“Do I need to work at a big company first?”
Personally, I spent 7 years working at BlackRock before moving to a small fashion startup and launching my own business.
I won’t lie.
The BlackRock name on my resume carries huge credibility.
A lot of doors opened for me just because people saw that name on my resume (plus the fact that I had graduated from Columbia).
And I’m going to venture a guess, it might also be one of the reasons why you read my posts!
But is it truly necessary to start your career at a multinational corporation?
Did I really learn invaluable lessons? Did it really teach me the “best practices” that everyone says you’ll learn from joining an MNC?
Honestly, I can’t say that what I learned was needle-moving for me.
Yes I learned about the financial markets, I learned how to code, I learned how to sell mutual funds.
Which are invaluable skills… if my ultimate career goal was to be an MD in finance.
But it wasn’t.
And so those 7 years felt like the same year x 7, rather than 7 years of learning.
So, here's my take:
Unsure? Buy time at an MNC
If you're uncertain about your career path, starting at a big company can buy you time to figure things out.
The name recognition can definitely open doors later.
But if you know what you want - start at a smaller company
You’re more likely to have more responsibility and exposure earlier on in your career.
Once I figured that my long term career goal is to be an entrepreneur, I learned far more at the startup and building my own business.
Getting my hands dirty and working on entire projects end-to-end was invaluable.
Caveat: This advice doesn't apply if your goal is to climb the corporate ladder at a multinational company.
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I have no regrets starting off at BlackRock, but I wish I had figured out what I wanted from my career sooner and not waited 7 years.
So don’t make the mistake I made.
Spend time really getting to know yourself and what drives you.
Define success in your own terms.
A career you wake up excited about can be your reality - you just need to spend the time and effort figuring out what that looks like for you.
📣 And if you need guidance on how, check out my free webinar where I walk you through how to build a career you love step-by-step: https://lnkd.in/gjzfSnB8
