Choosing What is Best for You: MNCs, SMEs or Startups

When choosing a job, it is important to find the right fit.

Within the area of your chosen career, employers come in all shapes and sizes. Although they can be generally classified into multinational companies (MNCs), small or medium enterprises (SMEs), or startups, you will quickly find each company has a character and disposition of its own. This is especially important when you begin considering job offers – finding the right workplace is vital when you are first setting out on your career journey.

Multinational Companies (MNCs)

These are large firms that usually have one global head office and maintain facilities and assets in numerous countries other than its home country. MNCs are typically well-known companies with large operations bases and revenue. Some well-known organisations include Nestlé, Proctor & Gamble (P&G) and Visa. MNCs also tend to have strong and reputable brand value, and many graduates attach a certain level of prestige to working for them.

Positives

Opportunities

As MNCs maintain a presence in numerous countries, there will be opportunities to travel and work around the world. This will give you the chance to work with diverse colleagues of different nationalities and backgrounds. Moreover, you can shift between departments within the same company, enabling you to update your resume without having to search for a new job. Career progression is also fairly straightforward and you will be able to see the paths of progression ahead of you.

Benefits

MNCs, with their large revenues, can afford to spend. Due to this, they generally offer excellent benefits, from healthcare to corporate discounts. You may start off with a larger paycheque as well.

Upskilling

If moving between departments does not interest you, you can still hone your skills and master your trade as job scopes are more likely to be fixed. You will have the chance to cultivate your expertise in one area of work as training and upskilling will be provided too. Successful experts will also be around you more often, so you can look up them to as role models.

Negatives

Culture and opportunities

Maintaining a shared culture is challenging in a company that sprawls across several countries with different values. As employees also tend to integrate into the company’s culture, some aspects of your individualism may get lost as rules and regulations are much stricter. Although there are opportunities for cross-departmental tasks, most employees find themselves moving within their own job scope with little reason to interact with other departments.

Red tape

Standard operating procedure (SOP), workflow and structure can be inflexible as well. The different levels of management also mean many MNCs are resistant to change, which results in less autonomy for employees. On top of that, if you need approval for a decision or project, it may take some time for it to pass through all the required processes.

Job satisfaction

As one individual in a massive organisation, it can be hard to see how your work impacts the company. It can also be discouraging if you like to see the results of your work, leading to feelings of frustration and disconnect. Recognition is hard to come by and you may even end up feeling like an expendable cog in a large machine.

Competition

Graduates are not the only ones jostling for limited positions in MNCs – so are experienced jobseekers. As such, competition is fierce. Competition among co-workers within large companies can be just as intense, if not more. Missteps may be used against you and, with countless jobseekers raring to join MNCs, a single mistake may endanger your career.

Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs)

Companies with either less than $100 million in yearly sales turnover or a total employee headcount that does not exceed 200 people are considered SMEs. These enterprises contribute more than 50 per cent to Singapore’s GDP and provide some 70% of employment. Today, graduates and jobseekers alike are as keen to work in an SME as they are an MNC.

Positives

Experience

Job roles are less specific and involvement in all areas is much higher. You may also be required to take part in cross-functional tasks that are not part of your job scope. This exposes you to a range of tasks to develop various skills in different areas of expertise and allows you to gain knowledge and insight beyond your role that can boost your resume in the future too.

Flexibility

Some SMEs offer alternative work arrangements, much like flexible working hours. They also tend to be less stringent on dress codes. Job preferences and personalities are taken into account, and you can use that to your advantage, like exploring your own working style, for example.

Culture and environment

The work culture in SMEs tends to be open with flat hierarchies, and employees are usually encouraged to communicate with senior management, even as fresh hires. The environment is also more casual, but still driven and integrated. Deep bonds are common, so expect to join a close-knit team of colleagues. Most managers would know employees by name and there are more chances to interact with colleagues from different departments.

Job satisfaction

Working for SMEs will give you the unique chance of taking ownership of your work even as you drive the company forward. Moreover, as your work is valued, your confidence in yourself and your abilities will rise, leading to better job satisfaction and enabling you to aim higher career-wise.

Negatives

Resources and benefits

Unlike MNCs, SMEs do not have the resources to bring on more manpower. Due to this, you will most likely find yourself juggling a variety of different jobs regularly, leading to a workload much larger than those generally found in MNCs. You will also have to settle for fewer benefits than what you would be able to find for the same job scope in a bigger organisation, such as retirement plans.

Training

SMEs do not usually offer training programmes and you can expect to learn on the job. If training is offered, there is a chance it would be informal. You would need to be proactive and possess a streak of independence if you want to pick up knowledge and skills.

Career progression and growth

Although there may be fewer employees in a company competing for a promotion, the fact that the company is small means the number of positions available is limited. There may be fewer opportunities and growth can be restricted – assuming the company even grows at all. If there are no plans for company growth, you may well find yourself in the same position years down the road. SMEs that cannot grow usually wind up closing down in the long run, leaving you unemployed.

Small and unknown

While MNCs are widely known and respected, which can be useful when you begin looking around for your next role. However, if you come from an SME, in the future, you may have to talk about the company instead of yourself and your achievements.

Startups

Newly incorporated businesses that have not hit the five-year mark, startups depend on scalable business models. They have also established a reputation for offering goods or services that cannot be found anywhere else on the market. Most of the time, the people who join startups are considered the most talented and respected in their respective fields.

Positives

Creative and innovative

The work environment in startups tends to be innovative and dynamic, and always looking to break into new territory. You will have the space you need to create and innovate, and the next new fresh design or concept could come from you.

Flexibility

Hierarchies in startups are not very rigid and tend to be flat. They also offer flexible working hours and a casual environment. You will also have flexibility in your approach to work – how and when you do your work are up to you, so long as you can deliver. As there are usually only a handful of employees in a startup, interactions with colleagues are also very casual.

Career progression and recognition

Although your managers or the founders of the startup will guide you along, you will most likely work without supervision. Startups are also excellent training grounds as you will have to learn how to do almost everything, especially if you are planning to pick up a senior management role in the future. You will likely be hired for the skills you can bring to the table but, as startups expect more than that, your learning curve will be very sharp. However, the chance of recognition for a job well done is high.

Opportunities and experience

Startups grant you the opportunity to forge your own path rather than follow an established route. Startups are about your skills and do not usually require experience as you will learn on the job. Not only that, but you will also have the chance to work with other skilled entrepreneurs.

Job satisfaction and ownership

In such a small company, every bit of effort from you counts. You will also have a larger sphere of influence than in an MNC, or even in an SME, and your performance will have a direct impact. You may even get the opportunity to work on an entire project by yourself and will get all the credit if it is a success.

Negatives

Job stability, structure and risk

Many startups do not succeed for a variety of reasons, such as facing bad economies. Startups are also known to switch strategies at the drop of a hat, which could lead to disorganisation and miscommunication if coupled with firsttime founders. Keep in mind that although startup founders may have exceptional ideas and plans to succeed, this does not make them either good or experienced leaders.

Remuneration and benefits

Your salary will not match the long working hours and commitment you have to plunge into a startup. Moreover, if there are gaps in resources or funding, you may find yourself with lower, or even suspended salary, for a time. There are certain perks to off-set this issue, though, such as the chance to work from home and stock options.

Work-life balance

There is no such thing as a work-life balance in a startup if you want to succeed. You will have to eat, sleep and breathe it. Bringing a startup to life requires a level of dedication and commitment not found in larger companies and, more often than not, the startup will take up all your time. Moreover, because of low employee headcount, you will find yourself working long and odd hours, perhaps even on weekends. Burnout from working in this highstress environment is highly possible.