Impression on Adcom - part-time startup work alongside Full-time Job

Question

I've had a full-time job for about 2 years at a Fortune10 company as an IT engineer. Alongside, I also worked part-time (~15 hours a week) for a startup as a iOS developer for as long.
Having played a key role in the startup getting funded, I've now moved to the startup full-time as a iOS Team lead (leading a team of 5), a position that I got only due to my long-standing working relationship with them and a deep understanding of the product. I want the adcoms to be aware of this fact through my essays and resume since this also aligns well with my long term goal of product management.

So I was wondering, how would the adcoms perceive this whole deal of working part-time for a startup at the same time as when I held a FT job at the fortune10 company? Could this potentially work against me?

Just looking for opinions or suggestions on how best to handle this, appreciate any help!

PS: Also, the founder of the startup will write a recommendation letter for me and I've been thinking of asking him to make a mention of the fact that I've worked with them in some capacity for 2+ years and not just the 3 months I'll technically have as an FTE at the time of application. Because 3 months may give the impression that they don't know me well while in reality, they do. Any comments about this?

Admissionado · Answer

blackhawk121 :

It is totally fine! In fact, explaining how you started off part-time would make complete sense when explaining the transition from the Fortune 10 Company to the start-up.

Out of curiosity, why do you think it would work against you? Is it that you feel they might think your role at the Fortune 10 Company would be considered less demanding? That would only be true if you were working on a handful of extracurricular activities and outside of work initiatives on top of working part-time for the start-up. Otherwise, I think you are in the clear.

It's great that you have the letter of recommendation already lined up. One of the questions that is asked of the recommenders is how do you know this person / in what context do you know their work? This is perfectly suited to explaining the duration of your employment with the startup.

Please reach out to us if you are interested in a free consultation. We can go over a potential narrative and how we could apply a smart strategy for your upcoming application.

Thanks for reaching out,
Admissionado

blackhawk121 · Answer

Hi  Admissionado ,

Thanks for your reply, I really appreciate your input.

Yes, your assumption on the reason of my hesitation is correct. I was worried I would seem insincere for pursuing part-time roles. Glad to know that that's not the case. For what it's worth, I'll have a great recommendation letter from my boss at the fortune10 company as well, so I hope that further helps in addressing any potential concerns around my commitment to my primary Job.

Now that you mention it, while I do have a couple of co-curriculars, my outside-of-work community welfare involvment is non existent and now I'm also hoping my 2 jobs situation sort of explains that as well.

Thanks for putting my mind at ease!

Admissionado · Answer

blackhawk121 :

The pleasure is ours.

Please reach out to us if you need help putting together your application this year. We do a great job of personalizing strategies and stories for our individual clients. Someone with a background such as yours would need a clean narrative to ensure you were both present at your previous job and yet previously engaged enough on a part-time basis with your now current job to have had an impact then and in the present.

You have a great background and will do very well in the application process!

Best,
Admissionado

blackhawk121 · Answer

Admissionado :

I do have a quick followup question on this topic, something I could use some advice on-

I mentioned that I will have worked at the startup full-time for 3 months (July-October) at the time my R1 applications go out ( after 2 years of part-time work).
Taking your advice, I've decided to talk about my part-time work also on my resume in the following format -

CompanyName 
 XYZ Lead position (Full-time), July 2021 - present 
 XYZ Developer position (Part-time), July 2019 - July 2021

- accomplishment 1
- accomplishment 2
- accomplishment 3

--

Now, out of all the things I'll be writing in the 3 accomplishment points, a good chunk of those would be from the past 2 years of part-time work and not just the last 3 months of full time work. 
Do you think that would be a problem? I ask because I'm not sure to what extent the adcoms would be okay with me talking about my achievements from the part-time phase at the current company.

Admissionado · Answer

blackhawk121 :

This is a smart format. I would not overthink it. What you had laid out is transparent and authentic. The AdCom is detail focused, but it is not trying to parse details the way you are describing them. The main point is to capture the dates and titles of your experience (you have done this) and your accomplishments.

You MAY get a question about what it was like working for the start-up on a part-time basis (which is fair) but that will just be to understand your capacity to multitask and not to chip away at your credibility. I am confident you will be able to explain that more than adequately.

Point being, you are probably being overly cautious in all of this. That's not a problem for now. Make sure you capture the best of the best in your resume for this start-up role and have confidence that the AdCom will reward you for your achievements!

Let us know if you have any other questions.

Best,
Admissionado

Impression on Adcom - part-time startup work alongside Full-time Job

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