Small startups are getting fewer job applicants — your opportunity?

Sometimes the biggest opportunity comes from swimming upstream.

A new National Bureau of Economic Research study reveals that, since the pandemic’s onset, highly qualified job seekers are choosing larger startups or established companies, even if it means accepting significant trade-offs, including a lower minimum salary, exploring different roles, markets or locations, and being prepared to work remotely.

The researchers analyzed a data set of 180,000 active users and just under 85,000 job applicants from AngelList Talent, a large online recruitment program with 3.6 million active users a year. They looked at changes in worker preferences for particular positions, as well as how “the quantity or quality of workers who apply to the same job posting changes after the onset of an economic downturn,” specifically since the arrival of the coronavirus.

The findings

After March 13, 2020, when a state of national emergency was first announced in the U.S., job seekers’ behavior changed dramatically. They moved their attention away from early-stage firms, instead concentrating on larger startups or more established small companies, with a 25% increase in the average company size they searched for. Seekers became 20% more likely to hunt for firms with more than 500 employees.

As their preferences for a larger firm grew more entrenched, workers became more prepared to relax their other criteria, considering lower-paying positions, part-time jobs and internships over a wider geographic area. This was particularly true of higher-quality job seekers.

If you’re a job seeker, there’s an important takeaway here: The best candidates are breezing past small startups — opening a door for those prepared to take risk. If that’s you, whether due to a supportive spouse, comfortable savings or few responsibilities, small startup roles could be worth considering.

To be sure, small startups won’t take just anyone. For small, early-stage startups with fewer than 50 employees, the study found a sudden 13.7% decline in applications, an 8.4% decline in applicant quality and a 3% decline in applicant experience. Rather than hiring the next-best candidate, the ventures instead scaled back hiring, potentially leaving positions unfilled.

If you’re a highly desirable candidate, you may be able to capitalize on this pickiness for a better pay package. The usual startup attractions continue: less bureaucracy and faster decision making; wider span of responsibilities for workers; actual connection to the overall business and its success. Plus, often, excitement. Read more via RomeNewsTribune