What will your next career move look like?
A Career-Minded Position Paper Authored by Hugh Weaver, PE | Pam Gower – Pond 2019
Deciding whether to join a well-established firm or an “up and coming” company or startup can be a difficult decision.
Bigger organizations offer in-house expertise, name recognition, and scale—all of which can elevate the careers of some, but not all. In contrast, startups are fast-paced, exciting, and collaborative. They can give you the chance to shape a product, company, or influence an industry. However, this typically comes at the steep personal price of slogging through long hours and sometimes less pay and benefits.
But have you considered this option: A High-Growth Company?
High-growth companies combine the resources, benefits and support of larger companies with the innovation, opportunities, and dynamic atmosphere of a start-up. Pond, a 550-employee company is just such a high-growth company. We’re growing fast with 150 new projected team members in the coming year. We’re introducing new services to better serve our clients and gain industry market share; and we’re expanding our geographic footprint in Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and other strategic locations, both nationally and internationally.
Let’s explore the top reasons why you should consider a high-growth company like Pond:
The Ability to Learn and Grow through Mentorship & Training
Working at a high-growth company means you’ll have plenty of exposure to challenging assignments. As our professionals gain exposure and increase skills, they step up to pass along what they have learned to the newest team mates joining the firm. After all, Pond can’t provide new services, expand to new cities and states, or markets without talented people to help lead the charge. The first place we look for new leaders is within our own company.
What is the Value to You?
When looking for the next step in your career path, you’re understandably eager to learn more about a company’s internal advancement. Instead of having to ask future employers “How soon do you think I’ll be promoted?” wouldn’t it be better if you already knew the answer? With a high-growth company, there is a need for leadership at all levels throughout the organization to support and advance the growth.
This equates to the chance to rise up in the organization for those who work to “move the needle” of their project, their department, or professional discipline. With this company wide growth focus, Pond invests a significant amount towards employee training and development needs to foster a collaborative environment for learning.
Access to Company Leaders
You could spend seven years at a large corporation without ever speaking to your CEO. However, at a high-growth company like Pond, you have the chance to get plenty of face time with the executive team.
As you might guess, these interactions are an invaluable way to learn from the best, pick up advice and insights, and make an impression. That’s why every single Pond employee has opportunities to talk to the Board of Directors, President and CEO.
Our executive team is actively involved in projects, cultivating client relationships and helping to develop solutions. They clear the obstacles that stand in the way of learning and mastering your profession.
What is the Value to You?
At Pond, we believe in the wisdom of crowds. Every year, our CEO holds program sessions with our team members to rank our priorities for the next fiscal year. Pond’s “Flight Plan” is formulated from those planning sessions. The benefit of a Flight Plan is the entire company is working towards achieving results …together.
Some of our best company ideas have come from the collaboration of the team, not necessarily the leader.
When the company has established practices like the Flight Plan, you can be confident you’ll have access to the top people. At Pond, you see and work with management constantly. We host monthly company meetings for everyone to listen to the “State of Pond” from the Board of Directors and CEO. It’s also a great opportunity to ask questions in a group, or one-on-one with a leader.
Opportunity to Leave Your Mark
If you’re hoping to make an impact at your job, a high-growth company is definitely a strong choice. Our team oriented entrepreneurial environment provides a strong setting where employees can share ideas, try new things, and continually build on the foundation in place. Over the past five years alone, Pond has instituted a large number of new program lines to help our clients achieve their missions. These new services have provided team members chances to build and grow from the ground up.
Not only are these programs beneficial for our clients, but their road to achieving success is integral to building a career for yourself at Pond; better than just having a job.
What is the Value to You?
The opportunity to build a program, service or client base is very exciting for those who want to be integral to the inner-workings of a firm. If you are looking for the opportunity to build a career, nurture it and watch it grow, a high-growth company has the right resources, opportunity and mentorship to make it happen.
Equally important is the team that support the ideas of the program. In a high-growth company, success is built around teamwork and collaboration. All great ideas flourish in a team environment, not in a vacuum. Whether you are looking to be a team leader, or an integral member of a team, a high-growth company may be the right decision for professional growth.
High-growth companies are not for everyone, but if you’re looking for a better way to boost your career through mentorship, gain access exposure to knowledge leaders or quench your thirst for extreme ownership in building upon your idea, a high-growth company like Pond could be perfect for you.