Would you rather be a fish in a pond or a shark in a tank? Or put differently, would you rather work for a large company or for a small business? Students often opt for the large corporation and with reason, but the notion of working for a small or medium enterprise (SME) shouldn't be ignored.
Students are often drawn to large corporations for a number of reasons. Primarily, they associate a strong brand reputation with a sense of job security, a particularly crucial factor in today's economic climate. There's also the appeal of a higher salary and additional financial benefits and packages. Examples include paid vacations, retirement benefits, and full-coverage health insurance. Not to mention the range of comprehensive graduate schemes designed to mould you into a future business leader and the prospect of interesting relocation opportunities. However, SME's can also provide interesting employment prospects.
SME's often offer a chance for real business influence from the outset which is generally difficult to find in a larger corporation. As the teams and business as a whole is smaller, there is a much greater level of visibility when it comes to your personal contribution, and thus you stand a greater chance of being noticed. Instead of being just another cog in the machine, you become an integral part of the team and if you work hard and produce excellent results, it is likely that you will get faster promotions and pay raises. Additionally, you can expect to find a more diverse role at an SME as these roles tend to be less specialised and offer employees the opportunity to become more versatile from doing a wide variety of tasks. Working in SME's where you have lots of responsibility and work on multiple projects can also provide a good foundation to progress onto a larger employer at a later date. Perhaps the greatest attraction is the sense of personal attachment that individuals working at SME's often feel. Such workers have a real passion for ensuring business success because they have a deep sense of connection with the firm that is often difficult to replicate in a larger corporation.
This is not intended to be a comprehensive comparison between the pros and cons of working for a large corporation or an SME. Instead, it is meant to illustrate that students should also give some consideration to SME's when they are choosing which companies to apply to. Ultimately, the decision should be based on the type of individual you are, the sort of working environment that you prefer, and whatever you deem as important in a graduate role. If you are primarily concerned with earning a high salary then the choice is clear, but if you are more motivated by the visibility of your personal influence on overall business performance, then perhaps an SME would be a better fit for you. It all depends on how you like to swim.
