Should I apply to a large or small company when I am new to the job market?

At about this time last year, I wrote an article "How can I find a job that suits me? to provide job search advice for newcomers to the workplace from the perspective of how they should choose their industry. Now that it's graduation season again, "Should I go to a big company or a small company? is once again a hot topic among newcomers to the job market, so I would like to share my thoughts on this question with all newcomers to the job market.

The high high-scoring to this question from veterans of the workplace on Zhihu usually goes like this.

Large companies have good training and benefits, stable positions and income, and can see more and more, even if they jump ship later, they can also gold their resumes, but the bad thing is that everyone is just a screwwith, little with room to play, unable to see the whole picture, slow promotion based on seniority, and dealing with all kinds of personnel relations and processes are complicated and require a lot of energy.

Smaller companies are more humane and flatter, so employees can focus most of their energy on doing things well, and have more opportunities to be on their own, and if the company develops well, there is huge room for development and promotion - think of the eighteen Luohan who followed Jack Ma? The downside, however, is that the income and benefits may not be very high and, especially for start-ups, the stability is relatively poor.

In short, there are good and bad things about big companies, and there are good and bad things about small companies. There is no standard answer, and the starting point of one's career and the way one starts is simply a matter of personal choice. The book was even written by the author as a summary of "the right people for big companies and the right things for small companies".

The cover of "The Right People for the Big Company, the Right Thing for the Small Company

The book is not a good framework for analysis, but to be honest, it is not a good framework for analysis. To a certain extent, it's the same as not saying anything at all!

For example, in recent years, many large companies have been reported to have taken pay cuts, defaulted on salary payments, and laid off employees; as for small companies, if the founder is from a large company, it is easy to suffer from the disease of large companies in terms of management. He often thinks of himself as Jack Ma in 2000, but in essence, he is just an old greaser with some social experience.

Therefore, I think for newcomers to the workplace, choosing a big company or a small company is not the key, but knowing how to choose a good company is the key.

To judge whether a company is big or small, you can judge from the size of the staff, registered capital, office space, etc. This requires almost no experience and is not difficult. But judging whether a company is good or bad requires some time and ability for newcomers to gather information and think deeply about it. It's also a test of whether you'll be a good employee in the future.

But in general, I think a good company must meet two conditions: one is a clear business model, and the other is a win-win corporate culture.

Let's start with the business model.

A good company has a clear business model - with a sufficient volume of market demand, unique competitive advantages, and an active and pragmatic development goal.

▲ The business model of Dingxiang Garden

Even as a start-up, the business model may still need to be proven in the market, but it is at least logically self-consistent. This information can be found through the company's website or social media, media interviews given by the owner, business plans disclosed to the public, etc.

If you can't find it, ask the boss or HR directly in the interview. Don't worry about being offended; a reliable boss or HR will appreciate you for it and will think you are a thoughtful person.

However, if the boss or HR is vague and unclear about the business model of the company, but only emphasizes or implies that he or she has mysterious connections or resources, or keeps showing strength by showing various media reports, office environment, etc., as well as drawing a big pie of listing options, year-end dividends, etc., you have to be careful, it is likely to be a big hole with no bottom.

And then there's the corporate culture.

The company's corporate culture is to achieve win-win guidelines for the boss, shareholders, customers, and employees, which is never a slogan hanging on the office wall or a slogan on an advertising sign, but a real reaction to the problems encountered by a company and what is the basis for judgment.

The company's corporate culture is the same as that of the Alibaba Group.

For example, "What do you do when you have a customer complaint? Do you owe money to suppliers? Do you dismiss employees at will without compensation? How high is the company's turnover rate?" These are all examples of the corporate culture. The key is to see what they do, not to hear what they say.

You can find this out from old employees or business affiliates of the company, and even from various media reports and apps like Skywatch, but don't just look at their official website for their own words, or other news sites for their promotional articles - they might be written and posted by the company itself. However, if the other party is a start-up company and lacks the above information, it is worth learning more about the founder's reputation from a third party - frankly, the corporate culture is the ultimate expression of the owner's values.

Many newcomers to the workplace who get screwed often decide to join based solely on the company profile on the recruitment platform, the company's office environment, and location, and a salary that is somewhat competitive in the market, ignoring the fact that this company has a high turnover rate.

Of course, it doesn't mean that good company is one where no one ever leaves. In a good company, there is always a certain amount of turnover.

For example, personal choices of employees and changes in company direction can cause people to leave, but a healthy company generally has a turnover rate of no more than 20-30% in a year (in recent years the economic environment has changed a lot, which may increase the variables) and an average of three to five years of service per employee. Unless it is a start-up company, a company that has been established for more than five years and has employees on board for an average of fewer than two years is cause for alarm and requires a lot of understanding, especially if you ask the departing employees.

A good and reliable company will pay a lot of attention to whether the candidate's ability can match the position and whether the candidate's career plan fits with the company's development. Spend two or three hours of structured interview time, or even a few more interviews to be reasonable (job seekers do not mind the trouble as the company's recruitment costs more). Suffice it to say, the shorter the interview time, the less reliable the company. Job seekers should not think that they are too good for the job.

Of course, it must be acknowledged that at least half of what determines success or failure in business are objective factors, such as policy and market risks, which can easily bring down a good company, and although some of these can be foreseen or managed, no one can be as predictable as the gods - just like the current epidemic, who can anticipate and prepare in advance? Who can anticipate and prepare for an epidemic?

But in any case, a good business model and corporate culture are the subjective factors that make a good company, and if you decide to join or abandon a company without even understanding and analyzing these two things, it is like taking your career to the casino and playing the Russian roulette wheel, with the outcome depending on luck.

I always say, whether it's a job search or a business, the risk is not something you can't take, and it's something you must take, but you must have a probability mindset, choose to do things that have a high probability of success, and in the process of doing so, continue to accumulate to increase the probability of your success. So, newcomers to the workplace, please start by learning to judge a company good or bad!