5 Questions to Answer ‘Should I join a high-growth company?’

Here at Zealify, we showcase what it’s like to work at a range of high-growth startups and SMEs. One of the main reasons we focus on this kind of company is because we feel they are underrepresented as a career option. Paul Graham, co-founder of Y Combinator, explains this better than I could, saying that traditionally:

the ambitious plan was to get lots of education at prestigious institutions, and then join some other prestigious institution and work one’s way up the hierarchy. Your prestige was the prestige of the institution you belonged to.

We became especially aware of this at university where the only viable career path that was perceived as ‘successful’ was to enter a corporate graduate scheme; smaller companies were never highlighted. We understand that high-growth companies are not for everyone, but we wanted to make people aware of all the options available to them so that they can self select which path is best for them.

In this post, I will highlight some of the questions that job seekers should be asking themselves to help with that decision process.

How important is a brand name on your CV?

In a world where what you do for a living is a major part of your identity — it’s one of the first things we ask new people we meet — what are you going to be most proud of telling people? Whichever route you take, everyone will have an opinion. The thing you need to think about in order to answer this question is the link between the importance you place on the opinion of others, and your own personal perceived value of potential career paths.

How important is it to you that people instantly recognise the name of the company you work for? Will it give you more of a sense of self-worth if you are able to cite a highly sought after brand name, confident that no one will question your decision?

Or do you see more value or excitement in telling people about a company they’ve never heard of before, their mission and what they are working towards? Do you look forward to people saying “I’ve never heard of that company. What do they do? Why did you choose to work there?” or do you fear it?

The answer to these questions will tell you the importance you personally put on having brand names on your CV. However, another thing to consider is the importance that different industries and/or companies put on this question, meaning you may need to think about your longer term aspirations and optimising for future growth.

Marc Andreessen, co-founding partner of venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz talks about this:

Working for a big company teaches you how to work for big companies. The way things work at a big company is usually unique to big companies. So, working for a big company is often a statement that you plan to spend your career at big companies.

This could be seen as positive or negative, depending on which path you see your career taking. Some will see a big name as evidence of your capability in certain areas and that will have clear advantages as your career progresses. Others will see experience in a smaller, fast growing team as proof of being a quick learner, a self starter and able to be thrown in at the deep end. And remember, proof and tangible evidence of your achievements are worth far more than using these phrases as weightless buzzwords in your cover letter.

How specialised are you?

We were all asked countless times when we were growing up; “What do you want to be when you’re older?” But do you know the answer yet?

One of the most common requirements when joining a startup or high-growth SME is that you are ready to ‘get stuck in and get your hands dirty’. Part of what this means is that in these companies it’s all hands on deck; everyone helps out with whatever is highest priority at any given time, even if it’s not part of your job description.

If you already know exactly which path you want your career to take and you’re ready to drill down on one specific area, you might see this as a distraction from what you actually want to be doing. However, if you’re looking to gain more visibility into all the different areas of a business, then startups especially are a great place to be able to do this.

We’ve mentioned before when talking about learning that the ideal skill set is ‘T’ shaped, where the vertical line represents a depth of expertise in a specific field and the horizontal line represents a broad understanding (and therefore ability to provide value) across a range of other related skill sets. The type of company you want to join could be dependent on which part of your T shape you are looking to build on. As implied above, startups are probably best for building your horizontal line because you’re able to see how more parts of a business are run. Two possible scenarios where this would be the case are if you’re not yet sure what you want your specialism (vertical line) to be, or you already have deep knowledge in one area and want to use that knowledge while also providing value elsewhere.

However, a more corporate environment might be beneficial for building your vertical as while you may not get the holistic view of the whole company, you will often be put immediately in a specific department, working and focusing on a specific skill set.

How key are structure and process?

This question looks at what kind of environment you work best in and/or prefer. Usually, high-growth companies are chaotic and by their very definition, fast moving. They are environments of testing and iterating, where things have to be worked out as you go. Some personalities thrive in these conditions.

If you prefer an environment of structure and process where everything is organised, then you might want to look for a company where there is a set way of doing things which has been proven to work.

There’s no better or worse way of doing things, it’s simply about having the self-awareness to know which category you fall under. Would you rather work somewhere that knows the solution to a problem and simply has to execute, or somewhere that is constantly looking for new solutions to new problems, before executing? This could be seen as the difference between being able to help shape the future of the company and joining a company whose direction is already set in stone.

How do you perceive risk?

If you’ve been to university, you’ll understand the tradeoff here. You put off earning a salary for three years, and probably took on some debt, with the outlook that if you do well you will probably be rewarded in your career further down the line. You probably didn’t realise it at the time, but that was a risk. Nobody guarantees you a specific job or a higher wage once you graduate, but you know that if you do well, it will hopefully open more doors at the very least.

The question after university is how much further down the line are you willing to wait for that possible reward, knowing that the longer you wait, the higher the risk but the higher the potential reward? Are you willing to put yourself straight into an environment where you will be paid less but potentially have much greater rewards in the future? Or are you now driven by the promise of a safe paycheck every month, which increases incrementally over many years?

What will make you happy?

As a startup, we are obviously slightly biased when it comes to what type of company is more fulfilling. However, I have tried to keep this post as neutral as possible in an attempt to simply outline the questions you need to answer to increase your self awareness and therefore be able to make a more informed decision as to what is right for you.

Keep in mind that there are no right or wrong answers to any of these questions. In the end, it all comes down to what makes you happy.

Have you had to ask yourself these questions in the past? How did you choose what type of company is right for you? I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences below.

Note: This post was originally published on 17th February 2016.