FAQ
When should I join Launchpad?
If you are currently interviewing or are looking to switch positions within the next 3-4 months, then we can help. If you are looking to switch positions a few months from now, you should start your job search now to set yourself up with the best possible opportunities.
What is the time commitment?
At a minimum, we require a commitment of 10 hours a week dedicated to your job search until you get hired. This includes applications and interviews and the more time the better. On average, Launchpad members get placed within 4 months, but we will provide you weekly 1-on-1 support for as long as you need to get hired, as long as you remain committed.
Why Launchpad?
There are many unique advantages to becoming a Launchpad member. Big firms recruit from our Talent Agency. Our interns received offers recently from Apple, Alphabet, Facebook, Tesla, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Amazon, Microsoft, Snapchat and more. A number of these interns were from non-target schools. A lot of companies follow us and consider Launchpad work experience a huge positive on your resume. You will get more interviews after working for us. Our students are from Yale, Columbia, Stanford, NYU, Johns Hopkins, Berkeley, CalTech, Carnegie Mellon, Princeton and many other top schools. Many of our students go to graduate school. Our reference can help you with that. Launchpad pairs students with industry mentors working at top technology companies like Google, Dropbox, Amazon, Salesforce, Airbnb, Stripe, and LinkedIn and give them unlimited 1-on-1 support and insider knowledge. Most of our strategies are proprietary and developed based on our internal data. We’ll help you interview with more confidence so you can take full advantage of your opportunities. The Launchpad team will continue to provide support and mentorship to program graduates until they find a job they are happy with.
What types of jobs or industries is Launchpad for?
Launchpad currently helps people find jobs in a variety of different fields. For each member, we further personalize the track they've chosen to suit their specific needs and interests.
What are the eligibility requirements for Launchpad?
Job seekers must be 18 or older and be authorized to work in the United States or Canada to join Launchpad.
Beyond that, we look for a commitment to improvement and a baseline level of knowledge or skills to be productive in your field. While there is no secret formula, we do our best to work with those we feel like we are in a position to help. At the end of the day, motivation and commitment to the program matter more to us than your existing resume.
Am I not experienced enough/too experienced for Launchpad?
We advise a wide range of members with varying levels of experience! Some are PhDs with multiple past positions and a specific target industry, or engineers with several years to a decade of experience under their belt looking for a new opportunity. Others are graduating seniors looking for their first job or self-taught bootcamp grads. For each candidate, we evaluate both their potential and how much of a difference our program can make before inviting them to be a member.
Is the Launchpad program online?
Yes it’ an online Career Accelerator, but you can have as many in-person sessions through our Irvine Headquarters as you’d like as well. All mentorship sessions happen online via video calls for maximum convenience and flexible scheduling.
How long does it take Launchpad members to land a position?
On average, our members apply for positions, interview, hear back and sign a final offer within 4 months, but we are willing to work with you for as long as you need to get hired, even if it takes longer we will support you with weekly 1-on-1's and more until you succeed.
What can I expect in terms of referrals through Launchpad?
While we make an active effort to execute on every single requested referral from our members, we’ve found members who come into the program with the assumption that a referral is a direct way to an offer are typically unsuccessful. Referrals are a powerful tool, but are far from the only thing required to succeed in a job search. We do have an extensive network of professional contacts through which we can provide connections, but these referrals are typically only effective when combined with various other tactics that require significant effort on the member’s part. Launchpad is oftentimes most effective for members willing to dedicate invested time (5-10 hours a week) to their job search based on our assignments and program rather than a passive program where you just join and wait for referrals. Typically, you can expect about half a dozen referrals throughout Launchpad.
Which cities can I get a job in?
Any! Launchpad members have gone on to work in major cities like San Francisco, New York, Seattle, as well as smaller cities around the country. Some Launchpad members have even gone on to get positions in international locations, like London or Tokyo. However, a prerequisite of joining Launchpad is being authorized to work in the US. Another note is that our income share agreement also applies to jobs outside of the US.
Which companies do you help people land offers with?
We help our members get jobs across a wide range of companies, both inside and outside of tech. We can help you land a job regardless of your interests, whether you’re looking for an early stage startup, a top tech firm, or something else.
Launchpad is built around highly personalized mentorship and generalizable best practices so we can support you no matter what your goals are. We also have an internal network of hundreds of companies that we will introduce you to if it's a good fit.
Can you tell me more about how the mentorship works?
Each of our members is matched with a career mentor and can select to meet with our network of experienced industry mentors. Our industry mentors have professional experience in the job field you are looking to enter and will help you develop your skills and domain knowledge to make you as competitive a candidate as possible. Our career mentors are experts on best practices for each step of the job search and will help you translate these insights according to your individual goals, strengths, and weaknesses. They’ll serve as a sounding board and support system for any questions or challenges you encounter in your job search. You meet with your mentors 1-on-1 every week until you sign your final offer.
Can I focus more on the topics that are the most helpful to me?
Of course! Launchpad is completely personalized to your unique situation. We heavily modify the program to suit individual circumstances and never give you busywork. Instead, we invest that saved time into helping you with whichever part of the job seeking process you could use more help with.
What if I don't like the offers I get or decide to forgo my job search for other opportunities, like research?
You are never obligated to accept any offer as part of Launchpad and we don't even make introductions or referrals for you unless you explicitly confirm your interest first. That being said, we do evaluate how motivated and committed potential members are to finding a job and furthering their career before we extend an invitation to the Accelerator.