What To Expect When You Step Into The Corporate World

My first job after I got my university degree was in a small digital marketing startup. I couldn’t have been happier with my team – we were all the same age, worked together on an exciting project, and could exchange ideas and tips on the fly. 

Fast forward a few years, and I found myself at my first big-company job interview. I thought that I needed a change of scenery, a new challenge on a bigger scale, but in retrospect, I understand now that I wasn’t ready for the negative sides of the corporate world. It shaped my attitude towards big business altogether, and if you are at the same stage of your career, here are the pitfalls you should expect when you join a large corporation. 

More red tape

Large companies remind me of administrative institutions – the bigger they get, and the further you climb up the ladder, the more bureaucracy you will face. Prepare for many reports, memos, and Excel spreadsheets – the irksome documentation you never had to deal with while working for a startup.

More meetings

All you want to do is sit at your desk and grind on the projects and tasks. You can pretty much do it if you work in a small team. If you are in a corporate environment, however, you can forget about it. Team leaders and department managers spend as much as half of their time in meetings – for some inexplicable reason, management believes it is as important to talk about “HOW” to do something as actually doing it. 

Backstabbing and intrigue

No, these are not imaginary tales you can only see on TV or read in a book. Corporate intrigue is real and rampant, especially in companies that encourage internal and inter-department competition. If you do not feel comfortable in such an environment, you should definitely look for a new job!