Joining a startup company can be incredibly rewarding. You will be working with a company during its infancy years, and you will be a key player in helping it to grow and expand. If you have taken an interest in a new start up vacancy, or you’re unsure whether a startup company is less stable than a larger business, then here are few aspects to consider about a startup company.
A more intimate work environment
If you can’t bear the thought of a sterile work culture, where your business has countless employees you’ll never get to meet – then a startup company could be the right opportunity for you. The teams are much likelier to be small, and you will be working closely with your employees. You will be hands-on, ensuring that the company succeeds as much as it can do in its earliest days.
Fast growth
Startup companies are often small, which means you won’t have endless ranks to climb through. A benefit of this is you will learn quickly and gain responsibilities even faster. If you are worried about how long it will take you to progress from a junior position to an assistant manager and then to senior management, then a small startup could be the answer.
A startup has large incentives to train their employees up and to help them progress within the company. The best way to discover if you have the chance to progress within a small startup is to ask during the interview process. Showing an interest in progression will also appeal to your new employer, showing a drive to succeed.
In the same vein, a startup company could expose you to far more opportunities than a larger corporation could at a comparatively early stage. Startups need all employees to be heavily engaged at every stage, and so it won’t be just down to the most senior members to go and visit clients, go on business trips and get stuck in with difficult projects. This will get you those much-needed achievements on your resume.
Being exposed to different opportunities at quite a comparatively fast rate also means you will get to experience true variety. You will be taking on different responsibilities every now and then, purely as the result of having a minimal team to share the load. The drawback of this is that your workload will often be very intense, but the benefit is that your resume will be truly diverse, and incredibly appealing to other companies, should you decide to move on in the future.
Democratic
The power structures in startup companies mean that there can sometimes be a democratic approach to responsibility and management. There’s nowhere to hide in a small company, so being treated poorly will almost certainly be spotted by other employees. A company’s small size does not give them an excuse to treat their employees badly, however.
Working in a small company does sometimes have its drawbacks: you may have to work overtime every now and then and there may be minimal management structure. However, this is not an excuse to ignore grievances or treat you badly. If you do feel as if you are being deliberately mistreated, hunting for employment attorneys may be the ultimate solution.
Salaries take time to grow
Larger corporations can offer heftier salaries because, well, they’re much more stable. They’re likely to have more assets and more cash flow. Of course, you may have some major businesses with major debt to match, but if you want a flashy salary, a startup might not be your best bet. Starting salaries can be much smaller, but equally, you wouldn’t join a company you didn’t have faith in to succeed. While the financial pay-off might not be so great, to begin with, you can almost guarantee that the work-life benefits will make up for it, if you find the right company for you.
What you should know as a startup employee
If you have been tempted by a startup company on a vacancy listings website, or you are interested in approaching a new startup business, then don’t shy away. You should, of course, know that there are benefits and drawbacks of joining a startup company; but some of these are to be expected.
If you are really worried about your starting salary, or about how demanding your workload will be, reach out to that company. Introduce yourself and explain that you are interested in finding out more. If you should decide to work for them you will be working in an intimate team, and so the friendliness of introduction is always welcome.