What to consider before joining a startup

Volatility could be the keyword to describe the startup scene around the world this year; a word that won’t come as a surprise to anyone drawing a roadmap for their new business. Simultaneously, MENA startups managed to grow their funding to record highs throughout the past year, attracting both talent and investments. Joining a startup, and even relocating residence for one, thus remains an exciting challenge that could be worth the calculated risk. 

What do startups look for when hiring? And when it comes to relocating to another country to join a startup, what expectations do jobseekers have? Startups leaders and jobseekers share what they think below. 

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We recently unveiled the top 10 startups to work for in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, based on unique LinkedIn data. Between July 1, 2021 and June 30, 2022, Top Startups have increased their employee growth, jobseeker interest, member engagement and pulled talent from top companies in each of their respective countries. Click on the images below to read the full lists:   

Beyond growing their staff, young companies on the list also seem to be paying attention to the gender gap in their workforce, as the data shows that the percentage of female employment within these companies is larger than the country's average. Check out more insights in the post below. 

What do startups look for when hiring?

I asked leaders of companies on the list whether they look for a specific characteristic when they interview for a role and what they ask potential employees. Drive was a prevalent factor in all answers; the candidate's attitude towards the company and about wearing multiple hats.

Skills? They all can be taught, as Rabbit's (#2 on Egypt’s list) CEO Ahmad Yousry shared “we hire for attitude and train for skill,” pointing to programs within the company that train fresh graduates and help them fast track their careers. And so does Tamara (#1 on Saudi’s list), which has a program for students and fresh graduates which, upon passing the project assignments, gets them a role at the company that usually calls for 3 or 4 years of experience, as co-founder Turki Bin Zarah said.  

One of the traits that lead to such drive is having an entrepreneurial mindset, this is highlighted more at startups than in big corporations. Where different departments are available to focus on a certain aspect of the company, joining a starting environment calls for a certain skill to be able to look out for its future. 

“This means they take ownership of problems and address them with an entrepreneurial mindset rather than doing things the way they have always been done," Opontia (#9 on UAE’s list) co-founder Manfred Meyer shared. "Our interview questions to assess this will typically ask them about a time they did something entrepreneurial and then go deep to understand if they really know the details of what they are describing," he added.

Another interview question Joe Afif , Director of Marketing and Growth at Right Farm (#5 on UAE’s list) asks is “tell us something you have taught yourself in the last six months. How did you go about it, and what was the result?”

“We live in a world where the definition of work happiness/employee satisfaction has changed. With the great resignation and quite quitting people want to do meaningful work, where they are appreciated in non-monetary ways (as well as monetary), they want to do challenging work and they want environments where their talent can be tapped into and grow.”

Sabahatt Habib , Senior Director of People and Culture at The Giving Movement (#4 on the UAE list)

Stressing again on that drive, Sabahatt adds that it needs to go hand in hand with a belief in the message of the company. “We look for talent that believes in pulling their weight, that believes that companies are teams, not family.”  

Tariq S. , Founder & CEO at Postpay (#2 on UAE’s list) shares the most frequent questions interviewees are asked beyond the technical aspects: 

1. Have you used the app before?
2. What are you passionate about in both professional and personal realms?
3. What are your three key achievements that help define who you are both professionally and personally?

LinkedIn members also shared their priorities when hiring for their startups teams, check out what they said below: 

“I think it is down to 3 crucial aspects: Mission Alignment[...]Operational needs[...], and certain qualities such as the ability to learn on the job (we don't care much about experience), if they can work in ambiguity, manage work with minimum guidance, set processes and build teams,” Tamadur Almahdi , Chief of Staff at Speetar commented. 

“For any start-up to succeed and grow, what they should look for in the candidates are the traits of integrity, perseverance, dedication, drive and belief in the company.” Senior Director at 4SiGHT Nisar Ahmad Khan shared.

Would you relocate to another country to join a startup? 

Embarking on an expat journey is no easy feat, and making the decision to relocate to another country to join a startup depends, like any other moving decision, on each person’s priorities and resources. But are there any special factors to consider when making the move in this scenario? LinkedIn members weigh in here.     

“I would say yes. The immediate thought that comes to mind is the fast paced environment that comes with the startup nature of the company. Such an environment can offer higher salaries, bigger opportunities, and wider learning ventures to discover. Yet it also requires massive amounts of focus and determination along with skill to be able to keep up with the speed and go with the flow,” Ali Dandan shared in a comment.

“Immigration for the sake of working for a startup is risky, because the company in question could simply collapse and then you're left off without work in a foreign country; relocating, however, is a different matter, because it doesn't necessarily mean relocating permanently,” Mina Fayek shared in another comment. 

As an opportunity seeker, and before joining a startup, it's important to expect that you'll need to be flexible, resourceful and resilient. Having to write your own job description can be an exciting factor for some and a turn off for others. As an applicant, understanding what drives the startup you're applying for in return will help you get a sense of who you’re going to work for, business author Ralf Specht suggests in an HBR article, what problems do they solve with their products? what kind of culture they have? and, mist importantly, what you can learn there.

Within a growing ecosystem, it would be helpful to rethink what “innovation” means, or as Sabahatt Habib said, “Innovation is not about creating a product that has never been created before, innovation nowadays is about finding creative ways which can help companies and processes become much more efficient and deliver better quality at a faster rate.”

What are the factors you’d consider when joining a startup? And what do you think startups in the region should focus on in the current climate to get the best talent? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Check out what LinkedIn members in MENA are talking about: 

• What can companies and leaders do to support mental health at work? Lynn Chouman asks mental health expert Dr. Saliha Afridi, PsyD in a LinkedIn Live. Watch the recording here.
• “Wake up and smell the roses,” Gen Z professionals are seeking mental wellness. Check out Nabila Rahhal 's chat with Scott Armstrong on how employers can provide an environment that attracts young talent here.
• Do you think university degrees determine future career success? Checkout what LinkedIn members are saying.
• Turns out MENA is the world’s fastest growing cryptocurrency market, making up 9.2% of global digital currency transactions in the past year. Read more here.