Two years have passed since I’ve walked away with my Bachelor’s degree in hands, and I’ve worked for two different organizations, of which each one has provided me a fantastic learning experience in their own unique ways. Recently, after discussing with a few colleagues that graduated around the same time frame, I’ve been starting to conclude that the few that went along to work for large organizations might have missed some of the tremendous lessons one can learn in an entry-level position.
Now, of course there are pros and cons to both small/mid-size businesses (or SMBs) and large businesses. However, considering the long term benefits of these pros and cons, I’d have to say that I’m quite glad to have started off in small companies. Here’s why:
1-) You acquire far more experience in your field than in a large organization.
Large organizations are well structured. Chances are your role and responsibilities will be extremely narrowed down and focused. Although this can be great for someone seeking to specialize in exactly what their entry-level position is responsible for, it’s more likely that you’ll eventually seek some sort of position that requires more knowledge than the role of Social Media Coordinator might offer.
Enter SMBs. You are now immersed in a world of multi-tasking, wearing as many hats as your supervisors can envision. In one of my marketing roles, I became known for doing Marketing, Sales, Sales Operations, Product Management, Human Resource duties, and even having to pick the Christmas gift baskets for some of our clients. Think that’s not enough? Marketing alone encompassed half a dozen responsibilities: from Trade Show logistics to Online Marketing, and even organizing a User Conference from scratch!
2-) You get a better understanding at how similar departments really work.
As a consequence of the first item, your valuable experience now begins to mold you as a great potential employee/manager. One constant struggle between departments is recognizing what goes into what each one does. Sometimes Sales can ask something of Marketing, in their minds thinking that it shouldn’t take more than half an hour to perform certain task (where Marketing knows it could take one to two days to properly pull it off).
With the exposure you’ve acquired in the many responsibility hats you have been wearing thus far, you can better organize yourself to plan accordingly in a way where all departments can work together in an optimal manner. And this you can take to any large organization out there.
3-) You can accomplish greater, measurable results
Talking about what you can take to a large organization (when the opportunity presents itself), let’s talk numbers! In one of my previous blogs, I argued that solid results are the cherry on top of any resume. In a small/mid-sized organization, there’s much more to be accomplished: Establishing processes, increasing marketing analytics (website views, conversions, cost of customer acquisition, etc), increasing revenue numbers, etc. Someone at an entry-level position in a large organization will seldom have the same opportunity to make such a measurable difference. $500,000 in sales sounds much better at a $2m company than $500,000 in sales at a $50b company.
So there are pros to having an entry-level job at a large organization, no doubt about it (salary is much better on average, and it’s without a doubt a nice mark on your resume). However, there are certain entrepreneurial traits that I believe will pay tens (or hundreds) of thousands more to the individual who is able to make the best out of their experience while at a small to mid-sized organization.