Writing by Colleen Jenkins. Colleen Jenkins is the founder and CEO of PluggedIN, a talent matchmaking technology platform that connects students and job seekers with startups. She is also the director of the St. Louis and Kansas city branches of Venture for America.

The Startup Talent Showcase hiring event for startups hosted by Cortex returns on September 13th (Full-time, Part-time, Contractors) and November 8th (Students/Internships).

So you’re thinking about working at a startup…. But what is it like? And why would you do it?

Startup cultures and environments are unique and offer a different experience than a traditional enterprise level company. But, they also offer tremendous benefits for the right job seeker. Here are the top 5 reasons you should consider joining a startup.

1. See What You’re Made Of

You will likely be tasked with many different responsibilities, which makes it a great opportunity for personal development. You will not only be exposed to new ways of thinking and problem solving, you’ll be asked for your input. It’s an open road for discovering your skills and capabilities.

What you’ll learn: You’ll learn what you’re good at, what you’re not good at, what you enjoy and what you don’t enjoy as a professional.

2. Strengthen Your Decision-Making Ability

Working at a startup requires many decisions to be made frequently, and oftentimes, quickly. Decision-making is a muscle in your brain – the more (difficult) decisions you make, the more you flex that muscle and make it stronger.

You get to be involved in many of the decisions made across the company, helping you to build this valuable skill real-time.

What you’ll learn: You’ll learn how to make well-informed decisions quickly, and (even more valuably), learn how to fail forward and fail fast when things don’t go as planned.

3. Transform Your Weaknesses Into Strengths

Ever been tasked with a job you know nothing about? You may even have a preconceived notion that you’ll hate it simply because you have not done it before. Startups are constantly pivoting with shifting priorities, which means startup employees must be pivot-ready and take on whatever needs to get done, including learning new skills.

You’ll be moved outside of your comfort zone to embrace the prevalent ‘get stuff done’ mentality.

What you’ll learn: You may take on responsibilities you don’t particularly enjoy, nor have done before, and will learn how to embrace your weaknesses and turn them into strengths. Your resourcefulness and attitude will become your biggest resource.

4. Tap Into Your Creative Genius

“Out on the edge you see all kinds of things you can’t see from the center. Big, undreamed-of things—the people on the edge see them first.” – Kurt Vonnegut

Startups are solving problems or creating better solutions that often haven’t yet been identified. This requires a different way of thinking, and a curious, creative mind that sees no boundaries.

Working at a startup naturally trains you to develop an insatiable appetite for new ideas and different ways to approach tough problems.

What you’ll learn to expect: You’ll learn how to get comfortable trusting your intuition, brainstorming, and investigating (and vetting) new innovative ideas. You’ll learn to love learning.

5. Truly Become A Team Player

Most startups realize the importance of allowing their employees to have autonomy in his/her position. In most corporate roles, employees report to an immediate supervisor. At a startup, you’re success is almost always directly correlated with the success of the company. You’re expected to be self-sufficient, self-directed and a self-starter.

You’re not always going to be told what to do and how to do it.

What you’ll learn: You’ll learn to embrace lack of structure, ambiguity, and a fast paced environment.

Got grit? Ready to roll up your sleeves and tackle tough problems? Consider joining a startup. Join us at the next two Startup Talent Showcase events hosted by the Cortex Innovation Community