Your career success highly depends on the choices you make, especially in choosing the company you will work for.

Do you prefer a job at a small or a large company?

Both choices have advantages and disadvantages that could affect not only your health or happiness, but your family, work and social life.

According to the Help with Jobs website, "If you are desperate for work, it would be the easiest thing to accept the first job that is offered to you."

"However, in the long run, it is best to do your research and to take your time to ensure that mistakes are not made and that your future career will be a happy one," it said.

Some factors to consider

A person's likes and dislikes can affect his or her decision to pick one company over the other.

"There are advantages and disadvantages to both and you will have to weigh up the pros and cons and make a decision according to your working style and your own personality," Help With Jobs said.

SMALL COMPANY

Working for a small company is a good way "to learn fast and pick up a whole host of useful transferable skills. Promotion is possible within a short period of time and the post may be very varied and involve numerous interesting tasks," the site said.

However, some downsides must be considered.

"The pay will probably be a lot less than if you were working for a large-sized business and you may not be offered benefits such as free healthcare, a company car or a paid mobile phone," Help With Jobs said.

"It is possible that your job may not be as secure, particularly in times of economic instability and if you do not get on with a certain colleague or colleagues, things can become pretty tense and uncomfortable within such a small space," it added.

LARGE COMPANY

Help With Jobs said, "Landing a job in a large or multi-national company will appeal to the more career-minded people or those who are fairly ambitious."

It noted that bigger pay may be offered but with it couold come with "longer hours, higher expectations and the pressure of knowing that there is no room for mistakes or errors in your job."

The site said it may not be easy to move up in a large company because "you would have to provide work that is far better than anyone else's before you get noticed."

Some things to do before choosing a company

Help with Jobs suggested a few things jobseekers must do before choosing a company to work for:

(1) Do some research before you send in your application.

The site suggested finding out as much information as possible about the company you are interested to work in.

"The Internet is an excellent tool for this but you can also ask any family or friends that may have worked in the same company about their experiences," the site said.

(2) Trust your instinct.

"Probably the best tool to use when choosing the right company to work for is your own mind and gut instinct," Help With Jobs said.

If you are invited for an interview and are shown around the place of work, you will glean some idea of the atmosphere there and may be able to get a feel of how the staff that are already employed feel.

If you don't like your potential boss, or if "you have a niggling feeling that something is not quite right, then you should probably listen to your intuition and decline any offer of work," it suggested.

However, if you feel relaxed and comfortable with the company's staff, "the chances are that you would be happy working in that place," it added. - AM/VVP, GMA News