Why Every Career Needs One Startup Job
Nowadays, working for a startup does not mean pulling all-nighters and waiting for the IPO. In fact, there are several reasons why working for a startup at least once in your lifetime will upgrade your career. Here’s why a startup experience should be on your resumé:
1) Develop New Skills Fast
Startup companies, by their nature, quickly and smartly create products or offer services new to the marketplace, so employees often are exposed to the latest technologies and platforms that require learning new skills fast. In this setting of accelerated learning, a developer proficient in a new environment can become the in-house expert and be given responsibilities sooner. Those responsibilities inside a lean organization can include leading teams, devising strategy and collaborating with other departments.
Compared to your IT peers at larger and more structured companies, that wearing of many hats at a startup results in more proficiencies in less time – and when those companies adopt the cutting-edge technologies, you will be an attractive job candidate.
2) Understand Business Operations
A startup’s small staff count along with “all hands on deck” philosophy reveals the inner operations of a company, makes accessing leadership easier, and introduces you to business systems beyond IT. For an IT professional, there may be no better place than a small startup to learn about business marketing, supply chain operations or financial forecasting.
3) Build Tolerance for Risk
While getting up close and personal with a startup sometimes is not pretty, the experience helps you manage stress and risk in ways that will benefit your career over time. You learn how to manage fast-track projects and highly consequential deadlines. It’s possible to realize that while you are comfortable powering through a long week, leading a team review is something you need to improve on.
A note to mid-career IT professionals: Working at a startup involves a different degree of challenge and opportunity for older employees. Provided you and your family are aware of and can accommodate the financial risks and pace of a startup, the experience can inject new energy and expertise into your portfolio.
4) For the Thrill
Working for a startup can be a roller coaster with highs and lows, from gratifying relief after a successful big deployment to the uncertainty when investors pull out. It’s an environment that attracts entrepreneurial and ambitious people comfortable with those thrills and may provide one of the most rewarding adventures of your career – or the biggest lessons from failure.
How has working for a startup helped your career? Signature Recruiting assists tech startups in filling critical roles. If you are looking to join a startup, please contact us.
