Best way to standout when applying to small startups?

Show that you care.

This is what makes small startups in particular unique: If their early employees don't care, they die.

This is in contrast to Google where even if all their engineers are super jaded and just there for the paycheck, the company can still thrive and print billions of dollars from their incredibly established competitive moat.

Spent at least 15-20 minutes going through their website and the founder profiles. If the product is consumer-facing or has some sort of demo, spend another 15-20 minutes checking it out and playing around with it. Spend 10-15 minutes crafting a human, resonant cold message or cover letter showing that you actually took the time to thoroughly research them and their product. Prove to them that they aren't just 1 of 1,000 applications you're blasting out.

I highly recommend checking out this thread as well (there's a great story about how a Taro community member got into early Airtable): "How to find and connect with scrappy startups?"

Why do you want to work at the startup?

If you can demonstrate passion for the problem they are trying to solve it may be easier to stand out compared to large companies.

In my experience, the CEO/Founder is very involved in the hiring process for small startups. I try to think about things from the reverse perspective. If I was trying to hire someone for my company, what would I value? I would value someone who has the skills to help me solve my problems and someone who cares about the product/problem I am solving.

A good cover letter or even directly reaching out on LinkedIn or X can help you understand their current pain points and how you can help.

I don't think a polished profile with links to all your projects will be effective. Instead, I'd do targeted outreach to engage with startups.

Startups are always starved of attention. Genuine outreach and curiosity about the product/mission of the startup will distinguish you from generic applicants.

The other difference between startups and Big Tech cos is that startups want people who can hit the ground running. They likely won't be able to invest in a formal training or onboarding program that you see at larger companies like Meta or Google. So if you could demonstrate how you can immediately have value to the company, you'll have a much higher chance of getting the interview.

Herea are a few ways you can show this immediate value:

• Familiarity with their tech stack (a demonstrated history with shipping using their programming languages or frameworks).
  • This is especially valuable if the tech stack is something unique like Perl or OCaml
• Deep understanding of a problem space that the startup cares about, e.g. SEO or mobile performance
• Deep passion for the company's mission, with ideas or research that you can provide from your own experience (e.g. a former founder in the same domain)

Here's a great related discussion on finding interesting startups: How to find and connect with scrappy startups?