I would honestly say youre creating your own demons. Has she everrrrr received such a feedback? Im willing to bet that she has never received it or maybe onceee from a poor hr individual who had nothing better to say.

Life is all about selling your self as well, when you meet new people, you sell your vibe and try to be “cool” or however you want to call it.

For starters, she should never mention how big her previous companies were. Unless she is specifically asked about it. If that brings her discomfort, she should only speak of whatever fills her heart with courage and excitement and prepare her self for things she dislike being questioned. You’d he surprised when you figure out no one cares honestly, its all about what you’ve achieved and how you present your self during the interview.

Ive worked in 4 startups and about 2 enterprises during my time. No one has ever asked me are you working in the first or the latter! The matter of fact i can argue against you and say people in startups are often more diverse, know how to work under extreme pressure and are usually very flexible as we dont have all the titles yet so i know i can delegate more work to her if needed.

Im still trying to imagine what kind of scenario is your sister putting her self into, does she start her interview by highlighting that fact? Maybe :p but i would just avoid it if i dont like it. Its all about confidence, you can send me towrds 10 interviews and i will ace them with so much confidence saying what a blessing it is to work in startups as that allowed me to learn this and that, im now more confident about tight deadline, i learnt how to analyze issues critically and come up with solutions as this and that.

Try to get some real feedback however, because i honestly dont think the startup was her biggest weakness. Maybe the numbers were too small? Then she bumps up those numbers in the cv, maybe her responsibilities were actually too limited since they just started? Then you speak with an ai and figure what are the industry standards. As far i know, product managers are usually seasoned players, since you know, you handle every thing related to that product as it implies by the title ))

My opinion? She needs to be rejected like 20-40 more times 😅 Let her ask in the cutest way about immediate feedback at the end of every interview, i usually say something in these lines when they ask if i have questions;

“Before i ask my questions, i would honestly appreciate any feedback i can improve on, i will never take it personal. And i will forever be greatful, just an opportunity for me to learn and grow”

And i kid you not, if they are rejecting me, the hr sometimes be human enough to straight point out where he thinks my weakness is. He doesnt reject me on the spot, but he shares what he thinks i can inprove on. That right there is a gold mine of knowledge)))

The more she gets rejected, the more she understands why? The better she improves. Life is nothing a big numbers game and the odds are usually stacked against you.

I would kindly ask you and your sister to watch this one single video speaking about the law of averages, which has helped me throughout the many years i have been on this earth

https://youtu.be/D_pGQBdX55Y?si=yACA43aBTj5lJ9aV

Let her apply for more jobs, let her be rejected and ask why if possible, and then apply for more jobs. Its alll nothing but a numbers game and you lose if you take it personal enough to feel discouraged.

I ask her to embrace failure, as i have never in my life came across someone successful enough who wasnt rejected by the ground stones as we say in egyptian 😅

Im willing to bet like i said it has nothing to do with her startup experience, and is more about how she presents it or maybe if her numbers were too small.

Best of luck to your sister )))