Are you going to graduate in a few monthsIJ Or are you bored to death working in the same company for yearsIJ Or are you one of those who is stuck in the wrong job and trying desperately to switchIJ Here’s a suggestion. If you come across a vacancy at a start-up, by all means, apply for a job there. Here’s why. For one thing, you will not have to blow a little more of your parents’ money on all those boring formal clothes. Your college wardrobe will suffice for now. Also, at a start-up, you won’t be forced to act all grown-up, overnight. You can laugh out loud with your colleagues, speak your mind at the meetings and even swear when something goes wrong. Here, the parties, fun activities and outings are a lot more frequent.
At a well-established company, you will probably spend the first few months or even years doing very nominal tasks. This is detrimental to your self-confidence. However, in a start-up, you are plunged head-long in to real, important work from day one itself. You are not hired here as a prop or as a part of the company’s tax-evading plan; you are here, because there’s a lot to be done and you have shown the enthusiasm to take it on.
This is exactly what makes you grow up fast in a start-up. The moment you are given substantial work, your sub-conscious mature alter ego bursts forth and starts taking stock of the situation. You don’t feel like a small cog in a big machine here. So, you know your role is not insignificant, and you ultimately become more responsible, accountable and superior at your job.
A start-up always has an endless list of tasks to be done, you will constantly find being pushed out of your comfort zone to include a lot of things in that job profile of yours. For example a content writer at DesiDime.com not only writes content for the website and its blog, but is also required to contribute to social media marketing, learn analytics as well as SEO. So, at the end, you will not only gain expertise in your chosen field but also acquire a holistic knowledge of it.
Start-ups don’t follow a stringent hierarchy, so your managers, even your CEO, are as approachable as your contemporaries here. Your bosses and seniors are not your enemies, who walk away with all the credit in the end. They are your mentors. You don’t get a similar opportunity to interact and learn from such experts in a big organisation. You can just soak up all that knowledge and start applying it.
Another advantage of the near-flat hierarchy is that things move quickly. If you get a worthwhile eureka moment, you start executing it by evening. In start-ups, you get a lot of creative and executive freedom, which makes all processes very smooth and uncomplicated. So, if you are looking for more than just a big salary, a good start-up can be a great place to start looking at.
(The writer is Mehul Jobanputra, CEO & co-founder of DesiDime.com)