Transitioning to IT Recruitment: Should I Highlight My Startup Experience or Start Fresh?

I am a B.E. graduate, graduated in 2011. Later, I worked in a startup company for 14 months as a team lead, handling client requirements and conducting interviews for fresh candidates during the hiring process. It involved multiple tasks rather than just one. Now, I am looking to transition into an IT recruiter role. Should I include my previous experience in my resume, or should I apply as a fresher? I did not have extensive experience in IT recruitment as it was a startup with non-standard hiring processes such as using job portals for sourcing and screening resumes. I am feeling confused as in interviews, they inquire about real-time sourcing, screening, and closing positions, which I have limited experience with but am familiar with the terms. I believe I can excel in this role, even though employers seem to prioritize experience.

Kindly advise me on how I should approach securing my next job more promptly. Please share your thoughts. Thank you all.

Dear Anandmsrit, you have worked in a startup with multiple responsibilities, which means you have learned more than what was expected in those first few months of your career.

Categorizing Your Experience

Let's categorize your experiences first. Even though they may be diverse, list them down.

You have an idea of which role you want to apply for. Hence, the degree of knowledge in that role is all that you need to showcase.

Defining Relevant Areas

Let's now pick only those relevant areas and define your role in delivering them.

Let's also define the educational background required to deliver these roles and how far you meet these requirements. If you have completed any certification or MOOC/Udemy course on them, let's include them.

Compensation and Value Addition

Finally, let's have a clear view of how much compensation would be offered to deliver such a job.

Even though we all understand fitment, working in a startup adds value in more than one way.

Have you identified the firms that are big on hiring employees from startups?

Guess you are mostly good to go now!

Looking forward to hearing from you.