start-up

June 24, 2016, by Carla

Why You Should Seriously Consider a Start-up Over a Graduate Scheme

By Jasmine Sherman, Instant Impact, The Intern and Graduate Recruitment Agency

At Instant Impact, we are big believers that a start-up is a great place for a graduate to kick-off their career. If you’re graduating without a graduate scheme lined up, do not worry. Believe it or not you are in the majority, and there are plenty of other opportunities out there that we think are arguably even better.

Start-ups provide tonnes of variety, heaps of responsibility and the opportunity for fast career progression; it’s an environment that’ll challenge you to learn a lot…

You’ll get an overview of the entire business and how it works

Start-ups, especially in their early stages, tend to be very small teams. This ensures you’ll get a really in-depth understanding of how the different aspects of the business work together.

Just a quick glance around the room at a start-up and you’ll see marketers, developers, salespeople, founders; the works. This sort of insight is something you just don’t get when you’re working in much larger organisations – it’s impossible to know the job function of 2,000+ people, after all. Plus, if you’ve got that entrepreneurial flair and are considering starting your own business one day, this kind of insider knowledge is essential.

Your role will be more varied and you’ll have responsibility from the start

At a start-up, you’ll be an absolutely vital member of the team from the off-set and will inevitably carry a large amount of responsibility. Think of it this way, in a team of 10 you essentially make up one tenth of the entire company, so you certainly won’t be there to make tea and deal with admin.

Having such big shoes to fill may be daunting for your first job, but you’ll learn so much so quickly that in terms of experience gained you’ll be miles ahead of anyone joining a large corporate within the same amount of time.

Your involvement will drive you to learn as much as possible about the business and sector

There isn’t space for you to be half-hearted when working for a start-up. The only way to succeed is to throw yourself in heart and soul. You will get the opportunity to gain an insight into your business and sector that it might otherwise take years to build.

Start-ups are often challenger brands, so there’s a real need for innovation and creativity – the chance to do something that no one else out there is doing.

You’ll learn to build and nurture relationships with clients and partners

Networking is pretty much the key to a successful start-up. When you’re working in such a small company every bridge you build is important in a way that just isn’t so with bigger businesses. You’ll learn to create and nurture really fantastic business relationships and become a top networker. Aside from giving you a stellar LinkedIn profile, having other industry professionals that you can learn from will have huge benefits on your work, too!

So don’t fret if you don’t have a spot on a grad scheme ready and waiting on graduation, instead feel excited by all the opportunities out there at awesome Start-ups. Embark on a career that’s off the beaten track and see how much more exciting working life can be.

Instant Impact is a UK-based intern and graduate recruitment agency, specialising in placing students and graduates into jobs at fast growth start-up and scale-up businesses. If you’d like to discuss your ideas with a careers adviser, book an appointment on My Career – we’re open all summer.

Posted in Applying For JobsCareers AdviceChoosing Your CareerEmployer InsightsEntrepreneurship