The Smallest Companies are the Biggest Employers

It has long been my observation that those job seekers who are unemployed the longest and have the highest levels of frustration frequently focus almost exclusively on very large  companies.

Very large employers are harder to get into because they attract so much candidate attention, they are forced to create systems and obstacles to protect them from a barrage of thousands of new applicants – each day.

Additionally, many of the largest employers have lawsuits and reputations to indicate that they often discriminate on the basis of age in their hiring practices.

While many people may be aware, at some level, that small businesses (less than 500 employees) produce about 50% of the U.S. GDP, and represent more than 50% of the nation’s employment numbers,  did you know that your best chance of employment, by the numbers, is with a company of fewer than 20 employees? Recent data shows firms with less than 20 employees account for slightly more than 18% of the employment.

Click here to read the SBA’s Report to the President, 2008:

http://www.sba.gov/advo/research/sb_econ2008.pdf

Another article on why it is a good idea to target smaller employers in your job search (and how to do so):

http://jobsearch.about.com/cs/employerresearch/a/compresearch.htm

Generally speaking, it is easier to network into a smaller company than it is a very large organization. My recommendation is to include a diversity of companies on your target list, including at least 50% of companies in the range of 100 or fewer employees.

Happy hunting!

Tracy Laswell Valdez