First Career: MNC or SME?
I would like to hear from you!
This was the toughest decision I had to make in 2019, when I first embarked on my career right after graduation. As most of you are probably looking for a job right now, I thought it will be nice to summarize some of my readings and experience, which I hoped someone would have shared with me back then. Of course, these are just some of the insights I discovered after reading online, speaking to a few, and based on my own experience. Feel free to share your own opinions too!
1. Salary, Welfare, and Prestige
These were probably the initial considerations that came into my mind. MNCs do pay better for the same role; in terms of welfare like leaves, insurance, claims, and other luxurious benefits, MNCs do have a higher budget to spare as compared to SMEs. And for prestige, most would go for MNCs due to high competition and the brands are more recognizable. But with the help of the government support, there are SMEs that do match their remuneration to the market rate, sometimes even higher depending on your role. Working for reputable SMEs also adds plus points on your resume.
2. Culture and environment
With hierarchy comes bureaucracy; this is evident in MNCs and that also means that information flow and decision making will take more time, and juniors are more distant from the top management. In comparison, most SMEs have a flat hierarchy where many report to the same person, and employees are in close contact with the bosses; SMEs are also more flexible and quicker in terms of adapting to changes. SMEs also have more family-like culture as everyone works closely with one another. For exposure to global opportunities, business travels, and diverse culture, MNCs fared better, but there are also some SMEs with regional presence that allow you to travel or work with people of different nationalities too. MNCs will have more bonding events like family day, sports day, etc. due to higher budget, and some even have compulsory work-from-home days, compared to SMEs. Teamwork is super important in SMEs due to limited manpower, unlike MNCs with specialized roles.
3. Roles, Responsibilities, and Growth
In MNCs, your role is mostly specialized and after some time, you will be very skilled in your field. This is good for people who have already figured out what they want to achieve in their career and want to be experts in it. Mentorship is always a plus as there are many experienced people to guide you in your function. Entry-level employees may be less involved in strategic or leadership roles, but with good pay and benefits, many plan to stay long-term in MNCs and slowly make their way up the corporate ladder. In comparison, you often find yourself holding multiple roles in SMEs where you see direct impact of your actions. Problem solving and critical thinking is a norm, and sometimes you may even find yourself heading a project or taking on leadership roles while impacting change. If you want to experience different functions, discover your interests and skillsets, or jump to leadership roles in a short time, SMEs seem to provide more of such opportunities. But with the lack of mentorship, that means most of the time you are on your own, and you must learn and execute things simultaneously.
At the end of the day, it depends on what you want to achieve, and what is your personal career goal. Both choices have their own strengths and weaknesses, but I dare say, any experience is definitely value-adding to your own career!
