An ex-entrepreneur applying for a job? Here is what you need to know.

For past few months, we have been looking for a young ex-entrepreneur to fill a rather senior leadership role at Internshala. We are very particular that we would meet only those candidates who have started up in past, and this is an almost non-negotiable pre-requisite unless candidates with more traditional career paths wrote an application that blew us away!

Closing this position has been a struggle. We have met 50+ ex-entrepreneurs till date, but in many cases either the skill-set did not match or the cultural fit was a concern. This experience helped me understand that we entrepreneurs are also human beings with our own flaws and strengths. It also gave me an opportunity to introspect and define the core qualities that I look for in a fellow entrepreneur.

I am disposed to think that these qualities are rather universal in nature and if you are an ex-entrepreneur applying for a job now, you are likely to be evaluated on following parameters -

1. Structured thinking - Entrepreneurs are leaders who bring method to a madness. They enjoy putting structure to open ended problems and come up with detailed strategy to solve them. The entire process of going from an idea to a living and growing business is nothing but putting structures to hundreds of problems and goals (big and small), breaking them down to components, and developing a solution for each component.

2. Hustle - Nothing gives more joy to an entrepreneur than coming up with new and creative ideas (Hacks) to solve critical business problems and making things happen fast. A startup by nature throws multiple challenges at you simultaneously; all of which are important and urgent and you live your life navigating these challenges everyday.

3. Analytical rigor - This is at the heart of every decision that an entrepreneur makes and she makes hundreds of them everyday. Yes, there is gut feeling too and it has its place, but most of your day to day decisions require you dissect any problem, idea, or information, in a scientific manner often using first principles to generate insights and recommendations that are logically sound and help you take right business call.

4. Great at building and managing teams - A good entrepreneur understands that she is only as good as her team. You have a knack for spotting the talent, convincing them to join your mission, and helping them succeed.

5. An excellent communicator - As an entrepreneur, you communicate with so many different kinds of people every day in so many different formats (conversation, email, public speech, a call, a text, a blog etc.) and unless you communicate clearly and effectively to get your point across and inspire confidence, it is going to be a struggle for everyone.

6. Perseverance - In a startup, things would rarely go as planned and they would usually get worse before they get better. In such situations, some will take a flight and some would stay back and fight. Your ability to persevere in face of adversity is what sets you apart from everyone else. In general, entrepreneurs are lot less perturbed by an uncertain future and can deal with situations calmly.

7. And finally, humility  - In a start up, you experience failure so many times that you learn to be more grateful when you succeed, you get to know how much you don't know and hence, whatever you know is nothing to be proud of, and you get to experience your own weaknesses and insecurities in a brutal and honest manner. All of this makes you a humbler man who is free of pretenses and free from any chips on his shoulder.

If you are an entrepreneur yourself, I would love to hear what quintessential quality you value in yourself or in a fellow entrepreneur the most. If you are an ex-entrepreneur looking for a suitable career opportunity now and were nodding your head along the way as you read this article, AVP Marketing for Internshala Trainings is the role which inspired this piece and for which we are still looking for an ex-entrepreneur like you. Do apply, please! :). And if you are neither an entrepreneur nor an ex-entrepreneur, but know someone who can be a great fit for the role, please do share it with them and help a friend.