Look Before You Leap: Joining a Start-up Company

In some ways, start-up companies are the best kind of companies to work for. If you join a start-up company and are key in getting the business off of the ground, you might have the opportunity to advance quickly in the company. This is very desirable as it will provide you with a better salary and more responsibility within the company. Furthermore, jump-starting your career in this way will allow you to eventually take on advanced positions in other companies.

There are, however, some pitfalls to joining a start-up company. Sometimes new companies do not have enough money to pay you the kind of salary that you might expect elsewhere. Or, perhaps the company cannot afford to provide employees with healthcare. If the company is not a success, you may find yourself out of a job. Many new businesses fail for a whole host of reasons. Perhaps the company does not create enough revenue and has to fold. On the other hand, simple lack of organization can undo a business even if it is a financial success. It is important to understand that you are taking some risks by getting involved with a start-up company.

Before you take a job at a start-up company, be sure to ask the following questions:

- Ask about the trajectory along which the company is moving. What are the major goals for the next six months? Also ask if any major goals have been met yet. If the goals of the company seem overzealous or unattainable to you, then it is best not to get involved with the company. If however, you believe that the start-up company has a great plan that might really work; you may want to consider working for them.

- Ask about salary and health benefits. If the offered salary and benefits seem low, ask if your compensation package might be amended in the near future, depending on company profits. Also ask about opportunities to advance within the company.

- Have the founders of the company ever run a business before? If the key players within the company have already had great professional success, then it is likely that they will know how to run a company well. If your prospective employers have never run a business before, but have a solid plan, have engaged the advice of other successful professionals and, perhaps, hired a consultant, then you are probably in the clear. If, on the other hand, your prospective employer seems to be unprepared to run a business, it makes good sense not to accept a job within his or her company.

In addition to asking these important questions, be sure to keep a keen eye out during your interview. Do the people within the company seem organized, energetic, and capable? If you have a few jobs and internships under your belt already, then you probably have a good sense about what it takes to run a successful company. Be sure, before taking a job, that your future employer has all of these traits.

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