Point/Counterpoint: Why You Should Start Your Career with a Big Company

In the long run, time is your most valuable asset. The key to success is to not waste it in the short run.

Fellow Influencer Bruce Kasanoff and I got into a semi-heated debate the other day about the merits of starting a career at a big company or small one. We decided it might make sense to publicize our viewpoints and let job-seekers decide for themselves. Here’s a link to Bruce’s arguments in this Point-Counterpoint debate. Mine are below.

As I make my case for why launching a career at a big company makes sense, some background is in order. The big one: I started my career at a big company. I worked at two others, and within 10 years I was running a small operating division. While I loved the job, and aside from the fact that the recruiters I was using had a better work/life balance than mine, the prime reason I left corporate America were some very public disagreements with the group president.

For the next 25 years the majority of the people I placed came from bigger companies and I placed them into better positions with smaller companies. Here’s why this was the right decision for them, and why it’s the right decision for any young person who wants to launch a career the right way.

The Pros of Starting Your Career at a Bigger Company and Some Caveats

1. You’ll learn how to block and tackle properly. Many big companies offer rotational programs to give their new hires a broad introduction to a variety of different positions. If you get into one of these, there is no better way to start a career. Bigger companies also offer great training programs for their new hires. Smaller companies just can’t match this investment in training.
2. Time is your most valuable asset; use it wisely. There are more opportunities in a big company once you get noticed. Working at a bunch of odd jobs at a small company isn’t nearly as credible as getting promoted into bigger jobs with more responsibility at a bigger company. The key is that you need to get 2-3 years experience in stretch jobs early in your career. If you’re not being stretched, it doesn’t matter whether you’re at a big or small company.
3. You’ll build a stronger and more influential network that will open future doors. Every HR leader will tell you that their best hires come from referrals. While you can build a small network at a small company, you can build a huge and influential one at a big company. Having the opportunity to work with senior executives and leaders in different functional area will open the doors to future opportunities you’ll never get with small companies.
4. You can always leave a big company for a small company, but it’s hard to reverse it. Small companies are always looking for talent who can help them grow and become bigger. They always look for people who’ve had this kind of experience at big companies. For this point alone, it makes sense to start your career at a big company.
5. Big company experience is more credible than equivalent small company experience. While it can be frustrating a times to get things accomplished quickly at a bigger company, learning the proper way to work within sophisticated systems and processes is invaluable early in a career. When these same processes constrict a person’s ability to grow, learn or make an impact, it’s time to leave. However, the experience involved in being part of a successful project team is something people starting out in their careers rarely get in a small company, unless it’s led by those who have worked at larger companies first.
6. More resources and better opportunities to be involved in more complex and more impactful projects. I’ve talked with many young people with only 1-2 years of experience who have worked on international projects, dealt with senior level executives, worked with state-of-the-art technology and were exposed to world-class professionals early in their careers. This is invaluable experience that is almost impossible to receive at a smaller company.

Of course, if your first job has you stuck in the back corner of a big bullpen doing mindless work for a mindless manager, you’ll regret the choice of launching your career at some big nameless bureaucracy. But the grass will be no greener doing mindless work anywhere, big company or small. So the best career advice should not be about the size of the company, but the size of the opportunity and the capability of the people you’ll be working for and with. In the long run, time is your most valuable asset. The key to success is to not waste it in the short run.

As you ponder these ideas, make sure you check out Bruce's counterpoints.

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Lou Adler (@LouA) is the CEO of The Adler Group, a consulting firm helping companies implement Performance-based Hiring. He's also a regular columnist for Inc. Magazine and BusinessInsider. His latest book, The Essential Guide for Hiring & Getting Hired (Workbench, 2013), provides hands-on advice for job-seekers, hiring managers and recruiters on how to find the best job and hire the best people. For more hiring advice join Lou's LinkedIn group or follow his Wisdom at Work series on Facebook.