Understanding the size of a company can be a valuable factor in determining where and when to direct your job applications. It can significantly contribute to aligning your career objectives and long-term goals. Career objectives may involve securing the right salary to cater to your living expenses and identifying opportunities for career advancement. On the other hand, your long-term goals might encompass considerations such as whether you envision a sustained tenure in the company. Therefore, discovering cues to ascertain a company's size becomes an essential step in your career planning process.

Office building and location

You’ll know this either through an online check, visitation and physical interview. You’ll know this when you pass by or enter their lobby or reception area. You can categorize the size according to these observations:

Big companies

• Office space
  • Owns several buildings in the home country
  • Rents or owns several floor spaces or a building in other countries
• Websites
  • Owns a quality website
  • Owns several affiliate websites

Medium companies

• Office space
  • Rents or own a floor space or a small building in the home country and one in another country.
• Websites
  • Owns simple to sophisticated websites

Small companies

• Office space
  • Rents a small office space in a low-cost commercial building in the home country
• Websites​
  • May not own a website or just rely on social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.)

Benefits

You can know these things through internet research or from your networks – friends, former working colleagues, family.

Big Companies

• Salary: Competitive salary package
• Healthcare: Provides health insurance benefits that might cover immediate relatives
• Food: Provides catering services that could be breakfast, lunch or dinner
• Learning: Provides educational grants or in-house training
• Transportation: Provides shuttle services
• Tool allowance: Provides money to buy or supply equipment essential to complete tasks

Medium companies

• Salary: Above the minimum wage
• Healthcare: Provides health insurance
• Food: Usually not provided
• Learning: None
• Transportation: May provide but on limited fleet size
• Tool allowance: Available to seniors and/or management level

Small Companies

• Salary: Below to slightly above the minimum wage
• Healthcare: None
• Food: None
• Learning: None
• Transportation: None
• Tool allowance: None

Number of Employees

The more the employees, the more the company is capable to run several branches or factories. These organizations might have different departments performing different roles such as HR, production, procurement, and administrative.

According to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Large enterprises comprise 250 people or more. Medium-sized enterprises have 50 to 249 employees. Small enterprises have 10 to 49 employees.

You can know this figure through internet research or by talking to employees.

Volume of sales

A high volume of sales can mean that company is dealing with a large sales volume that may comprise millions to billions of dollars. A medium company can earn from thousands to hundreds of millions of dollars. And a small company - thousands to a few million. These data can be available in a strategic report or a director's report. Some government agencies that regulate businesses publish data on companies.

The bottom line

Having clues about the company size, you can have a sense of direction on what to expect when you apply to a certain company. And realize your target job, salary and working environment. You can also gauge the quality of your career in that company.