And the best way to do that is to be gracious and helpful as you move to a new job or step into self-employment. Even if you’re being ushered out, staying upbeat and professional can mean the difference between a good recommendation and good riddance.

“It’s always better to leave a door open than to open a new one,” said Jodi Glickman, president of Great on the Job, a communication training firm. “You always want to leave on a high note so people will want to work for you again.”

So as you give your two weeks’ notice, think through the ways you can shine and help ease the transition. “Don’t rush out the door” without tending to relationships and future references you may need, said Barbara Herzog, a career coach in Washington, D.C.

Here’s a half dozen ways to build relationships as you’re saying good-bye at the office:

1. Tell Your Most Valued Coworkers First. The day you give notice, or as soon as possible afterward, call or visit “the four or five people who have been most supportive of you,” said Herzog. These are your mentor, your best friend at work, the person who hired you – in short the professionals you want to cultivate for the future. You want to tell them yourself you’re leaving.  Be sure to tell them how valuable their support was. If it seems appropriate, offer your help to them, their families or their nonprofit causes in the future.

2. Show Respect and Appreciation. “There is some credit due” since your work and development on your current job were a crucial part of why you landed the new one, said Glickman, whose posts appear on the Harvard Business Review blog. “Be appreciative.” This is important especially if you’re going to work for a competitor. Have a candid conversation with your boss explaining the value you expect to gain from your new job and expressing appreciation for her support and opportunities. Draw the distinction between your personal success and your attachment to the company you’re leaving, said Glickman.

3. Find Your Replacement. “I always encourage people to find their replacement” before they leave, said Glickman. If your boss prefers, tap your network and come up with at least three good prospects. Give your employer “a head start” with people who are pre-vetted, she said

4. Exit Without Negativity. Even if you think your insights may help your colleagues or the next employees, don’t share anything negative or that needs fixing, said Herzog. “It is counterproductive to your career,” she said. Instead, make your comments generic and be sure to say you “appreciated the support of my supervisor and colleagues.”

5. Send a Thank You Note. Make the effort to send a thank you note to your supervisor and another senior manager who aided your career. “Be specific about one or two things that meant a lot to you,” said Herzog. The thank you should be separate from a very short, two- or three-sentence resignation letter, and may be sent a few weeks after you’ve departed.

6. Follow Up. Set a Google Alert so you stay in touch with news and changes at your former employer. Touch base with some of your contacts there three to six months after you’ve left. Send a ‘thinking of you’ note, article or piece of information, said Glickman. Then schedule a breakfast, lunch or coffee meeting and see if you can bring something valuable to them.

These approaches can work equally well for staffers departing or freelancers moving on, Glickman said, and smart employers also understand the value of good relations with their alumni networks. “It makes good business sense to leave on good terms,” she said, since you never know when you will looking for work or someone to hire in the future.

6 Ways To Leave Your Job On Good Terms is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

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It’s possible to switch dream careers and keep your already established personal brand in tact. Here are a few tips on how to switch career objectives without harming your personal brand:

1. Never stop being professional. Just because you’ve decided to take on a different course of action doesn’t mean professionalism should be tossed to the wayside. Keep your social media posts professional as you would during the job search or if you had a boss who admittedly stalks employees profiles. Additionally, if you don’t lock down a new job immediately, it’s important that you maintain a standard of behavior that is professional and won’t lessen your credibility.

2. Continue working after giving notice. After deciding to part ways with a job that turned out to be less desirable than you’d initially thought it’d be and giving written notice to your boss, it’s important to keep working diligently. Continue creating daily to-do lists and putting in effort. Giving notice isn’t a license to slack, which could be detrimental to your reputation. You’ll want recommendations from your boss and coworkers, so you should continue working as if nothing has changed. If time permits, create a document that explains all of your tasks and how to complete them that can be used to train your replacement.

3. Update your career objectives on your online profiles. To effectively switch career paths, you must continue managing your online presence and update your career-related online profiles and personal website with your new career objectives. Update your LinkedIn summary and online resume with a detailed description of the new career path you’ve decided on and be sure to note the skills you’ve learned from your previous position that are transferrable.

4. Develop expertise in your new career field. Changing the focus of your career doesn’t necessarily mean you should run out and get another degree. There are plenty of ways to develop the expertise you need to successfully switch careers and maintain a personal brand that employers will respond to. Attend an industry conference, go to networking events put on by professional associations in your career field of choice, and consider getting a certificate in the field since this takes much less time than pursuing a two or four-year degree.

While it may be a bit discouraging to realize that the career path you’ve dreamed of since before you could imagine isn’t all you’d hyped it up to be, you can bounce back and maintain a personal brand that potential employers and industry professionals respect.

4 Tips: When Your Dream Career Becomes A Nightmare is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

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Our life in cubicles may not have the pageantry or the television crews, yet we face many critical moments where preparation and an ability to focus will help us propel our career, or see it drop like the seventh place finisher in cycling. Our Olympics may be a presentation before senior management or a key deadline for a report or upgrade to a computer system.

Here are four ways to train like an Olympic athlete for career climbers:

Find the right coach.

If you want to run a marathon, you will want a good fitness trainer who has experience in distance running. If you want to move up into management, you may seek out a leadership coach to aid in your development. Look for a coach “who understands your goals and how you’re motivated” and check out her background, suggests Anna Miller in a Daily Muse blog post on Olympian training tips anyone can use.

If you cannot afford a professional coach, seek out a friend or someone at your church or synagogue whose wisdom and experience shine brightly.

Really know the sport – and the players.

Tennis players know the rituals and nuances of their game, from pre-game courtesies to how to manage an untied shoe. They know all the rules and may even develop a plan for the best way to use a television commercial break. They also know their competitors, including their key strengths and weaknesses.

In corporate life, understanding the game and players may mean reading industry blogs and tracking the careers of some rising stars (especially if you hope to work for one of them). It means reading every media release your organization puts out, and going to the shareholders meeting or employee open houses and listening actively. Don’t forget to track your key competitors’ moves, too.

Train seriously. 

Athletic training is serious business, and involves serious commitment of time, energy and resources. British sprinter and Olympic runner Jeanette Kwakye trains six days a week; half of those she puts in two sessions a day.  She became “a lot more disciplined” and focused in college, she tells viewers in an iCould video.

Workers need to determine first what critical inflection points and skills demand training. For stock or commodity traders, that moment may be when they glean a snippet of information and must act. They breathe faster, their muscles tense and their heart beats rapidly as they prepare for action, much like an Olympic athlete, according to a column in the Financial Times. Traders could train themselves to scan for more insights, manage risks and stress levels.

Visualize success. 

Many Olympic and other top athletes turn on an internal movie of themselves, getting ready, putting on their tournament uniforms and stepping forward into the limelight. They see themselves in a flawless race or competition, and the easy, effortless way they hit a hole in one or volley the ball hard at a corner their competitor cannot reach. They have clear goals and they can see themselves achieving them in their mind.

Such visualization can build confidence, and also helps them know their plan for succeeding intimately. Corporate executives and professional speakers use the same techniques to map out their busy days and their successful engagement with their crew or an audience. You can start doing this in small snippets – imagine your boss asking one or two questions, then saying yes to your request for training or a three-month rotation on a prestigious project.

Your Olympic training may not win you a gold medal, but it could win you a promotion.

Train Like An Olympic Athlete For Career Success is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

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Reason 1: Dread

We’ve all been there at one time or another. That feeling of dread Sunday night because Monday means the start of a new work week at a job you can’t stand. Your dread may be sparked by an annoying boss, catty coworkers, unchallenging work or lack of career advancement, but either way, if you hate your job enough to dread going there it may be time to look for another one. “Hating your job can lead to stress that affects family relationships, your health, and your entire outlook,” says Susan Heathfield, the guide to human resources for About.com. “Wallowing in negative feelings every day will eventually kill you.”

Reason 2: Underpaid

Whether its people getting promoted ahead of you or coworkers making more than you, but doing less, if you feel you are grossly underpaid it could drive you to quit. “If you lack the salary you deserve it starts to gnaw on you and wear on you,” says Joel Garfinkle, author of Getting Ahead: Three Steps to Take Your Career to the Next Level. While quitting without a higher paying job in the back pocket isn’t the ideal move, Garfinkle says for some people it grates on them until they feel their value is so undermined that they get resentful and quit.

Reason 3: You’re on a sinking ship

If the writing is on the wall and there’s a good chance the company you are working for is going to go under, it pays to quit early rather than later. If the company’s woes are related to the economy, you don’t want to be one of many looking for a similar job, says Jeanne Yocum, founder of the blog Succeeding in Small Business. It’s also easier on the psyche to find another job if you are currently employed.  “If sales cycles start to stretch out or accounts receivable are piling up or there are other early warning signs, be the first one out the door,” she says.

Reason 4: The relationship with the boss has soured

Nothing is worse than working for a boss who doesn’t like you for whatever reason and there’s nothing you can do to change that. If the relationship is beyond repair and it could end up hurting your reputation and thus your career you can either try to move laterally or cut your losses and find a new job, says Garfinkle.

Reason 5: You’re failing

Whether you are underperforming or blowing the job altogether, hanging on until you are fired is the wrong move to make. If you know you’ve let your boss or coworkers down time and time again or you realize you aren’t cut out for the job, start looking while you’re employed and move on to the next job. “It’s easier to find a new job when you are employed and you can ask the potential employer not to contact your current employer,” says Heathfield. “Do make a commitment to yourself, however, to do a better job in your next job. A string of failed jobs can sink your career.”

Reason 6: You can do it better on your own

In the current job market, many people who lost their job were able to succeed going the self-employment route. But you don’t have to wait for downsizing to give self-employment a whirl. If you offer a service that lends itself to self-employment and think you can perform just as good as the company you work for, Yocum says to go for it. “If you have the skills and experience to provide value in the market, why not go out on your own,” says Yocum.

Reason 7: You’re bored

Going to a job eight hours a day five days a week that is boring can have a major impact on your mental state. If you are unchallenged in your job and there’s no way to take on more responsibilities, it’s a good idea to start looking for a new job, says Heathfield. According to Heathfield, if you stay in a job that isn’t challenging and you aren’t able to continue to develop, you will “forever limit your progress and potential.”

Reason 8: Quality of life

Be it a long commute, you’re starting a family and don’t want to work eighty hours a week or the workplace stress is negatively impacting your health, quality of life issues are a real reason people will quit their job.  When you took the job it may have been ok to drive two hours each way to work every day or to work until 10:00 p.m. every night, but if your needs and wants change, then so may your job. “Sometimes lifestyle changes make you reevaluate the company you work for,” says Garfinkle.

8 Reasons To Consider Quitting Your Job is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

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Couple healthy job growth (which means lots of healthcare job openings) with an industry in which real differences can be made in the lives of patients every day and it’s easy to see why careers in healthcare are becoming increasingly popular with both new grads and mid-career professionals. But which careers comprise the best jobs in health care? We’ll give you a hint: doctor is not the answer.

U.S. News & World Report recently ranked the top jobs in healthcare. Their rankings included registered nurse, pharmacist, medical assistant, physical therapist, occupational therapist, clinical laboratory technician, paramedic and massage therapist. Based on the data, we’d have to agree that these eight positions indeed represent some of the best healthcare job opportunities. We’ll discuss the top three below.

1. Registered Nurses

Registered nurses ranked number one on the U.S. News list of best healthcare jobs and took top billing on the publication’s list of best jobs in all industries as well for several reasons. First, registered nurses can work in a large number of settings, including hospitals, doctor’s offices, public health offices, home care, rehabilitation centers and schools. Registered nurses also have the opportunity to specialize in particular areas of interest. Secondly, the BLS has predicted job growth within the registered nurse field to reach 26 percent. Over 711,000 positions should be added by 2020.

2. Pharmacist

Pharmacist jobs are ranked number two on the U.S. News list of best healthcare jobs and number three on the publication’s list of best jobs in all industries. Those trained for positions as pharmacists may find employment in hospitals, medical clinics and retail pharmacy chains. The BLS projects that jobs for pharmacists will increase by 25.4 percent by 2020. More than 69,000 positions will be added.

3. Medical Assistant

Medical assistants ranked number three on the U.S. News list of best healthcare jobs. These trained professionals work in a variety of settings including hospitals, doctor’s offices, urgent care clinics, rehabilitation centers and nursing homes. They play roles in administration as well as assist with clinical duties. The BLS projects that jobs for medical assistants will increase by 30.9 percent by 2020. More than 162,000 positions will be added. An added bonus: college degrees are generally not required for these roles. Professionals interested in medical assistant careers will find a variety of one-year certification programs and employers offering on-the-job training.

Whether you’re beginning your career as a registered nurse, pharmacist or medical assistant, or looking for your next role within any segment of the healthcare industry, you will find numerous healthcare job openings across the nation. – Originally posted on onTargetjobs by Angela Rose

Why You Really Want To Consider A Career In Healthcare is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

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It’s a confusing time. While some of us are sidelined and praying for a relevant job, others are in demand. There is talk of significant skills shortages even while the unemployment rate sits at troubling high levels. Some areas of the country are desolate, others are booming.

The joke in Silicon Valley is that all of the unemployed construction folks have found new careers as social media consultants.

It’s not far from the truth.

Given the backlog of residential properties (5 years’ worth) and the glut of office space (people who work at home don’t need offices), it doesn’t look like construction is coming back anytime soon. In a different era, this would be a good reason to start agitating for a national training program.

In this era of impoverished government, you are going to have to train yourself. It sounds scary at first. But, there is relatively little choice (unless you really like having the kids sell lemonade to help with the mortgage).

But, that’s why we have the Internet.

If you are out of work (or stagnating in the current gig), it’s time to go into the computer business. You can train yourself online. Get started.

1. Visit the O’Reilly Website. O’Reilly is the largest publisher of books used by the geeks who now run everything. The stuff is technical and dry. Get some, read some, figure out how to do some. They also offer online courses and certificates in technical areas.
2. Start reading the Radar. Even if the articles don’t make sense at first, plow through them. This is a key source of information about the evolution of technology. You need to know about the technology news.
3. Decide which language you want to learn. This article gives a good overview of the decision. Java people are in demand and Ruby On Rails pros are really scarce.
4. Go to CodeAcademy and start learning to code. This free school is a great way to learn the basics of coding. Whether or not you ever actually code software, you need to know how to do it in the 21st Century.
5. Google is a gateway for resources that help you test your coding skills and sharpen them.
6. Get to know Github. It’s a community of developers and coders who help each other solve problems.
7. Plan to learn enough about coding to hack into the local bank. Big aspirations like that can accelerate your learning curve. (JK)

If it sounds impossible, you’re probably depressed from being out of work. If it sounds pretty hard, it is.

Do it anyway.

Why You Want A New Career In Software is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

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When you were in high school, you looked toward college to find a career. “Someday you’re going to be a doctor, lawyer or even a business owner,” said your overbearing-but-well-meaning parents.

When you arrived at college, guidance counselors helped you pick the classes you needed to achieve your major — a major you were led to believe was a career fit because some curriculum-based test you took in high school said it would be.

When you entered the “real world” you worked hard to please everyone and “earn your rank.” For the sake of your career, you did anything and everything that was placed on your desk. And you did it with a smile.

Until one day you woke up and asked yourself, “What the hell am I doing?! This isn’t what I want to do.”

You realized your entire life has been actions taken based on someone else’s assignments. You’ve followed this career path because it’s the easiest/most lucrative/prestigious/you felt forced into it. Am I right?

But now that you’ve achieved what you’ve been working toward for years, you’ve come to the realization that this career isn’t what you want. Even worse, you have no idea what you really want! You feel lost.

But this isn’t entirely your fault; there’s a flaw in today’s system. We spend hours upon hours learning processes and procedures, rules and guidelines, assumptions and expectations. Yet we don’t put enough time into understanding the most important piece that ultimately leads to our career success.

That important piece?

YOU.

So how do you come to understand yourself and capitalize on that knowledge to get the job that makes you come alive? Here are three areas that are most important to focus on – your strengths, your personality and your passion.

1. Capitalize on your strengths.

Finding what you’re good at and focusing on those traits is always more beneficial than trying to improve something you’re not naturally amazing at. Find tasks and projects that capitalize on these strengths and stick to those. One of the best tools I’ve used to educate myself on mine is StrengthsFinder 2.0.

2. Trust your own personality.

“We are all unique individuals.” How many of us have heard that? As cliched as it is, it’s true.

Your personality is a combination of things that you can change and things you can’t. (It’s genetically ingrained in you!) Of all the personality tests, my favorite is the Meyers-Briggs. It’s amazing how much more clarity you have when you know why you do what you do.

3. Re-evaluate your passion.

There’s a question you hear a lot when someone is asking you about your passion. “What would you do even if you weren’t getting paid for it?” To that I say: Throw whatever your answer is out the window.

Why? Because ultimately you need to be paid to turn your passion into a career.

Instead, ask yourself, “What’s something people are always complimenting me on that I absolutely love doing?” Now that’s something you can turn into a moneymaker.

If we focus on what’s external and play the people-pleaser role, we’ll always feel a bit lost. We’ll lose control over our own destiny.

But if we educate ourselves and understand who we are internally, we’ll build the foundation we need to make decisions – good decisions – based on our own assignment. – Originally posted on Aol Jobs by Eric Lunsford

On The Wrong Career Path? 3 Ways To Get Back On Track is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

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At a Dale Carnegie Training session in a midtown-Manhattan basement, Hannan was one of 18 salespeople listening attentively as a trainer explained the importance of classifying buyers. About half of the attendees had already been in sales for years, but the rest had recently entered the field after exploring other career paths.

There are certainly those who gravitate to sales early on, but sales jobs are also uniquely attractive to people looking for a plan B. An expertise in sales can provide a feeling of safety in a tight labor market, teach fundamental skills like fundraising, or in some cases allow job changers to remain connected to their original fields of interest. For some professionals, working in sales serves as both a cushion and a springboard for their careers, providing immediate financial support and the potential for upward mobility.

Hannan, a 28-year-old life insurance rep, signed himself up for the eight-week program at Dale Carnegie to hone his presentation skills and help him improve his professional relationships.

“The goal right now is to open my own business selling State Farm products like my father and grandfather,” he said. “First I need to gain more person-to-person sales experience and develop my relationships with clients and co-workers.”

Foundation for Future Success

Hannan broke into sales after spending three and a half years trading commodities for a small firm in Manhattan. That job came to an end in 2010.

“The writing was on the wall,” Hannan said. “It was a small office and a small trading desk and business was moving slow. I was the youngest on the desk with the least amount of experience and business relationships, so I was prepared to go.” After that gig ended, Hannan decided to get into a more customer-based selling job, hoping for more long-term security.

The biggest benefit of working a job in sales is that it helps individuals develop a foundation for their future success, said Louis Paolillo, the trainer at Dale Carnegie. “We’re always selling.” he said. “Whether we’re selling ideas, selling products or selling our own talents.”

The majority of the Dale Carnegie attendees said they want bigger roles in the future – either running their own businesses or taking high-level positions at other companies – and view sales as the key to getting there.

“One of the things you are most focused on as an entrepreneur is your fundraising skills and being in sales plays an instrumental role in developing those skills,” said Eli Bronner, head of sales and a co-founder of the New York-based start-up Lua, which provides communication and project collaboration software for entertainment companies.

Bronner, 24, launched his business with two friends after graduating from Wesleyan University in 2010. He originally considered taking a real estate job with CB Richard Ellis in Beijing, but when he decided to grow Lua as a business instead, he realized that he needed to learn the fundamentals of sales and sales training.

Stay Connected to Field

“The dream is to build a well-oiled machine so eventually I won’t have to be the one going out and selling our services directly,” Bronner said.

Others view a sales position as a way to earn more money while remaining connected to their fields. Jason Canouse, 34, worked as an environmental consultant for 10 years before taking a regional sales manager job at Land Science Technologies, which produces technologies to allow land development at contaminated sites. In his new job he began learning the ropes of selling products and services in a niche industry.

“I worked for a really great firm as a consultant, but my position had a low ceiling in terms of upward mobility and pay,” said Canouse, who graduated from Hofstra University in 1999 with a bachelor’s degree in geology. “I started to feel like if I am going to put in these 60- to 80-hour weeks, let the amount of work I put in be equal to what I get out of it.”

A shift to sales does have its challenges. Those new to the field need to know how to work alone and be able to handle rejection, said John Treace, author of “Nuts & Bolts of Sales Management.” “Most salespeople who fail at their jobs give up or get fired because they don’t know how to deal with rejection when it happens,” he said.

The total number of people working sales jobs on a national basis has gradually declined by 7.8% over the past five years, from 16.7 million in 2007 to 15.3 million in 2011, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Current Population Survey. That drop correlates with the loss of jobs throughout the country during those years, said Karen Kosanovich, a labor economist for the BLS. But the agency predicts that the trend will reverse and that the number of people working in sales will grow by 12.5% between 2010 and 2020.

In three and a half years in commodities trading, Hannan said, he learned many nuances of finance, but left with little else. The biggest benefit of taking a job in insurance sales is the long-term professional relationships that can come from it, he said.

“In commodities trading, I was dealing with financial institutions around the world and communicating with people mostly over the Internet,” Hannan said. “At the time it wasn’t clear to me how important a client-relationship is, until I left and had little business to bring with me. Now I’m seeing that the more you gain a client’s trust, the longer that connection lasts.” – Originally posted on FINS from The Wall Street Journal by Damian Ghigliotty

When Your Career Needs A Plan B, Try Sales is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

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It just felt weird. I started my personal transition process, in my head, simply by thinking about why I was feeling like it wasn’t working for me on many levels anymore, and I wanted and needed it to be working.

I had to honestly assess if there was any more mobility opportunities where I was. Then, I had to look at myself, with regard to what I really wanted to do. If I was qualified and prepared to do it, if I had chosen to leave.

I spent almost a year, going on interviews, both locally and nationally, exploring other industries and employment jobs to try to see what resonated with me. As I look back it was really a smart process and revealed a lot about me. Back then, jobs were much more plentiful, and there were a lot of them in my business. Today, I would not have those same choices and options.

How to undergo a smooth career transition

I voluntarily left in 2006 and have never looked back! Here are some of the lessons I learned about the career transition process that anyone can apply to today’s employment situation:

1. Identify what you want to do and what you are qualified to do. Look at all your “transferable skills,” all those jobs you have done that define all your skill sets.

2. Don’t rush change, trust your process. Opportunities will present themselves, but they may not be all the right or best decisions to make. Qualify the opportunities, based on your situation.

3. Be prepared and be honest when presenting yourself. You really can’t fudge the truth when creating a resume. Know what your strong assets are and lead with them. Don’t hide your liabilities, but don’t lead with them, we all have “stuff,” or we wouldn’t be human.

4. Evaluate your current skill levels. The business world has changed and what’s now required to get hired has changed. Review your personal, professional, technology and social networking proficiency. If you need to upgrade some things, take some local courses through local chambers, schools, professional organizations, online.

5. Personal branding and your image sets you apart. Personality, mindset, energy, attitude, and image are all important today in order to stand out and get noticed. Again, evaluate where you are with regard to your personal brand, online and offline networking, sales, communication skills and being a part of your community. Upgrade, improve, tweak, grow whenever and wherever you can.

Don’t wait until you are out of work or laid off. If we have learned one huge lesson from the current employment scenario, it’s pay attention to and keep changing with change.

Career transition is happening all the time, even when you are working and employed. Keep moving and changing. Keep adding value for what you do.

I found this great post, “Get Ready to Become a Changemaker” by Bill Drayton and Valerie Budinich.

“We are on the cusp of a fundamental change — a worldwide change in the skills everyone needs to succeed, in the nature of organizations, and in how businesses must be led.” – Originally posted on the Personal Branding Blog by Deborah Shane

5 Things To Make Your Career Transition Successful is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

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“You can definitely be successful,” when taking a small company job, says Kathleen Downs, a recruiting manager at Robert Half International “One of the things you want to do is research the company in advance to understand the culture and what the demands on the employees are.”

One of the major differences of working at a large company compared to a small one is the amount of resources that will be afforded to you. At a large company supplies are at the ready, assistants are on hand and software is in abundance to manage expenses, customer relationships and even accounting. That may not be the case at a small firm, especially one that’s operating on a shoestring budget.

“At a smaller place it’s very crucial to get creative with existing resources,” says Mei Lu, founder and CEO of Jobfully.com. “You won’t have an unlimited budget like at a bigger company.”

People who have worked for large companies know that usually the job they are hired for is the one they do day in and day out.  But at a small company you can wear many hats and have a mired of responsibilities that aren’t in the job description. Your willingness to accept and embrace that will go a long way to make it a smooth transition.

“In a large company you have a very specific set of duties,” says Downs. “In a smaller company you are a little more of a jack of all trades.”

Downs recalls a CFO at a small home builder who had worked at a large company for years. The CFO wouldn’t think twice about taking out the trash or sweeping the floor of a new home the company was showing even though that would never cross his mind at the large company. “You have to be ok with that or a smaller company may not be a good fit,” she says.

According to Lu never say “that’s not in my job description” because when it comes to working at a small business, everything is. Be ready to jump in whenever you can help and act as a true team player, she says. That means that while you were hired to handle the marketing for the company you may have to man the phones while the receptionist grabs lunch.

At large companies, often times there are lots of rules, procedures and protocols already on the books. If x happens, you’ll know to do y. But at a small company the chances of established guidelines are slim. Many times rules are made and broken on the fly which means you’ll have to be able to adapt to a less rigid work environment.

“When you move to a smaller job, often times you will be handling something for the first time ever,” says Lu. “You’ll have to figure out how to do it” for the entire company, she says.

Given the major differences in working in a big and small company, before you make the leap you have to look at yourself and the environment you want to work in.  If you like established rules, specific job duties and more chances to move up the so-called ladder than a big firm may be right for you. If you prefer to have your hands in many aspects of a business, like to learn things on the fly and aren’t driven by a title, then a small company may be the ideal fit.

“Before you make the transition from big to small, you have to think about whether you really have the entrepreneurial skills,” says Robin Schlinger, a career expert and founder of Robin’s Resumes.

How To Work In A Small Company After A Big Company is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

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