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Headhunter Blog Post by Bob Otis, ART Managing Director

Date Posted: July 13, 2023

What Type of Employer is Best For You?

"All the old assumptions about 'good companies' or 'the best companies to work for' have to be tossed out.

What matters is not what some PR article tells you is one of the "greatest companies to work for."

A good company is a company whose management knows that they need you and can help you be your best."

Who Owns the Company?

Understanding the ownership structure of a company is fundamental to understanding the character of a company and how well you might perform in that company. It could be a huge (and growing) worldwide high-technology firm controlled in large part by a handful of people who run the company no differently than if they were running a mom-and-pop store, with every sloppy management trait imaginable. It could be a highly touted start-up firm founded by people who each need to call themselves "Senior Executive V.P.'s" and each must have his or her own executive assistant and executive office suite when the company staff consists of about two dozen souls and they have only enough funding to last half a year. It could be a highly successful, well paying firm that everyone's heard of, but a company where employees are expected to be happy to work 80 hours a week.

The reason why we began with such examples is to suggest that in investigating your next company, it is imperative that you separate a company's public image from its reality. The opinions of your friends, your brother-in-law, your mom, or an HR Manager might suggest that a particular company might be good for you and your career, but it is your comfort level and tastes and needs that matter. Today's unknown company could be among tomorrow's Fortune 500. Today's Fortune 500 firm might be extinct tomorrow. A company with great stock prices could be an enjoyable firm to be a part of or it might be run like a petty dictatorship and see its stock value plummet in the next quarter. A poorly managed start-up could take off with the hire of one key figure. The fortune of most all companies depends on the quality of its top management and their ability to lead, inspire and to tap into the qualities of the firm's staff and products. The top management sets the pattern of behavior, because typically, people often hire people who like to do business the way they do. Sometimes conflicts arise when staff people and middle management people are actually brighter and harder working than upper management. Then there is deadlock.

Speaking in generalities, there are pluses and minuses to any type of company ownership structure, be it family owned, a closely held private company, an employee-owned company, a public company, a private equity-owned firm, or a foreign-owned firm. The following chart describes some of these:

FORM OF OWNERSHIP	POSITIVE ASPECTS	NEGATIVE ASPECTS
FAMILY OWNED COMPANY	Staff may be treated "as part of family"	May be clannish; poor opportunities for managers to advance; firm can become paralyzed if key owner incapacitated
CLOSELY HELD PRIVATE FIRM	Not subject to hostile takeover; can go public in future, offering stock options	May be insufficient oversight of management and finances; change may be too slow or too fast; no stock
PUBLIC COMPANY	Greater transparency of finances and actions can act as curb on more blatant abuses; stock available; more resources to expand theoretically possible	May be subject to hostile takeover; upper management may become overly absorbed in day-to-day stock prices rather than product or staff development
EMPLOYEE OWNED COMPANY	Everybody is an owner; morale can be high; needed sacrifices from labor easier	Everybody is an owner; morale can be low; needed sacrifices from labor easier
PRIVATE EQUITY OWNED COMPANY	Potentially a slow-moving or under-appreciated business unit (often a spinoff from a public company) now could focus on its strengths. Fast pace for managers; equity often available.	The end-game of many PE firms is to sell off the firm when its value and revenue increase, but those numbers might come from severe staff cuts. PE culture might be at odds with firm's culture, causing tension, layoffs, departures, slowing pace toward objective, creating more friction.
FOREIGN OWNED DIVISION	First-hand international business exposure can be an invaluable experience	Management roles may be limited and top positions held by expats sent from HQ; some of parent firm's business practices might be frustrating; stock may not be offered

What Size Company would be Best for You?

Some people thrive in small companies, while others feel stifled. Some people use stints at large companies to gain useful training, knowledge, experience and connections and then put them to work at start-up firms where they might have a chance of becoming millionaires through stock options. Others find that their skills at small companies are treasured at large corporations, which in trying to renovate themselves, might be seeking "entrepreneurial types" to run lean, efficient new ventures. And the stereotypes of small-medium-large don't work anymore, either. There are stodgy, bizarrely bureaucratic small companies and there are unassuming, well run multi-billion dollar firms that operate successfully in almost decentralized structures. A few points to keep in mind:

Because you do not like your present company or a past employer, do not assume that all companies of the same size are run the same way
Your tastes and preferences might be very well suited to the size company you are presently working in. Do not jump to a different size company just for the experience. You may get lost or bored or both.
Try to analyze honestly what you want and need. Are you avoiding the small company because you never heard of it? Are you avoiding the large company because it is hard to conceptualize how you could fit in a very large organization?
Don't let pure fear of the unknown dictate your choice. People can adapt to all types of climates; people can adapt to all types of companies. But if you really have a certain "gnawing gut" when you think of accepting a job at that company, listen to your gut! Your instincts might be right. The pay may be better; the commute may be shorter; the building might be shinier; but if the thought of taking that job gives you the chills, sit down and ask yourself what you really want.

SIZE OF COMPANY	POSITIVE ASPECTS	NEGATIVE ASPECTS
SMALL COMPANY	"Wearing a lot of hats" and "Making do with less" build resourceful managers and efficient companies; great exposure; can be easier to change directions	Can be claustrophobic for some; "Wearing a lot of hats" and "Making do with less" make weary managers and inefficient companies; office political battles may be decided by a vote of one
MEDIUM SIZED COMPANY	Great room for growth; new directions easier to manage. Enough resources for expansion; raising of capital quite feasible. Often excellent management opportunities in taking firm to next level.	Especially with well established firms, there may be a good reason why it is a medium and not a large firm. Owners may be content with present size and reluctant to invest in growth strategies.
DIVISION OF A LARGE COMPANY	Can have best of both worlds: the resources of a large parent company and the intimacy of a smaller company. Can be great training ground for tomorrow's upper level manager or entrepreneurial head of a start-up firm.	If the key decisions come from elsewhere, being stationed at this plant or division could seem way beyond your reach. If minimal powers granted to the local division, site could carry prestigious name but feel like a bad job.
HEADQUARTERS OF A LARGE COMPANY	The best place to be if you want to be at the center of large company decision-making. Have deep, worldwide resources and opportunities to create joint ventures and partnerships which could help you start your own firm or be valuable to other Fortune 500 firms or any high growth up-and-comer.	A decade of cutbacks at most firms. If you spend a disproportionate amount of your time in political squabbles rather than doing interesting projects at the firm, your marketability outside of the corporation could be lessened. You may be unfairly typecast as "corporate deadwood" though you're quite alive.

A Look at Your Industry

If considering a career change, it may be necessary to evaluate the health and prospects of your industry. While it is indeed possible for a manager to manage any type of company and an engineer to work in other fields or disciplines, it is very common for candidates to be portrayed by prospective employers as only "knowing" one product, one market, one technology: ie., the wrong ones. Employers rarely have the time or desire to train new employees, especially managers. They want people who could step right in the door and get to work without a lot of questions or problems. Of course, in the real world, compromises have to be made. But still, this unfortunate typecasting plagues the many industry sectors.

ART has decades of experience in assisting its candidates in transitioning over to more challenging or lucrative sectors. We work in a myriad of industries and technologies, so we know the distinctions and the linkages between what you do and what you might like to do. And we know the companies that could get you over the bridge and help you build new careers without financial or career sacrifice. Why consider adjusting your industry sector focus? There are several reasons. The best opportunities in your current industry might not be where you want to be, geographically. You might be unchallenged by the work or frustrated by the slowness of companies in your industry to advance either technologically or business wise. You might be a person of great promise and potential in a diminishing industry and you might feel that it is crucial for you make the leap soon. Whatever your reason, we do our best to help.

A Look at Your Location

Sometimes your local employment territory can be excruciatingly detrimental to your career. It might be your birthplace, the taxes might be delightfully low, or you might be addicted to a certain sports team or local comfort food, but if you live in an area without a critical number of relevant and good quality companies where you could potentially find fruitful career opportunities, then you may be damaging your long term career growth by staying put. ART has client-companies all over the world. Let us help you find just the right balance between quality of life and quality of career.

Let's Not Forget the Personal Factors!

What type of boss do you need in order to work at your best? (Be honest)

What degree of control over your work do you require?

What type of corporate environment or corporate culture would you thrive in? (For example, do you work more efficiently when you are wearing a business suit or casual wear?)

Are you an introspective silent type or a voracious talker? (If you are one of these, imagine working in a firm that expects you to be the opposite.)

Many firms like to describe themselves as embracing group decision making. Do you enjoy that or hate that? Why?

Are you a "risk taker" or do you require a high degree of corporate or personal stability? If you are currently or permanently requiring a high degree of stability (because of financial requirements or personal comfort level), then working at a start-up firm or working as a "turnaround specialist" could be both perilous and stressful.

Do not get lured into jobs that you would not like because friends tell you they are having "the time of their lives." They probably are, but even good friends and siblings could have quite different personalities and personal preferences. They may like a particular boss, a particular climate or a particular parking place at work, but you might hate all three. The interests and motivations of people with regard to their careers are often illogical and unpredictable. Since we are all different, do allow yourself to be unique. Decide for yourself. When you are interviewing for a job, always be sure to ask a lot of questions. Ideally, you will have multiple opportunities to speak with different company managers and staff, so that you could have a better chance of getting your questions answered.

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