Physical Address

304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124

Start-ups vs large corporations: Which is the better career move?

Working for a start-up may bring different benefits compared with being an employee of a big company. For fresh graduates and those contemplating a mid-career switch, which is the better option?
Tiffany Ang and Gerald Tan chat with Jeraldine Phneah, enterprise lead of AlphaSense, to unpack the pros and cons of each career path.
Here’s an excerpt from the conversation:Tiffany Ang:
Our producer went to talk to some of her friends who have started in a start-up, and that’s actually one of the common gripes that they gave, which is that there was a crazy workload for little money.
To be fair, because they’re starting up, they don’t really have a lot of money to pay people and or they might go, I will pay you in equity. But I think increasingly, there’s a growing group of people who want that work-life balance, who might feel that if I’m hired to do this, why am I scheduling calendar invites?
Jeraldine Phneah:
Definitely there will be situations whereby some people join start-ups, and they realise that they have to do a lot more for the team than what they sign up for.
So, this means someone who is thinking in the best interest of the company, of the team, happy to share the glory and the wins with the team, versus just being focused on himself, for example.
Gerald Tan:
I think also going beyond just being a team player, right? Because if you’re going to part with some precious resource that you have on a person, you’re not just looking at whether that person is capable to do the work. You also want to really know why you want to do this for me … You could join another bigger firm in the turn of an eye, so why should I invest my time to induct you, to put my precious money to train you, only to have you leave later? 
So, I think a lot of times, from a start-up owner’s perspective, what they want for the team is to see not just a person who’s willing to do more, but you’re also able to articulate why you want to be part of this team. 
Listen to more episodes here.
A new episode of Work It drops every Monday. Follow the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify for the latest updates.
Have a great topic for us? Drop the team an email at cnapodcasts [at] mediacorp.com.sg  

en_USEnglish