I talk to a lot of people about work, and especially about working for a small company. I’ve worked for huge companies (10,000+ employees world wide), and I’ve worked for small companies (5 employees).

Obviously, there are advantages and disadvantages to both. But I am surprised by how some people are willing to discount the advantages of working for a small company. The most common complaint that I’ve heard about working for small companies is stability. “When you work for a small company, things can be scary unstable.” Oh yeah? I’ve had entire department outsourced. 370 people, company-wide, suddenly didn’t have jobs. How’s that for stability?

“Small companies can’t offer the same benefits as large companies.” How about real profit sharing? How about real evaluations of your progress? When I worked for the ruthless multi-national corporation, they invested millions in a system to justify giving their employees ridiculously low raises in the name of transparency. “Oh, you worked 16 hour days for 10 months and brought huge progress to a project everyone said was doomed. Thanks, here’s your 2.8% merit raise. We really appreciate it.”

There may be something to the element that small companies can’t leverage their size to negotiate good contracts and prices with health insurance companies. But what I see from small companies is this: “This is your money. Do with it what you will.” Give me choice any day.

But here is the real benefit: small companies will make you feel a lot more appreciated. And I don’t mean just with the money.

I requested a new laptop. And not just a new laptop, but a really nice laptop. Okay, a Mac laptop. And I got it. And not only that, I requested the faster processor, and maxed out memory. And I got it.

Yeah, I had to justify it. I had to really make a case for it. I still think I’m on shaky ground for the 4GB of RAM (I’m old enough to remember when the 128K of RAM statement made sense, and we all said, “Yeah, I think he’s right”). It’s hard to imagine actually doing anything that would require 4GB. But it sure is nice. And that is the point.

If I had requested a new laptop, maxed out, from Ruthless Multi-National Corp. they probably would have said “Yeah, right. I don’t need to show you where the door is, do I?” I would have been just another designer/media developer as far as they were concerned, and it just wouldn’t have happened.

Small companies don’t just do small business. And they deserve a second or third look. They also present a bit more risk, but in today’s global economy, they don’t present any more risk to job-seekers than large companies do. And they present a lot more potential for growth and responsibility. If you are out there looking, hunt out the small businesses. You may be surprised what you find, and they may surprise you in many ways even after you’re on their books.