How To Get A Venture Capital Job

Becoming a venture capitalist is not something that you can sit down and talk through with your careers advisor. It is one of those positions that comes to people with skill and experience, but each route to the top is different from the last. However, if you think that you have the intellect, the tenacity and the foresight to be able to be a success in this industry, then read on to see our hints and tips on how to get a venture capital job.

1. Get Educated. It’s not essential , but a decent business school qualification is always going to help you. Try Harvard or Stanford, and make as many contacts as you can there. The chances are, once you are ready to move into Venture Capital jobs, you will be joining people from your very classes at these schools.

2. Create something new. If you can create, run, and make a success out of your own company then maybe, just maybe, you have what it takes to become a venture capitalist. You really need the foresight of someone who has been through the whole process to be able to spot opportunities, and to see where value exists.

3. Get involved in Start up Businesses. This is the next best thing to starting up your own business. If you can be on the ground level of a success story then you are well placed to know the ins and outs of a successful business in its early stages. You should also remember that Venture Capitalists like to have different staff from different industries, so you should bear this in mind when you decide what sort of start up business you get involved with.

4. Have an overall career plan. This relates back to the last point in point 2. You need to know where you are going, in order to steer the right path early on. Remember that whatever you do between now and your venture capital career is going to affect what sort of company you can join. Decide early on what sort of position you are after, and make sure that your decisions in the mean time reflect this.

5. Network Network Network! Many Venture Capital positions are never even advertised, which is why you need to work so hard to build up contacts in the industry. Every time you meet anyone who you think can help you, you should discreetly make sure that you have all of their contact details and keep these stored. There will come a day when some of these contacts will be useful to you, and you never know when.