After the AskMe fiasco- What you should do if your startup suddenly shuts shop.

When start-ups start out and get heavily funded, they get a lot of publicity. Media houses want to celebrate its success and support them in their endeavours. People flock in to join these start-ups in the hope that they will learn something new and be a part of the envisioned change. The reality of the start-up ecosystem is that majority of the start-ups will shut down and when that happens, they will inadvertently take down their employees with them.

Last two years saw several start-ups shut shop, including online recruitment firm Talentpad, online apparel rental start-up Klozee, auto- rickshaw hailing app Autoncab, food-tech firms Eatlo, Internet-first kitchen Spoonjoy, on-demand grocery major Peppertap, restaurant aggregator Dazo, among many others.

In the wake of the recent Ask-me fiasco, let’s explore what you should do if your start-up suddenly shuts shop-

1) Create an official email account & update your resume- You should create an official email account with a popular email address provider like gmail; if you don’t already have one. Then, you should create a minimalistic website or an online cv that entails everything relevant to your job profile.

2) Send a mass email to everyone in your professional circle- Inform them of your career move and inform them of the startup shutdown. Attach your website or resume in the mail to prospective employers informing that you’re actively looking.

3) Join every relevant social media- From basics such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to relevant social websites for start-up jobs like Angel List, Instahyre, dreamstarts etc.; your presence should be everywhere. Your profile on each of these platforms can be similar everywhere but do research a bit to find out how to make the best of every platform. Prune up your current public profiles to reach out to a relevant audience.

4) Focus on online job portals- While social media is a good bet for your profile, it is always recommended to join the existing favourites, namely online job portals like naukri.com, Asaanjobs.com, iimjobs, monster.com etc. and leverage them to find a job profile that interests you. According to reports, Naukri.com is considering creating a section highlighting ex-founders; while iimjobs, which features ex-founders separately on a page, plans to give it more visibility.

5) Reach out to industry experts- Catch up for coffee with an industry leader or an expert who can advise you regarding openings in your field. Make our lay-off an eventful one and maybe take a different flight in your career. You will probably not land your next job just waiting online.

6) Never badmouth your ex-employer- It reflects badly on you. Instead, focus on your learning and use that in your upcoming pitch for your next innings.