The Pros and Cons of Working for a Smaller Company

The odds are good that during this economic recession, increasing numbers of experienced executives will find themselves transitioning from a large corporation to a small firm. If you’re accustomed to working for a big box, you might find it uncomfortable to consider a small shop. But if your job has been downsized or outsourced, motivation to secure another job can outweigh hesitation about working in a much smaller company. If the prospect of working for a smaller company concerns you, consider these advantages.

 

 

Susan Hall, in her article, “Going with a Small Company Has Large Rewards”, in IT Business Edge, noted that both Randy Mattran, Lancet Software Vice President, and Bill Karpovich, Co-founder and CEO of commercial open source software company Zenoss, believe that the biggest difference in working for a small company is that you gain more control over your own career. There’s more transparency so you understand any risks at the front end.

 

The downside is that in a large corporation you can get lost in the shuffle. You can lose your autonomy and become a small cog in a big wheel. You also lose the security offered by a large corporation. This includes the bureaucratic cushion and potential protection that comes from being part of a huge organization to which you may have grown accustomed.

 

 

According to Karpovich, “Being small helps people take ownership.” He added that “…because it is so small, this notion that you’re very close to the heart and soul of the company is a feeling that you can’t replicate in a large organization because of the layers and layers and layers.”

 

You also have more hands-on experience. For instance, smaller companies tend to be less formally structured, more flexible, less set in their ways. Depending upon your personality and job environment preferences, this can work to your advantage.

 

The downside is that you aren’t able to delegate as much of your workload, and you may be asked to wear many hats and take on more roles. If you're open to the challenge and like the idea of multitasking, this could be a great move. If change and taking on new responsibilities is not your cup of tea, you may quickly feel like the odd man out, perhaps even over your head, depending on the added responsibilities. 

 

 

An article in the Wall Street Journal, “The Advantages of Working for a Smaller Company” summed it up this way. “Every success in a small business is magnified by a hundred,” stated Dean Medley, Senior Vice President of Recruiting at Medical Methods, Inc., a staffing firm of 50 employees in Jacksonville, Florida. “When you land a new account, it’s a huge deal.” This can be a great ego boost, especially when new client acquisition at a big box may have been seen as just “business as usual”.

 

But then again, in a smaller company, blunders are magnified too, according to Medley. “When you have a setback, it’s extremely painful,” Medley added. Realize that there'll be times you might feel you're under a microscope and every hiccup can be magnified and agonized over.

 

 

Converts to small shops wax enthusiastic about the room to gain experience in new practice areas. They are able to return to the nuts and bolts of operating a business, to its heart. At a large corporation you get divorced from what the business is all about, according to Mike Barnes, a newly hired logistics executive at Halton Company in Portland, OR. He added, in “The Advantages of Working for a Smaller Company”, that the depth of involvement he has at his new firm has another upside: A level of job satisfaction he says he hasn’t felt in a long time.

 

The downside is that you might risk getting yourself pegged as a generalist or a Jack-of-all-trades. If the company does well, this may not matter. However, should the company falter after a few years, you'll be on the market again and you may have lost your edge, if you have a technical specialty area.

 

 

In an article by Sarah E. Needleman, “Moving to a Small Company Can Lead to Big Rewards”, she noted Patrick Crane’s enthusiasm after his move to LinkedIn Corporation from Yahoo. At Yahoo, he was one of five marketing vice presidents. At LinkedIn he’s the sole vice president of marketing. He now meets with the CEO of LinkedIn several times a day. At Yahoo, he shook hands with the CEO, Jerry Yang, only a couple of times, and had perhaps less than five conversations with him in four years.

 

Having such close proximity to upper management often means quicker action. There is the opportunity to get things done faster, more efficiently and with less red tape. There are fewer layers of approval to deal with when decisions need to get made. There is less bureaucracy. If you're an action-oriented executive who's used to quick decisions on multiple projects with fast turnaround times, this can be a great environment. 

 

The downside is that if things go badly and expectations aren’t met, and if the bottom line is negatively impacted, you’re an easier scapegoat. You’re apt to get blamed for the company’s failures because your fingerprints are more likely to be associated with the company’s problems and losses.