It's Raining Jobs!

A week ago, news was released that the US economy created 410,000 jobs last quarter. I have to say that I am not a macro economist, but that seems to match my experience, as the companies I am involved with basically doubled their head count to around 1000 in '05. That's up from 100 when we first invested between '99 and '03.

'06 looks like it's going to be a barn burner for jobs at least from my micro economic vantage point, because, unlike the last boom where the jobs were fueled by speculation, almost all the headcount growth in '06 from our portfoli companies will be built on profitable growth. Our '99-'02 vintage companies just aren't burning cash, many are breaking even and a few are profitable.

It's not wildly optimistic to say that we expect at least a couple hundred job openings in almost all job functions. My guess is many VCs are experiencing growth in headcount.

That said, if you are a senior exec or a talented aspiring manager of tech related doing, please do NOT send me or my fellow VCs your resume with a generic letter about generic qualifications.

Read their website, but most important read their portfolio company's website, every VC site links to them. If there's ONE that fits, email that VC, explaining why your background is a perfect fit for that ONE.

If you do this, I, for one, will forward them selectively to the hiring managers, but you must be: 1/ specific about which portfolio company is a fit for you (research their site!) 2/ specific about the position 3/ willing to move to where the company is and pay your own transport to get to the company to interview (typically for me in NY/NJ/CT area)

If you don't hear from me, there's no fit.

As a VC I spend a good portion of my time assessing portfolio company needs and recruiting, so while it might seem that I am doing you a favor, it's really the other way around.

Comments

[Helen Wang]

Thanks! These are very helpful tips!