One Snarky Chica with Issues

There is an interesting post this morning over at Brazen Careerist blog. The post, by Ryan Healy of Employee Evolution, talks about why twenty-somethings and big companies don’t mix well.

As a twenty-something (closing in on 30), I really identified with some of the points being made. Healy mentions that dreams of entrepreneurship are running rampant in this age group, and I have not escaped it. In fact, not only do I think about it on a daily basis but I am doing something, even if it is something small, each day to work towards being my own boss. This blog is a perfect example of that. I think anyone that blogs seriously, and regularly, has dreams of being their own boss. Blogging is more than just a creative outlet or a way for me to vent about issues that plague me. It is ways for me to, hopefully, build a path to freedom. I think the same goes for a lot of bloggers our there.

In the article, Healy thinks that there are three main reasons that twenty-something employees and large corporations do not mesh. Healy thinks that twenty-somethings have the following thought patterns:

1. Following the crowd is boring.
2. Bureaucracy is a waste of time.
3. I can be a CEO and an intern at the same time.

I agree, mediocrity is boring and I do not understand people that get a job and stay with it for 20 or 30 years and do the same thing day in and day out. Of course, following the crowd is secure. If you get a job at a large corporation, then pending any layoffs you are pretty secure in your position in life. You get up, go to work at the same job, come home and then do it all again the next day. Me, I change jobs rather often by societal norms. And for someone that hates interviews, you would think I would stay in one place. But no matter what job I have, I spend my breaks at work trying to do things for me, and then when I get home it is right to work again. Have I started a business? Yes. Did it fail? Well, I made money, just not enough to recoup the initial investment. So, financially speaking it was a failure but it was a great learning experience and now I’m working on the next one.

When I was trying to get my business off the ground, I discovered that bureaucracy is as much of a pain when working for “the man” as it is trying to do business with “the man.” I do prefer smaller companies for employment because there is a noticeable lack of BS. From silly dress code restrictions (sleeveless tops are okay but tank tops are not) to annoying time off policies (all time off must be taken in increments of 4 hours), large business are really just a pain to work for. Give me the family owned business any day of the week. Sure the vacation time might not be as plentiful, but you have less of a problem being allowed to actually use it at a small business.