working for small business

I lulz @ small being 100 people.

I was thinking less than 20.

You def get a 'better experience'. Downside is there is, usually, more chance of nepotism or favoritism. Unless you're the favorite

Do you really believe this to be true?

hmmmm, my work experience goes something like this -some years working for governments, about 3 working as an independent rep, about 7 working for small companies, then 3 working for a fortune 1000 company, then 2 working for tiny companies, then 3 working for a 500 person company.

for me, the 500 person company is perfect, but it still has its weaknesses.

to some extent, the smaller the company, the "nicer" the people are, the more they can care about you, but the less proffetional they are. also, in my experience, the small companies that I have worked for all were trying to be aquired, and nobody actually believed that the company would be around in its present configuration for very long, so they didn't think long term.

in the fortune 1000 company, the people were pros, but bastards, everyone worked very hard, but they also did their jobs well, and I still have a large group of my friends from there.

also, in bigger companies you have things like flying business, eating out in good places, corporate retreats, etc. I like those perks.

I work at a very small firm. I am the only employee with two partners for whom I do work. There a lot of pluses to the situation, but it creates a far more informal employer/employee relationship that can sometimes have negatives. In tough times shit rolls down hill a lot faster than at a larger firm. In good times though it's a lot easier to get appreciation.

I am fairly young but that's my two cents.

I started my career with a large company, about 60,000+ employees. After that I went to a firm with ~5,000 people, to an agency with 35 people, and back to a firm with ~3,000 people. I can tell you, hands down, the company with 35 people was the worst of them all. Sure I could wear shorts, and we had a foosball table, etc.. but the lack of organization, documentation and communication was astounding. To this day it amazes me they're still in business. I'm sure there are very good small companies to work for, but I would expect that they're outnumbered by the type of company that I experienced. To this day, if a headhunter calls I make it clear I won't work for a company that has less than 1,000 people. That's just my comfort level.

I've been in a large firm and grew quite a bit, then I took a role similar to CTGuy's being the sole employee and it was a big adjustment. I went from having a staff of people who could answer any question to digging my own answers. Working without a net, basically.

Then I moved to a family firm of about 50, and it's had its ups and downs, but in the years since I've held a number of roles and have a pretty clear picture of how each department fits in to the big picture.

structure is essential for me. i cant stand total informality

ive seen a huge difference going from about 15,000 to a company of over 100,000 people...

much more paperwork in the bigger company

Not sure what to elaborate on my personality, but I'll answer those questions.. I can't stand ambiguity, in fact part of my job entails requirements definition. People say "we want this", and then I break it down, piece by piece and give it back to them and say "now that you've seen this, are you sure that's what you want, and will this still meet your needs?"

I certainly like to take initiative. I find larger companies have the resources to support those initiatives.

I absolutely like having clear and precise instructions, as it pertains to the end result. I prefer the ability to achieve that end result in my own manner, so no to micro-managing, and yes to a specific and clearly defined end result.

I saw a progression, in that I realized these things about myself after moving between the different sized companies. I think that in my opinion, after a company reaches a certain size (for me, my general rule is ~1,000 people) that the ability for me to get the support and resources I need to succeed becomes readily available. That 1,000 person figure is my guideline, I have no data to back that up, it could be 250 people, it could be 850.

I think the 35 person company was a "bad" company, in that the directors lacked the ability to effectively implement their vision. They were also poorly organized and funded, which led to employees being stretched thin and the end quality of their product to suffer.

Hope that helps!

It definitely hurts to have an unknown company on your resume, unless it is still a famous company - some ultra exclusive small firm, like a hedge fund or a boutique bank. Big names on your resume make a big difference - people know what they are getting with you. Big companies have specific training programs, exposure to certain parts of the business, etc. In certain industries especially - finance, consulting, law, accounting - having the right names on your resume means EVERYTHING.