zlacker

>>jrs235+(OP)
When I interview candidates I always bring up his book and ask: "If all this goes well and you come work for us, what's next for you after that? Where do you want to be positioned to go after you move on from here?"

It's a weird question. But it's how I know whether or not I can deliver value to that potential employee. At big companies, salary and benefits is usually the main "value" that they provide. So, in essence, they provide the higher comp package necessary to make up for the fact that an employee is not going to learn as much as they would at a smaller company. A small company or an early stage startup is full of opportunities to learn. If your goal is to start your own company someday, I can make sure you're leaning the things that will help you get there. If you want to be a race car driver, I don't have much for you.

Employment is a two-way agreement. It's true that employers have the upper hand because they typically represent 100% of that person's income. The employee, on the other hand, is 1/N of the workforce. Switching costs are also likely higher for the employee.

For many people, I would imagine that a transparent and honest assessment is preferred to a pretend make-believe world where we imagine that an employee will spend their entire career in one place.

>>nwenze+l5
> to make up for the fact that an employee is not going to learn as much as they would at a smaller company.

I don't think that's true at all. Startups are all about reinventing the same wheels every time so you learn how to quickly bang out the same garbage iOS app skeleton for the 2nd dozen time but it's not like startups have cornered the market on new information. Plenty of big companies do really interesting things that you can learn a lot in

>>BrainI+j8
I have a bias toward smaller companies. I try to contain it, but I don't always succeed.

As far as the learning part, I didn't mean to restrict "learning" to only mean coding/programming/developing. At a smaller company, if there's something you want to do, you often have more freedom to take it on. There's very little "not my job" allowed or "not your job" enforced.

I realize there are several counter-examples of sociopathic micro-managing, ultra-secretive founders out there. Avoid those people whether at a big company or a small company.

At any rate, if you prefer larger companies, I think it's awesome that you know that. When I interview candidates, I always try to help them figure out their preference. It's not always easy for that person to know. Sometimes their desire for "a" job or a "new" job makes it hard for them to figure out if they want "this" job.

In any case, sorry for making a blanket statement about lack of learning at larger companies. I unintentionally commented on all large companies based only on my own experiences with large companies.