Career Path Via Start-Ups
In this age of advancing technology, the traditional career paths are no longer the only way to kickstart your career. As competition becomes fierce and the number of jobs dwindles, young professionals must prove their mettle to get hired. With the freelance economy booming along with the rise of online career development courses, the job market is more competitive than it has been ever before. Young professionals need to develop skills and acquire the right work experience to create a successful career for themselves. But, how does someone who has little or no experience compete with people who have spent years in the corporate world?
Taking up a job in a start-up can help you in exponentially growing your career by acquiring skills and experiences that you will not get in a traditional corporate job. Just like any other career path, start-ups have a downside too. But if you join the right start-up and put in the required efforts, chances of your succeeding go up manifolds. To protect your career, before joining any start-up you must do a thorough background search of the company and ensure that it has some proven product or service that has the potential to grow and succeed. Alternatively, joining a small business that has been operating for a few years will be equally rewarding. (Just so that you know, O4S has been around for a few years and we are hiring.)
So, what are the top benefits of joining a start-up?
Building a Unique Work-Experience
In a corporate job, all your job responsibilities are clearly defined, and you are assigned a particular task or set of functions which you are expected to perform on a daily basis. While it may seem like a learning process for the first few months, it soon becomes a monotonous routine that you do to get a salary on the first of every month. On the contrary, there are endless learning opportunities in working with start-ups. The communication lines are shorter, and things change daily in small businesses. You may have to evolve with changing requirements and learn things beyond your defined job responsibilities.
Learning Opportunities
There is no denying the fact that start-ups are a goldmine of learning opportunities. As an employee of a start-up or small business, you have access to every facet of the company. Either you are the part of the key decision-making process, or you witness it first-hand. You may have to wear different hats from marketing to operations to HR as per changing requirements. Even though you may be a sales professional, there could be circumstances when you are recruiting someone and defining your company culture. Working with start-ups will make you a quick learner and flexible professional. You will learn to adapt to the changing situation and take on new challenges.
Entrepreneurial Mindset
Entrepreneurship is something that is no longer restricted to start-ups, even well-established organizations now motivate intrapreneurs. This is mainly because an entrepreneurial mindset can be an asset to any organization. You develop a mindset to see opportunities that no one else can which benefits the organization. Your start-up experience will be a mini-MBA for you which will teach you aspects of the business that you may not even learn in B-schools. This learning experience and the entrepreneurial mindset will help you get ahead in your career and help you achieve greater things in life.
Financially Rewarding
Besides all the learning that you get, working for start-ups and small businesses can be financially rewarding too. Start-ups are always looking for talent that is willing to take a calculated risk and help them turn their vision into a reality. If you fit the requirement, start-ups could offer packages and other perks that are way better than the traditional corporate set-ups. Depending on the start-up you join, you may even be offered some equity which can worth millions if the start-up were to make it big.
An Impressive Job Title
As you gain some experience and grow in your career, you will realize that a job title is the last thing you should be bothered about. Yet, a fancy job title can boost your confidence early in your career and make you feel happy about what you are doing. In start-ups, promotions are not based on a set trajectory and job titles are not giving based on the number of years of service. Working with start-ups will enable you to spice up your resume with some fancy job titles and may even help you in getting into the corporate world at higher positions. You will also add more bullet points to your resume than you could ever while working with a traditional company.
It is essential to evaluate the benefits and limitations of a career path based on your personal as well as professional goals. If you prefer working in a low-stress environment (who doesn’t), start-ups are perfect for you. Unlike the corporate set-ups which are known for rigid atmosphere and fix set of rules, start-ups are all about growing together and nurturing the company. Since you are surrounded by people with a mindset similar to that of yours, you are more likely to share a positive professional relationship with them. These enable you to freely express yourself and explore without the fear of making mistakes.
As we have seen, there are pros and cons of working with start-ups and shaping your career path via start-ups. However, it depends on what you wish to achieve in your career from a short-term and long-term perspective. Small businesses and start-ups are more open to people with non-traditional CVs and those seeking more from their careers. It is certainly the road less traveled, but with the right choices and by joining the right organization, you can set yourself for a fulfilling as well as a rewarding career. Just to add, we are hiring and you can get in touch with us via workplay@o4s.io.
