Don’t Miss Golden Opportunities with Start-ups

Job Search with Small BusinessesFor most people who are looking for a job, the big, famous companies are the first choice. This means that sometimes we overlook golden opportunities with small businesses. Times have changed, and so should our mindsets.

According to United States Census Bureau data from 1980-2005, almost all net job creation was created from firms that are less than five years old. The statistics indicate that without start-ups, job creation in the U.S. would be negative except for a few years. Of the 12 million jobs created in 2007, young firms (firms one to five years old) account for nearly 8 million of the jobs created.

The data from the US Census Bureau clearly shows that without small businesses, a lot of people would be unemployed right now.

Why Target Small Companies?

Targeting small businesses offers a number of advantages.

Small businesses are more open. Working with small businesses offers you the chance to work in different positions at the same time, thereby giving you broader responsibilities within the company. You will have the opportunity to use different approaches and learn various aspects of the company, thus allowing you to expand your skill set.

Small businesses are also less likely to be hierarchical and structured. People may be more open to suggestions to improve the company. You are less likely to face instances in which higher-ups say, “If it ain't broke, don't fix it.”

These businesses are also more open to career changes and less rigid about their requirements, thus opening doors to people who want to challenge themselves by changing careers.

Getting information on small companies is relatively more difficult than with big companies. With little information available about them, you need to adjust your job search accordingly.

Job searching for small businesses is different. It requires you to change your focus. In start-ups, the skills of flexibility and resourcefulness are likely to be more valued than relationship-building skills.

When talking about ambitions, you may need to match them to what is available. For start-ups, there might not be a clear path, whereas big companies tend to have clear, well-defined rules for career advancement.

Open yourself to new horizons in your job search. Don’t limit yourself to the conventional wisdom that bigger is better. Today, considering all of the options will help you achieve success faster than if you limit yourself to the traditional ways of doing things. Be prepared, study your interview tips, consider applying to businesses big and small, and give yourself the edge in your job search.

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Alan Carniol

Alan is the creator of Interview Success Formula, a training program that has helped more than 80,000 job seekers to ace their interviews and land the jobs they deserve. Interviewers love asking curveball questions to weed out job seekers. But the truth is, most of these questions are asking about a few key areas. Learn more about how to outsmart tough interviewers by watching this video.