AngelList

Overall: 4 Stars

TL;DR: Essentially Tinder meets LinkedIn for startup jobs.

AngelList began in 2010 as a mailing list. The founders wanted to connect investors to entrepreneurs that were seeking capital, and their early successes brought many new startups to the platform.

After they added recruitment functionality, it’s become one of the most popular ways to find a job in an early-stage or startup company. It’s also great to help digital nomads find a job.

Dave Zohrob, Head of AngelList Talent says their platform “gives startups a chance to reach the best talent in the industry, for free–we’re now making over 12,000 introductions between startups and candidates every week”

The Good

• You can apply “privately” for jobs so no one knows you’re looking
• Jobs list salary and equity compensation, so you know what you’re applying for
• The startup founders will usually be the ones who get back to you

The Bad

• Pay and equity scales aren’t always an accurate representation of what’s on offer
• Listings can go stale quick, as jobs are filled but not taken down, or the company pivots

What I Think

Personally, it’s way more exciting to get involved with a startup than a traditional company.

At first glance the platform looks like a great resource for startup jobs, which is great for digital nomads as startups tend to be a little more flexible and willing to let staff work remote.

And that’s what we’re after. But there are also downsides.

Startups are more risky, and often your ongoing employability relies on the founder’s ability to secure capital and grow the business. Ensure that whatever position you take you’re comfortable with both the job, the founders, and you’re actually going to be paid for the work you do.

What’s it cost?

Both posting a job and applying to a job on the platform is totally free.

What they offer

At the time of writing there were 20,946 startups looking for people, and adding in the “Remote OK” filter 6,695 opportunities come up in their search results. You do have to create a free account to get access to these though.

 

Their filters also make it easy to adjust results based on roles, compensation and even specific keywords, so you can easily find the most relevant positions.

According to AngelList they average around 200,000 active candidates in a given month, and help between 800 and 2,000 employees find a job every month. Pretty decent.

My Experience

Browsing AngelList for digtal nomads I was surprised at the variety of different listings.

There’s startups looking for everything from external sales roles to full stack engineers and more, which means you can definitely find positions to apply for that suit both your skills and experience.

What you want to watch out for though, is that most of the jobs are geared towards full-time positions. It’s probably not the best platform for a freelancer looking to grow their portfolio of clients, you’re going to have better luck if you’re seeking a single job you can complete from anywhere.

With this in mind, don’t forget the traditional advice when it comes to landing a job. Before you apply for a given position, do your research and find out all you can about the company, and ensure your profile is both memorable and demonstrates any relevant experience you have.

It’s as easy as that.

AngelList does lack much of the customization you get in other similar platforms (like LinkedIn), it’s a very clean and simple to use, and you don’t have to waste your time rewriting the same cover letter 97 different times.

Unexpected Benefit

When you’re going through the search results, there’s a simple interface at the top of the screen. You can click “Yes, I’m Interested” or “No, Skip” to easily filter and flag any particular startups that interest you. That’s all you’ve got to do to start the application process.

Unexpected Problem

What I didn’t particularly like was the inability to see when a job was posted. The stats show you how many people applied in the last week, and when the company was last active, but you’ve got no indication (that I saw) which specified how long ago the job went up (just when the company was last “active” on the platform)

Have they been looking to hire for a day? A month? A year?

For me, this is rather relevant information, as a role that’s gone unfilled for a long period of time may be indicative of another (deeper) issue within the company.

Of particular note

The whole platform is geared towards efficiency. Recruiters aren’t allowed, which means candidates get connected directly to a startups founders, making for faster decisions to be made.

I did like that the platform eliminates the need for resumes and cover letters. All you need to do is fill out your profile (it’s rather minimal), and then you’re eligible to click “Yes, I’m Interested.” If the company likes the look of your profile, they can opt to get in touch.

Final word

For anyone looking to land a job in a startup, AngelList is the obvious place to start. Creating a profile is straightforward, and you can start applying for the jobs that interest you.

Again, you can see there’s a huge demand for some of the roles, as you see exactly how many applicants have applied in past weeks.

It’s a clean and simple to use job board, and being free to use it’s definitely a tool to consider in your search for a remote job.

Overall: 4 Stars

See more jobs for digital nomads