Continuation of our series of posts on preparing yourself for common questions during a venture capital job interview.

Q: What’s been the most interesting IPO or acquisition in our industry in the past year?
Passion for particular industries and achieving a highly profitable exit are common threads that tie venture capitalists together. This question provides ample opportunity for you to shine. Study the ins and outs of an IPO that relates to the VC firm’s niche interests – and prepare your analysis. Discuss the potential you see for the company, and how they could strengthen their market position. Treat this question as a “test” of your industry knowledge and an opportunity to impress your interviewer with thoughtful analysis.

Q: What blogs do you read? What sparked your interest in the blog sphere this week?
The venture capital world is a highly connected, networked world. Networking is the key in the industry, especially if you are trying to bring new deals to the table. Subsequently, some prominent venture capitalists publish personal blogs, highlighting their perspective on recent deals, upcoming IPOs, and general industry commentary. Reading these blogs can give you insight into the current VC thinking and new developments in the venture capital industry.
In addition, brush up on blogs that may be outside of the VC realm, but are specifically connected to your passions and interests. If green technology is your forte, make sure you can discuss how Google’s RE < C is making changes in renewable energy. If social marketing captures your professional attention, make sure you can speak authoritatively on how corporations should incorporate Twitter into their campaigns. Regardless of your industry, make sure that you are in tune with the blog conversations – showing the VC interviewer that you are highly connected and have your finger on the industry pulse.

Q: Why are you looking to leave your old position?
Make sure you have a well prepared response to this one. Do not to be too critical of your present employer or situation. Negativity is never well received in the interview process. Your answer should concentrate on frustration with not being able to fulfill personal goals on your current path. Answer the question based on some feature of your present employer that hinders the growth that you desire for yourself.

The response should bring attention to your strengths and skills that are being underutilized by your present position and would be a great asset in the venture capital industry, and in particular to the firm with which you are interviewing. At the same time, you do not want to highlight handling tough situations as a weakness, and your answer should present you as someone who is able to handle challenges as part of the job.

Q: Where do you see yourself in five years time?

You want to leave the impression that you are a dedicated individual who seeks long-term commitments. You already have the experience and skills it takes, and you are looking for a career where you can shine.

You should definitely express the intention and diligence to eventually become a general partner of the firm. State that you will earn your promotions by letting the results of your work speak for themselves. Be ready to answer the next question “What types of results can we expect?” and use a professional success story demonstrate what you bring to the table.

Stay tuned for the final chapter of Venture Capital Job interview questions.

Venture capital careers are competitive, with many more interested candidates than open positions. Subsequently, a venture capital job should be considered only after you have many years of successful, hands-on company experience.

Noted Silicon Valley speaker, author, and venture capitalist Guy Kawasaki put it best when he said if you were the entrepreneur across the table, “Why would you want advice from someone whose background consists of working in a college bookstore or cranking spreadsheets at an investment bank? Financial models are almost totally irrelevant because there’s no financial wizardry involved in making a good product and selling the heck out of it.” Indeed, there is no “market” for these young companies, so the value is created by bringing a great product or service to the world and getting people interested enough to buy.

Preparing yourself for common questions will help you shine in your venture capital job interview. Whereas many of the questions for VC job interviews are general in nature, there are others that are unique to venture capital.

Q: Why do you want a job in venture capital? Why our firm?

You should have conducted extensive research on the firm and now possess an intimate knowledge of the company and the industry – allowing you to truly distinguish yourself from other candidates.Your answer should show a general enthusiasm for investing in young companies – and not mention at all the significant compensation associated with it. This is your opportunity to convey your passion for early stage company activities. If your answer focuses on a love for Excel spreadsheets, you can forget about getting to the next stage. What part of seedling companies gets you fired up? Project that energy and you will connect with the same passion as the interviewer sitting across the table from you.

In addition, you have to point out how the particular firm you’re interviewing with fits with your desired career path. Try to be specific and detailed in your answer as to why your background would be ideal for this firm.

Q: What are the some recent developments in our industry?

Venture capital firms are seeking employees with proven expertise, often times in a particular industry in which the firm focuses. It is critical in questions like these to demonstrate your industry insights. According to research conducted by Jobs Search Digest, approximately half of surveyed VC respondents have more than 10 years of experience; subsequently, you must ensure that your knowledge base shines competitively in the interview.

You should not only showcase your competence in the overall development and trends in the industry, but also elaborate upon the specific influences that are currently affecting the market. You have to demonstrate knowledge that only an experienced industry insider would have. In this case, the discussion of a particular company’s product release or strategic decision would be a great method to do exactly that.

Stay tuned. More interview questions for Venture Capital Jobs to come.

Early stage technology focused Venture Capital firm, seeking a full-time, pre-MBA Analyst who will be an integral member of the investment team and will be involved in all aspects of the investment process. Candidates with MBA will not be considered.

An exclusive venture capital job from JobSearchDigest.com

Sometimes Venture Capital Job interview questions are meant to test the logic of the candidate. Here is one that has been used successfully in the past and getting it right could take you to new heights!

A test rocket is released when it is 96 feet from the ground. The rocket rises 3 feet, then falls 6 feet, then is boosted 12 feet, then falls 24 feet, and so on.

If each rise or fall of 3 feet takes 1 second, in how many seconds will the rocket hit the ground?

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In 2007, Job Search Search Digest conducted a survey of Private Equity and Venture Capital professionals who were involved with venture capital or private equity investment firms. There were a total of 387 respondents from various parts of the world. We had participation from firms both large and small such as: Credit Suisse, Labrador Ventures, Intel Capital, Mayfield, New Enterprise Associates, and SoftBank Capital.

The survey addresses issues such as the compensation earned by professionals and their work satisfaction. The survey also aims to understand how these professionals perceive their work and what they expect from their employers.

Our members could access our Compensation Comparison tool – giving them the opportunity to analyze the earnings data in an ad hoc manner. Here we summarize the results of the survey to include some of the earnings data and much more. Some notable findings include:

• The annual average compensation for professionals in the industry is $224,000 with an average 3.5 weeks of vacation benefit.
• Nearly ½ of respondents bring at least 10 years of work experience to the table and only 5 years of private equity or venture capital experience.
• Despite solid compensation packages and an optimistic view of future pay increases, there is overwhelming dissatisfaction among most of these professionals.
• Although common in the industry, an MBA doesn’t guarantee better compensation.
• The difference between the UK and US in terms of compensation and overall work and personal life balance is negligible.
• At the lower levels, there is very little difference in cash compensation between the US East and West coasts and even the Central states. The differences become significant in the higher level positions.

This helps PE and VC job seekers better manage their career and fund managers to differentiate the benefits of working for their particular firm.

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