I wrote this post in 2019 at the start of June, but refrained from putting it up as I was unsure of its purpose. Now writing this I still am unsure (lol), but what I do know is that Diversity VC is a great initiative and more companies should use Beapplied in their recruiting process!
I recently applied for a month’s internship at Diversity VC and was one of 50 applicants out of 800+ to be accepted for an interview. A tiny achievement but something I’m proud of nonetheless especially considering my mediocre CV in comparison to other interviewees.
Sharing this is also a way for me to highlight a loss, something we rarely do.
I was impressed with my application and I guess they were too. It was succinct yet still gave enough, it also showed why I had the right capabilities for the role addressed.
I enjoyed filling out the application. I knew I was perfect for the role and the questions asked allowed me to show this (the 250 word limit helped too). Job applications are a pain, I regularly think about how they can be improved, Beapplied have definitely found the right formula. Hopefully more job applications are like this in the future, it’ll significantly reduce the pain companies and job seekers face in the job market.
Here is my application, I’ve either removed some bits or made it less specific for privacy reasons. I’ll put the job description at the end to show you how well suited the questions were to the role.
How do you learn new things? e.g. reading, from conversations/discussions, something else? Please explain your approach using an example.
I am insanely curious. I read a lot, every book read is posted on my Instagram for books @ClintonsLibrary where I write a short summary of what I've read from my notes. This helps me reflect on and absorb what I've read and continue the conversation. I then try to apply it to my life.
I use Twitter lists to keep track of individuals who post interesting things, especially in the Startup/VC space. I then post any interesting articles I've read to my DMs for future reading or I share on my profile. I consume podcasts at an alarming rate, on average 20 hours a week.
Constantly consuming vast amounts of information makes it easier to learn new things, but when I do face difficulty I usually ask my friends in a related field to help me break it down. For example, for a job interview I was asked to have a technical understanding of APIs. Something difficult to grasp at first due to my non-technical background, however I got in contact with a friend of mine who has a computer science degree. He was able to explain it in a way that I could understand, I could then go back and fully grasp what I was trying to learn.
I've taken up writing which helps me link up all the different things I learn and get a bigger picture. For example I drew upon mimetic theory in one of my articles, something I recently just learnt about.
What has really excited you in the past few years? This could be something from your work or academic life. Why? and what did you do with your excitement?
I was excited about Cryptocurrency/Blockchain technology in September 2017, it was interesting to keep up with and there was potential to make money. I persuaded my friends to create a podcast on it in December 2017, it was called NuMoney podcast. We had over 11,000 listens on Soundcloud alone and released over 20 episodes. We were one of a few UK podcasts focusing on this topic.
I am excited about mindfulness, meditation is big and it's going to get bigger. Calm is a unicorn and Headspace isn't doing too bad either. I have an idea to create a chain of meditation studios, a meditation space for all.This would require a lot of capital, something I don't have. I decided to submit my idea to Y Combinator's summer 19 program last month, however I didn't get accepted which considering I have no background in meditation or interior design and I didn't have a co-founder is understandable.
I am excited about this app called Footy Addicts, it has the potential to be huge. I wrote this article about them last week https://www.clintonslibrary.com/posts/keeping-fit-is-easy-when-its-fun, I then sent the article to them with some ideas I had on how they could grow and expand their product offering. They should move into other sports, change the app name to Sports Addicts and focus on friendship groups.
When I'm excited about things I will always express it and take action, regardless of whether it pays off or not. As long as I enjoy it.
How do you prioritise tasks in your work or studies? Describe a time when you had too much to do, but not enough resources (time, money, fill in the blank). How did you handle the pressure, overcome the deficit and/or achieve goals?
I use the MIT system, MIT stands for Most Important Things. Every morning I list the 3-5 MITs I need to do for that day, then I try not to do anything else until those things are completed. It's useful in terms of prioritising tasks.This list of 3-5 things helps because I'm a big procrastinator so if I'm trying to put off a task, I then go to the other tasks on my list, that way I'm still being productive. I learnt this from these two articles https://pmarchive.com/guide_to_personal_productivity.html http://www.structuredprocrastination.com/
I study the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) part time and work full time so managing resources is something I deal with regularly. However I found it most difficult to deal with this at the start of the year. On Dec 17 I was informed I'd landed an interview for a promising tech startup in Manchester on Jan 4, however I had an EU Law exam the day after in London. My curriculum for EU Law ended on Dec 4 and the interview entailed putting together a pitch deck and extensively researching the startup's industry. I had a month to prepare for my exam and two weeks for the interview, this is whilst considering I was still working full time, studying three other modules and it was the Christmas/New Year period. I managed to split my time up efficiently, I aced the interview and received a job offer whilst also passing my EU law test!
Pressure makes diamonds.
Tell me about a time someone criticised your work. How did you feel, how did you respond and what did you learn?
I'm lucky to have a smart group of friends, I look forward to feedback because of this. It's a cheat code to creating better things. It's difficult for me to answer this question because I don't think of negative feedback as criticism, If I come to you asking for feedback I don't automatically expect it to be positive.
For an interview I had to put together a pitch deck on how I would pitch the company to a potential SME. I sent an initial draft over to some friends to have a look at and they gave me some feedback through Skype. I thought the pitch was good but I received some negative feedback which suprised me. I didn't feel very positive at first, but I was glad that I was given honest feedback. I took on the feedback applicable to my deck and made changes where needed. With any form of criticism or feedback I try not to take it as it is, but instead try to unpack it to see what perspective they're coming from or the amount of contextual information I've given them to work with.
You can't shy away from criticism because it will come and if you can't handle it then you'll be surrounded by yes men who will agree with everything you do, honesty is always the best policy. Not everyone will like what you put out there, we all have different tastes and that's what moulds us.
Imagine you have come up with an idea for a business. You then spend a few months working on it and have carried out some research and started to prove some of your hypothesis. You have many untested assumptions but have some ideas about how to test these. You decide to tell someone about this idea, the work done to date and your excitement about the project.
The person you tell is high skeptical and opposes many of your views. How do you handle this discussion and what do you do afterwards?
I like warranted feedback, I want you to feel like you can give me feedback on things I share with you. With that discussion I would kindly acknowledge their views even if I didn't agree with them. This is a good way to not dissuade that person from giving me feedback again when I ask for it, that future feedback may be useful even if this present one is not.
I would then have to assess who the person was, what specific knowledge they had on the business and how much experience they had. This will help me gauge how important their views could be towards my business.
Then I will assess their actual views and apply it to my business and goals. If their views are based on good reasoning I'll take it on board and take action, if not I won't. Regardless of their views, I'd still test out some of my assumptions. Most industries are disrupted by outsiders who see what incumbents are usually blind to. So even if this person was a seasoned veteran in my business's industry, it doesn't mean their views are going to be correct. However this might also work the other way, my cognitive bias may stop me from seeing the flaws in my own business. Taking action and testing my assumptions are the only ways I'll really understand whether this business will work or not.
Views can only matter so much and not all of them are created equal.
Apart from your core group of friends and family do you have mentors, advisors and other people you discuss ideas with. Please address the appropriate question below:
How did you build this network and why is this important?
Or
If you do not have such a network, is their value in having such a network and why?
Fortunately my mentors and my advisors are my core group of friends.
I do not have such a network outside of them but there is value in having one. Networks are important because you can't do things on your own, no-one is self made and your network elevates you to be your best. They are the people who have done the things you want to do, their advice can be crucial in overcoming difficult hurdles.
Informal relationships go a long way in the Tech Startup and VC world, if you are reputable this will work to your advantage. A good network in this space will help you find the startups you're really interested in and can be the reference you need to help secure that crucial deal. Your network allows you to scale, without it you constantly have to prove yourself, with it people in your network vouch for your worth.
Your network is not your net worth but it definitely helps a lot.
Tell me about a time when you needed to ask for advice or mentorship. What was the situation? What made you decide to reach out for advice/mentorship? What did you learn from the situation?
About two months ago I watched a video about SEO tips on Y combinator, I was watching this to put this article together https://www.clintonslibrary.com/posts/y-combinator-startup-school-comprehensive-summary for budding startup founders.
The man giving the tips spoke about the benefits of having a website for your content. I wanted to see if he thought it was a good idea for me to make a website for my bookstagram (Instagram for books), so that night I sent him a LinkedIn invitation. Fortunately he accepted and the next morning I asked if he thought it would be wise for me to make a website where I put the content from my bookstagram onto it. He replied! He said I should absolutely do the website.
I took his advice on board and the next month I made my website, I'm very pleased that I made it, it's my little bit on the internet.
I decided to reach out because he was the best person to give me advice on this and he seemed very knowledgeable on the topic. I learnt to always be proactive when I have a burning need for advice as I have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
I also learnt that I really enjoy writing, making the website gave me an incentive to write and now I don't just write about books!
Diversity VC job description details
If you are interested in a career in Venture capital and believe some of these traits describe you then we hope you will apply:
Curious
Detail oriented
Focused, driven and passionate
Initiative and self-discipline: ability to operate without needing to be micro-managed
Able to develop and maintain authentic relationships
Emotional intelligence, empathy and good at assessing motivations, desires, needs and intangibles
Skilled at selling ideas, concepts or vision
Emotional resilience and conviction: ability to maintain excitement in the face of opposition and skepticism
Thanks to Diversity VC for starting a great thing and Beapplied for helping them in the process.
I hope you enjoyed reading this. Hopefully you took something away from it, pls share if it was worth your time!
Shoutout Musty, Jids, Lukas and GG for having a look over my application