Working in a startup is an exciting and challenging time. It’s full of adrenaline and nail biting moments. You can spend a lot of time working late as you try to build this amazing idea. And this is just the employees, let alone the founders!

From this, you can see that startup founders need to hire people who have as much passion and drive as they do and really believe in the product or service they’re trying to build.

There’s no time to be hand-held. You have to grasp things pretty quickly. You’ve got to be flexible and so many other things!

Here’s just a list of qualities that you will need if you’re thinking about working in a startup:

1. Belief

Depending on where you work, you have to have a belief in the product or service the startup is trying to build. Everyone at a startup rolls up their sleeves and gets stuck in. Half heartedness is NOT allowed! Sure, it may take some time for you to have the same passion as some of the founders, but a belief in what they’re trying to achieve should be the starting point when you’re looking to work at a startup. There is NO point in working somewhere if you don’t even think the product or service has potential. How can you expect to make potential clients believe in it if you don’t even believe in it? You need to be excited about helping everyone to achieve this mission.

2. Flexibility

Planning on leaving the office at 5pm on the dot everyday? Not willing to do something that’s not on your job description? Then you probably won’t fit into a startup. As an early startup employee, you must be willing to deal with the ever changing challenges that crop up. A process has been put in today for something, but you can guarantee it will probably change again next week! Your responsibilities will continue to change as the business grows and you have to be comfortable with that. You also have to be willing to put in some extra long hours on any given day. But don’t moan or groan about it. A good attitude must match this flexibility.

3. Creativity

You’ll probably need to do things that you’ve never done before. You also work in a startup, so budgets aren’t always huge. You must be prepared to find creative ways to do things, that don’t cost too much, but that may not have a set procedure yet. Creative and original ways of doing things can sometimes have a competitive advantage for the business and for you.

4. Ability to Fail Fast

Be ready and willing to make mistakes; it’s expected. But it’s also expected that you learn fast from these mistakes and fix them. In startups, we have an idea, research it, do it, analyse it, fix it and do it all over again.

5. GSD!

No it’s not a tech acronym. It stands for Get Sh*t Done! No procrastinating, no day dreaming. Startups are fast paced environments and we need people who are able to move along with us. Never assume something is someone else’s job. If it needs doing, just do it! Others may call this being proactive, having a sense of urgency, willing to get stuck in. We call it GSD!!

6. Ability to Hold Your Own

What do we mean? Well if you’re the kind of person who thinks that you’re above doing some of the most mundane tasks (dishes in the dishwasher, watering the plants) then you won’t be very helpful in a startup. Startups need doers. You have to be able to hold your own and then some. Thrive at your individual contribution, whatever that may be! You may think that watering the plants should be the job of the cleaner, but actually you’re helping the office have an amazing environment for everyone to work in and therefore be more productive

7. Strategic Thinking

Think outside of the box! You must be able to do this while you’re trying to GSD! You need to be able to look at the bigger picture. In a sense, startup employees work as if it’s their own business. You have a strategic 12 month plan in your head for where you expect the business to go and how you will achieve it. Those ideas will come in handy as the company continues to develop.

That’s just a small selection of characteristics you would need in order to work in a startup. You’ll need to take many factors into consideration, like how small the team is, how innovative they are and also what they are trying to achieve.

Hopefully this list hasn’t scared you, because working in a startup is such an amazing experience and will allow you to grow as an individual and really challenge yourself. Just make sure you’re ready to put in the work!