actually learned something...
– Sam
Sep 1 '14 at 11:42
I was told by the CFO of a (now) billion-dollar company that a CFO who's been through a bankruptcy is viewed positively: "They know what to look for" (Exact words). A lot of technical (and other) proficiency is avoiding mistakes and dead-ends. "I saw how bad X was" is miles ahead of "My professors told me not to do X."
– Spike0xff
Sep 2 '14 at 14:24
3
3
As of now, this does not answer the question. Could you edit your answer to make it more helpful?
– prockel
Sep 1 '14 at 9:03
As of now, this does not answer the question. Could you edit your answer to make it more helpful?
– prockel
Sep 1 '14 at 9:03
2
2
Putting "I learned how not to run a business" on your resume sounds pretty scary to me :D
– user1306322
Sep 1 '14 at 11:16
Putting "I learned how not to run a business" on your resume sounds pretty scary to me :D
– user1306322
Sep 1 '14 at 11:16
1
1
Well, there are ways to state that in a positive way - see my edit above. I think that's a pretty valuable lesson, and any seasoned dev/hiring manager would be happy to hire someone who learned it on someone else's money. Of course, you have to convince them that you actually learned something...
– Sam
Sep 1 '14 at 11:42
Well, there are ways to state that in a positive way - see my edit above. I think that's a pretty valuable lesson, and any seasoned dev/hiring manager would be happy to hire someone who learned it on someone else's money. Of course, you have to convince them that you actually learned something...
– Sam
Sep 1 '14 at 11:42
I was told by the CFO of a (now) billion-dollar company that a CFO who's been through a bankruptcy is viewed positively: "They know what to look for" (Exact words). A lot of technical (and other) proficiency is avoiding mistakes and dead-ends. "I saw how bad X was" is miles ahead of "My professors told me not to do X."
– Spike0xff
Sep 2 '14 at 14:24
I was told by the CFO of a (now) billion-dollar company that a CFO who's been through a bankruptcy is viewed positively: "They know what to look for" (Exact words). A lot of technical (and other) proficiency is avoiding mistakes and dead-ends. "I saw how bad X was" is miles ahead of "My professors told me not to do X."
– Spike0xff
Sep 2 '14 at 14:24
suggest improvements |Â
up vote
0
down vote
Don't underestimate doing what you're told and getting things done on time. This is what would stick out in the mind of someone at this company and that person could make a great reference.
Skill sets and getting along with others are key attributes for recent graduates/those with no experience, but once you've been employed for a year, it's important to have people who can vouch for your previous experience.
It's not perfect, but prior behaviors tend to be the best future predictors.
suggest improvements |Â
up vote
0
down vote
Don't underestimate doing what you're told and getting things done on time. This is what would stick out in the mind of someone at this company and that person could make a great reference.
Skill sets and getting along with others are key attributes for recent graduates/those with no experience, but once you've been employed for a year, it's important to have people who can vouch for your previous experience.
It's not perfect, but prior behaviors tend to be the best future predictors.
suggest improvements |Â
up vote
0
down vote
up vote
0
down vote
Don't underestimate doing what you're told and getting things done on time. This is what would stick out in the mind of someone at this company and that person could make a great reference.
Skill sets and getting along with others are key attributes for recent graduates/those with no experience, but once you've been employed for a year, it's important to have people who can vouch for your previous experience.
It's not perfect, but prior behaviors tend to be the best future predictors.
Don't underestimate doing what you're told and getting things done on time. This is what would stick out in the mind of someone at this company and that person could make a great reference.
Skill sets and getting along with others are key attributes for recent graduates/those with no experience, but once you've been employed for a year, it's important to have people who can vouch for your previous experience.
It's not perfect, but prior behaviors tend to be the best future predictors.
answered Sep 2 '14 at 15:22
user8365
suggest improvements |Â
suggest improvements |Â
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
StackExchange.ready(
function ()
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fworkplace.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f33109%2fwhat-to-list-under-a-job-where-i-achieved-nothing-and-the-business-went-bust%23new-answer', 'question_page');
);
Post as a guest
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
2
Maybe you didn't add anything to the company, but what did you get out of the experience? Try adding that.
– Burhan Khalid
Sep 2 '14 at 12:17