Although working in a corporation has its ups and downs, there is no doubt that when it comes to large organizations, in order to keep afloat, everything has to work like a well-oiled machine. The opportunity of seeing the insights of such a business mechanism and be to a part of it, can prove to be an invaluable experience on the long run. Here are the top 5 corporate skills that you can make the most out of, while working for a startup:
Organized work
There is no secret that working for a startup can become hectic and most of the time, priorities shift with the speed of light. Being able to keep track of what needs to be done and getting it done on time will not only help establish a clean, logical workflow but will also bring increased value for the company by avoiding loose ends and unfinished projects. Juggling with deadlines might seem like a burden but in a fast paced startup environment will definitely be a life saver.
Identifying inefficient business processes
There is a huge emphasis put on internal processes and procedures in big institutions and this is no small thing. Corporations are usually able to cascade goals and processes all the way to individual levels and they employ a large amount of resources and workforce to identify possible flaws and to keep everything optimized. This can come in handy in a startup, where a trained eye can quickly identify inefficiency and correct it in time, making sure everything adds up to a smooth, streamlined workflow and a strong foundation for growth.
Sales experience
It’s a tough field and not everybody is cut for it, but sales are indispensable whether we are talking startup or corporate. Large companies will heavily invest in their sales team with an accent on training and development, putting the best techniques and tools available on the market at their employee’s disposal. While a startup might not have the budget for training or enterprise software, having someone who knows how to prospect, identify, approach and engage customers is a huge plus for a young firm, making a huge difference when it comes to accelerating growth.
Data analysis
Have no doubt, those countless hours spent in excel trying to make sense of huge volumes of data , will pay off hugely for your career. People who can track and maneuver data around to find out what is working and what is not, at an early stage are a valuable resource for a startup. Every company is now tracking its data and trying to learn from it, so if you have data visualization skills, are able to spot trends and support decision making in a scalable way, you are definitely a good fit for an up and coming startup.
Technical and programming skills
Let’s face it: it’s a developer’s world and it’s not going to change anytime soon. However a lot of people tend to summarize tech skills as “coding only” when the extent of this concept is a lot bigger. Being able to code is not the only thing that will qualify you to work in a tech environment, even tough on the long run it doesn’t hurt. Even though developers and programmers continue to be leading players in the IT world, mobile applications and device management, business intelligence and data analysis, help desk and tech support, cloud and SaaS specialists and security and compliance are also hot positions in this field that do not necessarily require coding skills and that every startup will hire at some point in time, depending on it’s nature.
Working for a startup can seem like a huge difference from working at a corporation, but the beauty of it stands in the major difference. In fact having a more “conventional” experience at first can give you a solid foundation for overcoming any challenges working in a startup can throw at you.
Don’t forget to check the latest startup vacancies at www.workinstartups.com and find the position of your dreams!