1. Getting two to five times more accomplished and building my experience and therefore my resume much faster is not my kind of thing.
2. Working with the top 20% in my field and learning from some of the brightest individuals in my industry means I won’t be the big fish in the little pond.
3. I’m much more interested in collecting a paycheck than looking forward to getting up in the morning and building something useful with a group of other people that share my enthusiasm for what we are doing.
4. I rely on the stability of my established employer even though I know that job security doesn’t come from my company. I prefer to rely on a faceless, impersonal corporation whose sole concern is self preservation, rather than on my skills and experience which provide my real job security.
5. That sounds like a really good opportunity for me but I hadn’t planned on making a move now.
I like this list.
#2 is true in many cases but it can be short-sighted. Speaking from personal experience, if you believe in the startup and do impress the “big fish” there, it can pay different kinds of dividends later.
Hi Jacob,
That actually is my point. Working with people better than oneself is the best way to improve and rise up to the level of the best in the industry.
I think the format of the post, giving bad reasons to not work at a startup may be causing confusion, but the message is, “go work at a startup” if you want to improve your value in the market.
ts