What is Your Work Culture Personality? Corporate vs Startup
People working in a corporate are always eyeing the grass that seems greener for the people working in a startup. Those working in a startup envy those who work in a corporate for having it easy. The truth of the matter is, the grass always seems greener on the other side, but it rarely ever is! The big question arises about your work culture personality – corporate vs startup.
The conflict of working in a startup environment vs working in a corporate environment has been going on for some time now. It is important to understand, which environment would be best-suited for you and your career.
The Number Game
Take a look at these interesting numbers related to startups and their success rate.
(Source: Small Business Trends)
Corporate work life vs Startup work life – Let us help you make a decision
Proactive
Startups are a lot more individually-driven as compared to corporates. Being proactive is critical to be able to contribute in a startup. If you are the not the kind to take initiatives, a corporate work life would make a little more sense for you than a startup.
While a startup is initiative-driven, a corporate is solution-driven.
Your Impact
Every single employee’s performance has a powerful impact on a startup, to the extent that every contribution they make can make or break the case. It takes way more in a corporate to create an impact. In fact, every person can be easily replaced with someone else to do their job in a corporate setup.
New Skill-set and Know-how
In a startup, you may be solely responsible for multiple tasks and your responsibilities will change a lot more frequently. This will call for the need to expand your skill-set and know-how. When you are working in a corporate, your role is pretty streamlined and well-defined. While the learning curve is very steep in a startup, it starts steep and flattens gradually in a corporate.
Whatever work culture you are a part of, at the end of the day, it takes initiative and opportunity to gain new insights and expand your know-how.
Working out a coworking space is the perfect way to find such opportunities. At a coworking space in your city, you can network with professionals belonging to a variety of industries and use it to your benefit. While networking is a requirement in a startup, taking advantage of this opportunity in a corporate can take you places!
Payscale
A startup, especially in the early stages, does not pay as much as a corporate, due to the limitation of resources, and the unpredictability involved in the initial years. The pay scale in such cases can be lower than the average pay in the market. On the other hand, a corporate has a standardized pay slab to match the average pay scale in the market. Minor changes in the pay do happen, but due to extreme streamlining of roles, the growth can be relatively slow.
Commitment
Working in a startup could definitely ask for a lot more commitment and time from you than a corporate. People tend to forget their breaks, vacations, and basically not being there to make things really work and grow in a startup. Also, every individual’s job goes hand-in-hand with another one’s job. This interdependence makes it even more important to be able to deliver without any time lag.
Recognition
Getting brand recognition on your CV through a startup may not be as easy as through a corporate. It takes time for a startup to build a name and identity for its brand in the market. This could have a possible impact on your future career opportunities and your overall career profile, on a short-term basis.
Conclusion
Working at a startup is going to be all about maintaining a fast pace and learning new skills on the job. On the other hand, working at a corporate is going to be about becoming an expert in your field and operating in a streamlined manner.
While working at a corporate can give you brand recognition, working at a growing startup holds value to other growing companies or companies who like to innovate and experiment.
Whatever choice you make can only be base on one important factor – your work personality and your goals. There are no career hiccups in either of the two options. These are just two different paths taking you to your destination.
Also read, 5 Things Your Boss Expects You To Know About Coworking.
