graduate in may<p>I have sent emails to some startups asking if they will hire new grads, but none of them say "yes"; they are more interested in senior developers...<p>Indeed, on their websites, there're no positions available for new grads, but they also suggest if you are interested in our company, please contact us. That' why I sent the emails. Does this imply they only need senior developers who are interested in their company?
For one thing it is a bad idea for a hiring manager to advertise that the company wants a new grad because it can be perceived as age discrimination; they could get sued. What they can say is that the position is "entry level".<p>Startups often like to hire young people for various reasons but in a company that has 2 or 3 employees, everyone has to carry their own weight -- they usually cannot give you a lot of on the job training.<p>One trends I have seen is companies who hire young people to make cold calls; often these people have a PMA and some sales skills, but they don't understand the offerings they are selling well and don't have a complete set of sales skills.<p>An established company with name recognition and a well-worn playbook can get away with that, but I see many small (<25 employees) companies that struggle because there are two kinds of people you can talk to: (1) busy people and (2) people who will talk all day and never buy anything. Since you get one chance to make a first impression, an initial contact with a poor salesperson can be a very bad thing.<p>Don't ask "do you hire new grads?" because the real question is "will you hire me?" which can have a different answer if you communicate that you can bring something special.
Here is what all startups are interested in: passion. All startups will hire a passionate new grad. So don't send 50 resumes! Don't ask if they are willing! Pick the one you want and focus. Make a video. Write a case study on their industry. Invite every single person in the startup out to coffee. Physically show up at their office. If you do even a fraction of these things they will hire you, really.