Advantages of returning to the corporate world

Depending on your interests and circumstances, that may be the right thing to do. I’d like to explore just a few of the advantages of corporate life for the benefit of Julia who asks this question:

So, David, how about advice for those of us returning to the corporate world, and please don’t say don’t do it!

Corporations offer ready-made opportunities for travel, adventure, incredible challenges, huge incomes, extreme risks, safe boring jobs and extreme drudgery and hardships. All of these and more are yours, if you can qualify by meeting the requirements of the particular organization you wish to join.

I can easily say that I have experienced all of the above in my relationships with more than 25 employers and consulting clients. Working for a corporation is a natural rite of passage except for those few who create their own corporations and hire others to work for them.

Not everyone is cut out to run their own enterprise and there is a great joy in joining up with a team that has a good idea and is producing products or services that make the world a better place to live in.

Even if your employer only has a mission to feed people (McDonalds, P F Changs, The Four Seasons, etc., you can have a challenging role to play depending on your abilities and interests.

The one thing that a corporation does not generally offer is a lot of opportunity to improvise. Just as in a marching band, all of the players (employees) are expected to play the notes they are assigned.

There are a few positions, such as in Technical  Support, where improvisation within limits is encouraged and rewarded.

The main thing to remember is that Customer Service organizations are only necessary for immature or unfinished products. They are viewed as a necessary evil by the corporation and by the customers who depend on them. As a result, the good work you do does not guarantee longevity of employment, but it can be a stepping stone to a management position in time.

As a corporate employee, your activities are constrained to serve the needs of the corporation. If that is comfortable for you, then you are in the right place. If independence of thought and activity and a balance of work and life are a great need for you, consider learning all that you can from your corporate experience so that you can set up your own business at some future time.

Whatever you decide, corporate employee or self-employed, give it all you’ve got and deliver what is needed in the most professional way possible. Production is the basis of morale and when you are producing worthwhile results, your morale will stay high.