Go For Start-Up/SME or MNC? Evaluate Your Preference For Career Growth First

My younger boy is moving to a new school and today is his last school to his current school. I told him about this a week ago and he was very sad. He said he would miss his classmates and his teachers until I bought him to the new school two days ago. His new school is much bigger than his current one with more facilities. Right after he arrived the new school, he already felt in love and told everyone at his current school that he is going to the new school soon (which is quite embarrassed 🙈).

When I sent him to school this morning, I saw his facial expression and how excited he was to prepare for his new school, I realised that what he was acting is exactly what an adult behave when they are considering to move on for other opportunity.

Some people prefer working for a start-ups or SMEs because they feel the cohesion, respect and ownership due to smaller team; but some people prefer working for the MNCs because of the reputation, package and benefits and career prospect. My question is how could a small company/SME compete with MNCs to attract and retain talents? If you are currently working for a SME, would you go for MNC for your next role?

I read a news article before saying that there was a girl from a poor family receiving the best scores every year at a local school. When she grew up, she won the scholarship to study at one of the top universities in the world. However, she saw the real world compared herself with others, and felt disappointed. For example, her family could not afford to buy her a new school bag every year; but her classmates changed their handbags every day and threw away the old ones not every year but every month. At the end, she quitted her job and went back to her hometown to be the cashier like her mum. It sounded very sad but she shared that she found herself when she was back to her hometown. The real world was too cruel to her, therefore, she went back to the basic.

For some people, they might not feel comfortable when they move to a large corporate with all talents around them. They move back to a smaller company and achieve higher. Start-ups and SMEs might consider identifying these talents who would perform better at smaller firm and groom them to grow together. For the package, of course large corporates would be able to offer better. But the ambience and team spirit might not be the same. Would you work for a company with highest offer or would you work for a company that values you and you can feel your importance there? I worked for a company with highest pay but the company politics made me feel very stressful. After six months, I decided to leave and went for a company that valued my skills and I could enjoy my weekends without thinking negatively about the end of the weekend.

Back to my son, I should say that the new school would give him better environment to learn and interact with other kids. As a parent, I will miss the old school that all parents have formed the community and the close relationship among his classmates and with the teachers because of the small classes.

Many people say the school is the miniature of the business world. I look forward to seeing his growth and interactions at his new school.