People who are still interested in the startup world now want to work in a place where what they contribute can be measured, both by the boss and in a way that can be demonstrated in their next job. Judy Chang, a veteran of three startups, says it's key to work in a place that gives performance reviews and takes them seriously. "I was promised reviews that never materialized or that were delayed months and months," she says. "When the review finally came, it was one-sided -- 'Here's what I think.' If I had known what the boss was thinking, I would have changed."
Now that everything has slowed down, job seekers are thinking more than ever about work-life balance. It's not that working hard is a problem; it's that working hard simply to work hard is a huge problem. That mentality is a big change from last year, when people were still willing to freeze their lives in the hopes that they'd hit the jackpot. Today, they no longer believe that they're going to make a million bucks in an IPO, so they won't put their lives on hold waiting for the big kill. They will work extremely hard to support a new product launch or to finish a critical project, but they now find the idea of working late hours because it's supposed to be "cool" rather absurd. Better, they say, to follow the lead of Mia Di Giovanni, CEO of SmoothSale Inc., a software company that helps online sales reps, and a veteran of several other successful high-powered startups, such as GeoCities and Xoom. In her nonwork life, she's a semiprofessional polo player and has been for many years -- and she sees absolutely no conflict between the two. "It's a huge warning signal to me if people don't have a life outside their job. I play polo on Friday afternoons and Sundays, and I'm not going to miss that. I've worked my schedule around that commitment for the past 10 years, and I've never let myself get into a position where it wasn't acceptable."
Stock options have had their day, and the once-ubiquitous pay cut for equity is no more. These days, options are seen as a perk that will probably never pan out -- something nice to have but unlikely to form a retirement nest egg. Job seekers realize that leverage may have shifted back to employers -- and they know the salaries offered last year may be tough to beat. But employers hoping to attract good candidates will need to offer hard currency instead of paper dreams to get the talent they want.
Jennifer Reingold (jreingold@fastcompany.com) is a Fast Company senior writer.
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