Why Company Size Should Matter in Your Job Search

If I were to ask you to name a popular brand of fizzy drink, what's the first thing that comes to mind?

Coca Cola? Pepsi?

It's a safe bet that both of these come to mind pretty quickly.

The same situation often arises when people are asked to name companies they'd like to work for.

However, did you know that only 1% of employers fall into the category of these major companies?

There are over 330 million companies worldwide, yet only 330,000 can be classified as large organisations, employing more than 250 employees.

So, when it comes to your career change and job search, if you're solely focused on these well-known companies, you're neglecting 99% of your options.

Why Small Employers Deserve Your Job Search Attention

• More Job Opportunities: Small companies can offer more job opportunities, and there are a lot of them. They hire almost half of all workers and have created about 65% of new jobs in the last 20 years. 
• Improved Interview Chances: Since everyone is aiming for the big brands, focusing on smaller employers means you'll encounter much less competition. Instead of trying to stand out among 100+ applicants, you might only have to compete with 5-10
  
• Diverse Roles: Small companies often expect employees to wear multiple hats, which aligns well with your Retail Manager experience, making you a desirable candidate.
• Openness to Speculative Approaches: Smaller companies are more open to speculative applications, and they may have a suitable job for you based on your qualifications and CV [Resume].

Benefits of Working for a Small Employer

• Work-Life Balance: Flexibility when considering alternative work arrangements, such as working from home and innovative scheduling. Many smaller companies operate with hybrid working models to keep costs down.
• Ability to Make a Difference: With fewer employees, each team member's role often has a more direct impact on the company's success. Your efforts can have a more noticeable effect on the organisation's overall performance, increasing your job satisfaction. 
• Less Bureaucracy: There is less red tape and protocols to wade through. This often means projects are completed more quickly and with less frustration.

How to Find Small Organisations

1. Head over to LinkedIn: Click into the search bar at the top and press “enter” without typing anything in.

2. Apply the company filter.

3. Select the filter for “location,” choose your country, and then choose the filter for company size, selecting all the options: “1-10, 11-50, and 51-200.” In this example, for the UK, it has given me 1.2 million results, and 13 million in the US! I doubt I could name all of those companies before this.

Finally, change the location filter to your nearest town, city, or state (whichever filter you typically use to find jobs in your area). In this example, I selected Stevenage, and it brought up 1,300 companies! Again, I wouldn't have even thought there were 1,300 companies in Stevenage, let alone the fact that these aren't the big brands I see on the high street.

Top Tip: LinkedIn may initially display results that seem to be located in other countries. Don't worry. What's particularly useful about LinkedIn is that it shows results where companies recruit in multiple locations. For instance, they might have an office in the US and also in the UK.

All that's left to do is go through the companies and create a target list based on those that appear to be hiring for the positions you desire and align with the companies you'd be excited to work for.

Takeaway

Trying to secure jobs at large organisations can be tough. You face a lot more competition, and these companies have a more complex management structure that you need to navigate to achieve your dream career change.

On the other hand, when you focus on small employers, not only do they make up the majority of businesses, but they also offer numerous advantages. These include more job opportunities, a willingness to consider career changers, and better chances of getting an interview due to their smaller candidate pool.

Working for small employers also provides benefits that many Retail Managers seek, such as flexible working arrangements, less bureaucracy, and the opportunity to make a more significant impact.

Happy job hunting!

Tom

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