After walking out of her last job in the summer, Sarah Klymkiw has been going through a trial period at an exciting fashion consultancy. Small disadvantages Not wanting to bring about a negative tone to this blog but having worked at my job for just over two months now, I’ve recognised some cons that have arisen from working within a very small company. Should one start on the positive and end on the negative or vice versa?!
(Please note that these findings are based on my own experiences and obviously do not apply to all, therefore should not be taken too seriously and are in no way representative for all small businesses!) The main issue I’ve stumbled across when working within a small company is that last in often means first out or at least the feeling of. The feeling of being the ‘new person’ is prolonged in a small business and if the Starbucks/lunch/stationery/post run is expected of the new person within your workplace then expect to do it for quite some time as it’ll be a considerable amount of time before the focus is off of you and onto the next poor mite. Alas, weeks and months may pass before you can truly relax and shine and find a comfortable place within the working personalities. In my case I’ve been searching for a comfortable, yet recognised medium of character that complements the young, loud and ambitious Topshop wearing colleague that gets all the best Topshop finds before they have a chance to hit the shelves and breathe (or before I do my monthly trip damnit!), the psychic colleague who is technologically challenged and then the cool funky boss, calm and collected with the knowledge of exactly what she wants and how to read and play people to get exactly that. Not the faceless corporationIn my previous job, although resentful of doing more and more admin and less and less creative work, there was the anonymity that comes with working within a large corporation. You see familiar faces but conversations and mistakes do not vibrate through the office. An extra 10 minutes onto your lunch break here and there goes unnoticed due to vast amounts of people coming and going and the odd sneaky cat nap, eyes closed optional, is never an issue. In an environment where there is a total workforce of four, being on the ball every minute of your working day is required - no walking into work with a hangover or poorly co-ordinated ensemble and unwashed hair will go without a look of concern and worry that every hour you put in with a throbbing head is a tight team falling to pieces and huge mistakes being made, with perhaps a bad smell being thrown into the mix. Oh, the pressure of a job where I can make a difference (in this respect, I truly am not complaining). So, I am still living week by week, unsafe in the knowledge that the perks of working in a small business, the opportunity to learn and absorb due to limited workforce are being overshadowed by the Starbucks run, the hunt for a magnetic screwdriver to undo a portfolio and a request for a chicken and avocado salad from Pret; the risk of a small business not having the funds to pay my wages in quiet months; the relaxed and close environment where everyone can bounce off each other and enjoy each others company has fuelled massive arguments due to conflicting work ethics and no room to breathe. Thankfully I have worked damn hard, I’ve allowed for my personality to be malleable as to mesh with the existing team and I hope in my small way I have made a big impression. And here comes the inevitable…a contract has yet to surface, it is not yet known if the ‘promised’ job will ever be determined or if in fact I will still be needed at the end of the week! But that’s a whole other blog… | 
