Jaclyn Schiff (One of the contibutors to Employee Evolution) has opened The Schiff Report.  She has an interesting post today about an employee’s first career steps and the potential benefits of going small vs. large:

“My hunch is that during the first few years of your career, smaller companies could allow you to be a lot more hands-on from the start … On the other hand, the opportunities at a large company can really enhance your professional development, even if your job responsibilities initially do not.”

I see both sides of this perspective, and have lived both.   I started out at age 22 working for a large healthcare corporation and realized 18 months into my career that I was not happy in the least (I was just not cut out for a career in health care…I just don’t think it suited my personality).  But… I would have never known that had I not put myself into that environment for 18 months.    I struck out on my own at age 23, formed a consulting company, and I have not returned to the corporate world since.   Now, sitting here, 25 years later, when I do have to submit a resume for a consulting gig, my potential clients only want to know about what I have achieved in the last five years.   The corporate job from 1982 never comes up.  It’s as if it never happened…but it did something amazing…it pointed me in the direction of my current career, which is truly a dream career for me.

If you are reading this blog and wondering what to do about your career, I encourage you to check out the young leaders we have spoken with over the last 18 months.   You can read about them here and here.  Many have worked for large companies, many are solo biz owners (or in partnerships) or have done both the big corporate approach and the small biz approach.  I am a firm believer in talking with at least 20 people to find out the benefits and the negatives of both and then choosing a career path that provides you the opportunity to grow and develop your talents (even the worst jobs and business failures teach us so much).  One of the benefits of working with a large company is not just getting connected to the strong brand but allowing some of your hidden talents to come to the surface (maybe you are a great writer or a great communicator, and these strengths come out in your first job).  With a large company, you also have the benefit of being able to build a strong network with super sharp people who can become a part of your support system down the road (I am still in touch with many of my colleagues from my first healthcare career).  Look at not only the company and the job but the secondary (often not so obvious) benefits.  And, as I have always said, sometimes we are asked to step into roles that may not be what we love doing but which help to build mental and emotional strength.  Every step we make leads to the next, leads to the next.

As we have been saying for the last year…those companies who start early by reaching out to high school students (even middle school students) will be the ones who attract young talent in the future. The article, High Schools Add Classes Scripted by Corporations, in the Wall Street Journal today is reinforcing this concept. (If you cannot link to this article, go to the Wall Street Journal homepage, and scroll down to the article by the title of High Schools Add Classes Scripted by Corporations).

This brings to mind the process that the American Junior Golf Association now offers young talent to be noticed by college coaches who would normally not know about them at a very young age. My son, Jack, will be playing for the University of North Carolina starting in Fall ‘08, and it is really amazing how this whole thing happened. We owe a great deal of gratitude to the AJGA and their staff of volunteers for providing the opportunity for our son to be spotted by some of the USA’s top college coaches.

When Jack was age 14, he qualified for the US Junior Amateur, and before that time, there were only a hand full of the coaches from NC who knew a tiny bit about Jack (we are not sure, but we think maybe 2 or 3 NC coaches knew that Jack was a young talent to possibly watch). But after this event, the majority of college coaches knew him by name, location, what his game was like and what he might be interested in doing (the buzz starts going around after this event). Jack had a great showing at the US Junior, and was then able to start playing in several AJGA tournaments. Over the next two years, select college coaches (who liked his game) were following him at most tournaments. While they could not talk to Jack or officially recruit him until September 1, 2007, it was obvious who was interested in him, because they always showed up as he stepped up to the tee. Over time, both the player and the family members start building a loyalty to the coaches who keep showing up (even though you have never talked to them). You know simply from their presence they are interested, and you start asking your friends and network about them, following what they are doing in the newspaper, watching their team scores online, and when it comes time to make a verbal commitment, you already know who will be a good fit for your son. It is really magical, and as I said, the process began for us when Jack was a freshman in High School.

So…as a parent who has experienced early recruiting, there is something to this article in the Wall Street Journal. If you are an employer, please take the time to read this article, and then consider how college coaches go about recruiting young talent…your presence early on can mean huge things for your company later on down the road.