Think Medium

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 579.

When weighing one prospective employer against another, size can be an important issue. "The most exciting companies to work for, those that also offer stability and good rewards, are mid-sized," says Mr. Plunkett, whose list reflects this conviction. "They have training programs and fully developed organizational plans, but layoffs don't happen as frequently as at large companies, and they don't fail as often as small firms."

Of course, some students feel they need a name-brand company on their resumes, "even though those are the ones that downsize most often," says Rebecca Lamb Terry, career management director at the University of Chicago's graduate business school. Conversely, students who are determined to join small start-ups may succeed big time, "but you have to hit it right on since there's such a high level of risk," she says. In addition, many start-ups are family-owned, which means that bad chemistry can kill your career prospects long before your first performance review.

For these reasons, mid-sized employers offer an attractive alternative. "They have deeper pockets than start-ups for research and development and other projects, but they're not so big that you can't position yourself into a higher-level position," says Terry. "They're a nice blend of both."

Lisa Turba couldn't agree more. "At a mid-sized company you don't feel like a number, but you still get all the resources you need, such as training and growth opportunities," says the human resources specialist at United Wisconsin Services in Milwaukee, a managed-care provider with 2,400 employees.

An internship at a local hospital during college prompted Turba to
investigate jobs at United Wisconsin, and she was impressed with its growth rate and the fast advancement of other recent graduates. "The opportunities here are phenomenal, and they pay you to learn by offering courses during working hours", says Turba, who majored in public policy and administration at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

v Comprehension check

o Answer the following questions using information from the article to support your ideas. Remember to use the article vocabulary to the maximum:

1. What sources of information are available to American job hunters? What resources do we have (if any) in our country?

2. What company sizes are mentioned in the article? Which is the best size and why?

3. Why are name-brand companies and small size start-ups considered to be risky?

o Translate in written the paragraph beginning from “Of course, some students feel…” up to “…before your first performance review”.