Band 6+: New university graduates often have to decide whether to begin their careers at a start-up or at a large, established company. Start-ups may offer a wider range of responsibilities, while established companies may provide more structured training and clearer career paths. Which type of company would you recommend to new university graduates, and why? Support your choice with reasons and relevant examples. You may discuss the advantages of both options, but make your own recommendation clear.

I would generally recommend new graduates to begin their careers in large companies considering their personal development, although entering start-ups is also a sensible choice.

It is apparent that in start-ups – where structured work assignments are not fully developed and may change frequently – new employees might take a wider range of responsibilities in order to fill up those assignment gaps. For example, a new employee in a media company may need to not only record first-hand videos as a videographer but edit and publish them as an editor. Supporters may thus claim that these hybrid working contents offer excitement and a more comprehensive skill development that effectively pushing new employees to a higher standard.

However, more responsibilities does not necessarily mean a quicker or a more sophisticated career development. Consider that media company employee from the previous paragraph, if they majored only in photography and videography and lack appropriate knowledge for editing and publishing, they cannot complete their normal working contents and may face elevated costs, eventually leading to a choice: study, incompletion, or a bad completion? This dilemma is not just about unfamiliar fields, however; workplace is never merely about working itself, the regulations, interpersonal communications, and company-level against individual-level decision all matter: these challenges exist in both large, established companies and start-ups.

To better help new graduates dealing with these shared challenges, large companies, though with limitations, are wiser choices over all. Large companies usually have a more established working assignment and mentoring structure. A proper assignment could let the new employee more focused on their major skill development, and a structured mentoring program is capable to offer new employees a more controlled learning environment, where they can constantly testing new ideas and be guided properly.

But, the choices of “which large company” still depend on the company’s specific details. Work assignment and mentoring programs may differ greatly across companies in different industries. New graduates should carefully examine desired job positions by searching online information or asking peers who have had or are having their internships.