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Ask HN: Why don't more UK graduates want to join start-ups?

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Re: Ask HN: Why don't more UK graduates want to join start-ups?

#61

Post by jmedwards »

Hi Ian

Firstly kudos on your patience and determination with Silicon Milk Roundabout. I've been a remote admirer of the project and I hope at some point I'll be able to engage more directly with the project, not least when it comes to our (www.kayako.com) own hiring. Silicon Roundabout and everything else associated with it is something I feel strongly about.

As far as reaching out to CS and engineering (etc) soon-to-be-graduates, have you been in touch with computer science and engineering faculties in universities, making an introduction and asking for them to send an email out to students?

Even easier would be to contact the social/ents society for the CS department/engineering faculties. Those societies will be more willing to send an email blast about careers events like these.

For example: http://cssbristol.co.uk/ http://www.cs.ox.ac.uk/societies/COGS/ http://www.cs-society.co.uk/site/

Another idea might be the British Computer Society. They have a Young Professionals Group (I've posted about SMR to the LinkedIn group), and the main body of BCS would probably be more than happy to help with promotion.

Hope this helps and apologies if it was all already obvious and tried.

Edit: Seems I am late with a couple of those suggestions. Oh well, I'll keep thinking.

Re: Ask HN: Why don't more UK graduates want to join start-ups?

#62

Post by nickthedart »

ian wrote: post #56
mmahemoff wrote: post #18

Are you working with uni staff to get the word out? Staff at programmes like http://www.ucl.ac.uk/msi/study/technology-entrepreneurship would probably be keen to promote it.

We are, and have contacted a large number of list moderators for careers/CS/entrepreneurship etc. I'll double check if we have reached out to that one. Thanks

Nowadays unis get ranked partly on what % of their grads are in employment x number of months after graduating, so its important to them to get graduates placed in jobs. I've come across a Computer Science department having a careers contact, who emails out vacancies to students. Maybe you might get somewhere by contacting unis and trying to get these careers contacts? (assuming a few of them do this?)

Re: Ask HN: Why don't more UK graduates want to join start-ups?

#63

Post by nickthedart »

helipad wrote: post #31

I was a business graduate (Nottingham) & we were never pitched startups either. I was very willing to join a startup, but I also tend to rail against the Silicon Roundabout. I'm just personally not that interested in London. Are many of these companies based elsewhere? It's funny because something like this would do very well with Nottingham students. The dedicated business campus also has many computer science stude…

For Nottingham related events, google "Nott Tuesday"

Re: Ask HN: Why don't more UK graduates want to join start-ups?

#64

Post by jmedwards »

jmedwards wrote: post #61

Hi Ian Firstly kudos on your patience and determination with Silicon Milk Roundabout. I've been a remote admirer of the project and I hope at some point I'll be able to engage more directly with the project, not least when it comes to our (www.kayako.com) own hiring. Silicon Roundabout and everything else associated with it is something I feel strongly about. As far as reaching out to CS and engineering (etc) soon-to…

Thinking out loud... I think one of the problems is that on-campus careers events feel like bubbles. There isn't an obvious incentive for undergrads outside of London to travel to the event.

Some kind of representation at Universities themselves would solve this. Whether that is a small presence at a careers fair representing an annual SMR event in London, or perhaps (even better) a visiting speaker from a startup telling their startup story and to promote the actual idea of working for a startup.

As others before me have suggested, I think the barrier to getting students to the event isn't just about event logistics and promotion, but about culture and perceptions about startups too.

Does the startup route even cross their mind to begin with?

Re: Ask HN: Why don't more UK graduates want to join start-ups?

#65

Post by nickthedart »

23r2f2r wrote: post #60

Why focus on just CS and engineering degrees? I was a Physics student, knew more about code than some CS undergrads and wasn't alone in that regard. You'll also find a lot of generally smart people who you can teach to code here. I'll second the point many have made about money. It's hard to resist one of the big banks offering you £40k+ straight out of university.

I probably sound like a broken record on HN, but this is surely a big part of the problem - living costs in London. Even £40k doesn't give a great standard of living in London, due to ridiculous accommodation and transport costs. I think that startups should locate somewhere much cheaper but still attractive to grads, somewhere north. Examples - Birmingham, Nottingham, Sheffield, Leeds, Newcastle.

Re: Ask HN: Why don't more UK graduates want to join start-ups?

#66

Post by sheremetyev »

It would be interesting to have some feedback from startups as well. Have they got many hires from the first fair? What kind of hires?

My intuition is that, on one hand, most graduates do not meet expectations of startups. A startup needs exceptional people to push technology forward. On the other hand, startups presented at the fair do not meet expectations of potential employees. They are not "cool enough". (I registered for the event in May but after looking at the list of companies decided that it was not worth trouble going from Oxford to London.)

Re: Ask HN: Why don't more UK graduates want to join start-ups?

#67

Post by nickthedart »

May sound weird, but don't forget the Job Centre. I got a previous job at a startup via the Job Centre. My employers hadn't thought of advertising there until Business Link or some entreprisey support place like that suggested it. They've got a good job search facility. Don't think it costs anything to advertise a job there. People mistakenly think people only go there to collect dole but actually it is a place to look for a job too!

Re: Ask HN: Why don't more UK graduates want to join start-ups?

#68

Post by jedcomyn »

Ian,

I currently work at onefinestay, one of the attendees at milkroundabout. (I am the one that has been feeding @milkroundabout with some 'reasons why you should work in startups' via Tiff Philippou)

I came to the company from KPMG, having spent 4 years 'earning' my ACA. Those 4 years would have been far better spent learning the operational and technical ropes at a start up but it did give me an understanding of finance and all it entails.

I agree with a number of opinions below that might stifle traction - peer expectation of job/employer/salary, lack of visibility of start ups, location of the Milkroundabout. (Could there be mini satellite events linked by webcasts/interactive discussion boards/MMOG type virtual event?)

But a key one is simply 'What can I/would I do?' Large multinationals have very defined learning and career paths usually linked to professional qualifications that, theoretically at least, will give them at platform in this uncertain world. Start ups offer no standard day/week/year which is their greatest selling point (to those who have tasted corporate life!) but can be daunting for those fresh out of a structured school system. Also for non CS grads - what roles are available to them that they can research prior to graduating.....

There might be an opportunity to develop a learning framework that encompasses the necessary skills that 'Start ups' require and provide support to these new joiners as well as more information from recent employees as to their back ground and current role.

Jed

jed(dot)comyn(At)onfinestay(dot)com

Re: Ask HN: Why don't more UK graduates want to join start-ups?

#69

Post by ian »

seandbarrett wrote: post #58

Imperial College academic here. I haven't seen any fliers or posters around college today so this might have something to do with your lack of uptake. This is in contrast to the event you had earlier in the year which was prominently advertised around the place. Also I noticed there is a careers fair happening today, predominantly big engineering firms/consultancies/banking, and I didn't see if you had any representa…

Sean - thanks very much for stepping in and for the suggestions. We can send some people along to the careers fair today but have also fliered over the college. In general Imperial Careers have not been very responsive so perhaps there's a CS focused liaison we should be talking to instead? Thanks

Re: Ask HN: Why don't more UK graduates want to join start-ups?

#70

Post by adaml_623 »

I'll ask a question or three back at you. Why do you want graduates to work at startups? Why do you think this is a desirable thing to champion?

I've just been looking at one of your companies (http://www.entrepreneurfirst.org.uk) which has a free entreppreneurship course for final year students and recent grads (2 years). And I have friend who's been working for 3 years and was recently knocked back for a role because she had passed the 2 year recent grad mark and was therefore unsuitable.

So there seems to be a mindset that society must mold students in a certain way and force them in certain directions perhaps before they are ready? And if they take a few more years to become ready then they must now be treated differently.

I guess my final question is, 'Are you sure that you're not making a mistake by singleing out students'?

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