Business Management Degree Career in a Small Company

William Woods Adult Degrees

One of the major decisions to make once you have a business management degree is to figure out where you will start your career. In our last post, we looked at advantages and disadvantages that come with finding that first job in a large company. To let you make a better decision for kick-starting your career, this post will give the pros and cons of getting started in a smaller firm.

Pros of working in a small company:

  • Personal success and achievements: In a large company, unless you’re at the top, your CEO won’t hear of your achievements. In a small company, your praises will be sung and reach your seniors. When you’re starting out, you’ll be able to stand out in a smaller crowd and add achievements to your résumé.
  • Faster changes: Working closer with co-workers, being able to engage directly with company operations, talk directly with seniors, have decisions approved faster and keep a closer watch on performance gives you flexibility and speed, along with a lot more ownership and autonomy in your work.
  • Varied responsibilities: In a smaller company, usually because of department limitations, you will often be expected to take on and learn about different areas of work, master multi-tasking, as well as have a grip over various activities. Your expanded role could mean you are placed in charge of hiring, making updates to the company website, making field visits, pitching to clients, training other staff and a lot more.

Cons of working in a small company

  • Performance setbacks: As with success, failure may also be given more attention due to the tight-knit team you work with. The importance of taking ownership and nipping the problem in the bud will help to establish humility and improve relationships; as well as keep you learning continually.
  • Fewer benefits: Unlike large companies, small companies usually cannot afford offering employees benefits until they are profitable enough. That may take time, so if benefits are important for you – make sure you check if the small company offers them or not.
  • Lack of HR or Legal Department:  Often small companies do not set up a human resources or legal department. This may mean there’s no dedicated HR personnel to voice your concerns to, and you may have no way of figuring out on your own whether some work you want to embark on is legal or not.

In addition to the major pros and cons of working in a large company, and those of small companies, you may want to examine other factors before deciding what fits best and will help you achieve your career goals, such as the industry, location and culture.

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