This presentation is designed to explain the differences between Startup and Corporate career choices for Engineering and Computer Science graduates. It explores interviewing process and offer negotiations

1. Gordon Engineering Leadership Center’s
Leading Technology Speaker Series
Sergey Sundukovskiy PH.D.
Getting
Your First
Technology
Job

2. Dr. Sergey Sundukovskiy
Co-Founder, CTO and Chief Product Officer at Certemy, Inc.
Before Co-FoundingRaken, Dr. SergeySundukovskiyserved in capacities of Chief Technology Officer,
Chief InformationOfficer, andChief Product Officer. Sergeyis aserial entrepreneurco-founding
multiple successfulStartupsfocused on SmallBusiness MarketingandeCommerce.Thelast Startupco-
founded by Sergeywasacquired by CapitalOnein 2014.
Sergeyspecializes inimplementationof subscription-based highvolumeSaaSplatforms,witha strong
emphasisonearly stageproduct development, product marketing,andcustomeracquisition.
Sergeyoftenmentorsfirst-time foundersandadvises early stageStartupswith emphasisonProduct
Development, Product MarketTesting, Public Relations, Product Marketing,TeamBuilding, Customer
Success andOrganizationalManagement.
SergeyhasB.A. inComputerSciencefrom theUniversity of California, SanDiego, M.S.in Information
Technology from theUniversityof Liverpool, Ph.D. in InformationTechnology Managementfromthe
School of BusinessandTechnology, Capella University, pursuing M.S.inComputerScience from
HarvardUniversity

3. Making a Choice

4. Graduation

5. Choice Framework
What do I want?
Why do I want it?
When do I want it?

6. Corporate vs. Startup
Corporate People Startup People
 Experts in one area
 Years climbing ladder
 Stable lifestyle
 Real responsibilities
 Life balance
 Generalists
 Early start
 Cheap lifestyle
 Nothing to lose
 Nothing else matters

7. Corporate Career
Retire, play golf, die
Get regular promotions
Get in a good company
Go to a good college
Get good grades
Normal Career

8. Startup Career
Startup Career IF SUCCESSFUL
What people think
it looks like
What it really
looks like

9. Startups

10. Building a Company
Idea Is Not A Product,
Product Is Not a Company

11. Getting Traction
No Money – No Problem
No Office – No Problem
No Traction - Problem

12. Who, What, How

13. Investor Reasoning

14. Real Problem
Painkiller vs. Vitamin
No Hops Business Model
No Market Building

15. Sustainable Solution
Scales with Software
Economies of Scales
Allows Building a Moat

16. Big Market
At Least $100M
Long Value Chain
Large Segment

17. Perfect Startup Hire

18. Corporate World

19. Investor Reasoning

20. Risk
Risk of Missing Out
Obsolescence
Slow Progress

21. Return
Stable Job
Steady Progress
Strong Steppingstone

22. Diversification
Side Projects
Personal Projects
Continuous Education

23. Positive Outcome
Define an Outcome
Define a Timeline
Define Tripwires

24. Perfect Corporate Hire

25. Passing Interviews

26. Game

27. Carnegie Hall
How do you get to Carnegie Hall?

28. Weird Science
Computer Science
• Can Write an Algorithm
• Remembers O (log n)
• Does Research
• Can Work by Himself/Herself
• Looks for the Best Solution
Software Development
• Can Write Software
• Remembers to Test Code
• Does Google
• Works In Groups
• Looks for the Solution that Works

29. Interview Questions
Good Questions
• How does the Internet work?
• How do you test your software?
• Design a registration process
for me?
Bad Questions
• Difference between an ArrayList
and a Vector?
• How do you reverse an array?
• What is the difference between
Java8 vs. Java9

30. Hiring Buckets
Ability to Do Your Job
Culture Fit
Force Multiplication

31. Job Ability
Threshold of Viability
Delivery on the Deadline
Ability to Manage Stress

32. Culture Fit
Values vs. Actions
Consensus vs. Responsibility
Objections vs. Blocking Concerns

33. Force Multiplication
Individual vs. Group Productivity
Extraversion and Conscientiousness
Openness and Agreeableness

34. Job Offer

35. Negotiation

36. Anchor

37. Establish Redlines

38. Bodies and Outcomes

39. First Impression

40. Imposter Syndrome

41. Final Words

42. Getting Lucky

43. Failing Forward

44. Fake It Until You Become It