How to Make Your AngelList Profile Stand out from the Competition

Last year, over 100,000 startups of all sizes used AngelList to discover top job-seekers. That is likely good news for anyone looking to join an innovative tech company. But with over two million candidates looking for new jobs last year, it’s important to make a good first impression on the recruiters using AngelList. The good news is that a few tweaks to your profile will make your candidate profile stand out from the competition.

In this post, we’ll look at some do’s and don’ts to help you get a head start. We’ll also walk through each section of your AngelList candidate profile and give you practical tips to make each application you send shine.

Carefully consider each opportunity

Before we get into the finer details of creating your candidate profile, let’s review a few best practices for applying for jobs on AngelList. These tips also apply to your candidate profile, which we’ll elaborate on later in this post.

• Tailor your note to each recruiter. AngelList provides an optional field for candidates to add a note to a recruiter before applying for a job. Don’t skip this step! Write a short note to the recruiter about why you’re interested in the role and the company. It doesn’t need to be as long as a traditional cover letter, but even a few sentences can make your application stand out.
• Do regular maintenance on your profile. It’s very easy to leave your AngelList profile alone once you’ve perfected it. But as your career evolves, make sure to return to your profile to update it with any new information, including job changes, new skills or certifications, and additions to your mini resume.
• Check for typos. A misplaced comma could give a recruiter the impression that your work might also be sloppy. Before you apply for any job or send a note to a recruiter, double check each part of your application for typos.

Use a professional profile photo

Princeton researchers found that people make judgments about you in 1/10th of a second. To put your best foot forward, upload a professional headshot to your profile. While you don’t need to worry about hiring a photographer or dressing in formal clothing, do your best to select a photo that’s high quality and clearly shows your face.

Every social media platform has ideal image sizes, so keep that in mind when uploading a photo to AngelList. For example, even a professional headshot that looks sharp on Instagram might look distorted on another site. When you’re selecting a profile photo for your candidate profile, keep the following image sizes in mind:

• Profile photos and logos are typically 200 x 200.
• The maximum filesize for all images is 2mb

If your image doesn’t meet these dimensions, you can use this link to resize it on a Mac, and this link to resize it on a Windows computer.

Don’t gloss over the basics

The Basics section of your candidate profile can give recruiters a lot of information about your candidacy right off the bat. In addition to some general details such as your name and location, the “Basics” section of your profile includes the following fields:

• Mini-resume. A 160-character overview of your career and goals. Think of this as a professional Twitter bio.
• Role. This field enables you to add tags that describe the types of roles you’ve had, as well as those you’re interested in. Using these tags allows us to show you relevant jobs—and they make it easier for recruiters to find you.
• Location. Location tags are incredibly critical to your job search experience on AngelList. Many cities around the world have similar names, so make sure that your current city and state are correct. For example, there are two towns in New York and California named Woodside. If you’re not careful, you could end up hearing from recruiters from across the country—even though you’re unwilling to relocate!

Additionally, your AngelList candidate profile should also include links to all of your relevant social media profiles. For non-technical candidates, consider including links to LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook profiles, as well as any personal blogs or websites that you maintain. Software developers and designers should also include links to their Stack Overflow, GitHub, Dribble, and Behance profiles.

Include specific examples

Former Google executive Lazlo Bock told Inc. Magazine that candidates need to focus on results and impact when crafting their resumes. Bock’s formula for doing this looks like this: Accomplished [X] as measured by [Y] by doing [Z].

We’ll apply Bock’s formula to the Experience and Achievements sections of your profile and provide some pointers on how to make each section impactful. You can also use this formula when you send notes to startup recruiters on AngelList.

Experience

Let’s say that you’re looking for a new position as a Digital Marketing Manager. You could talk about all the operational things that you do, but think a little more deeply about what you want recruiters to know. Instead of saying “launched campaigns on social media platforms,” use Bock’s formula to include tangible metrics to highlight the exact impact your work made on a specific project or your entire team.

Of course, this will vary based on the types of roles you’re searching for. But when it comes to calling things out in each role on your profile, don’t be afraid to be very specific.

Achievements

While the accomplishments you highlighted under each job might be specific to those roles, use this section to showcase anything that you’ve done that’s relevant to the job you’re applying for on AngelList.

Let’s refer back to our Digital Marketing Manager example. Imagine that in previous roles, you had a wider breadth of marketing responsibilities that included events management, sales operations, and digital marketing. Those tasks might come up during an interview, but think more critically about what a recruiter looking for a Digital Marketing Manager might be interested in seeing when a candidate reaches out on AngelList about a position.

With that in mind, your Achievements section might look like this:

Be as specific as possible, even if your career has just begun. Recruiters spend just 6 seconds reviewing most resumes, so give them something substantial and grab their attention.

Don’t forget to check for typos

Career expert Allison Green says that multiple typos on a resume can have a dramatic impact on the impression you make on recruiters. Green adds that many hiring managers are rigid about typos and will assume that you’ll be sloppy in your work if you’re careless about checking for spelling errors.

Of course, even the most vigilant editors miss a stray comma occasionally. While you should try your best to double (and triple) check for any errors manually, consider using a tool such as Grammarly to help.

Complete the About section

The About section of your AngelList profile can give recruiters an even clearer idea of what you’re looking for in your next role—and more importantly, why you’re a qualified candidate. Below, you’ll see an example of an aspiring Content Marketing Manager.

While this candidate might have alluded to these details in his or her Mini-Resume, the About section of an AngelList candidate profile enables you to go into even more detail about your career goals and experience.

Rich Moy is a freelance writer. You can find his work on AngelList, Stack Overflow, and The Muse.