Pros
- large firm with a good "street" reputation. - compensation is just above average - there are a few gem employees who are stellar. Seek out these staffers and align yourself.
Cons
- be prepared to work yourself to death with very long hours (expect 10-14 hour days) and job volume that normally 2-3 employees would take on. -expect to cancel your planned vacations. Pre Departure expect to work "extra" hours. Re-entry - same deal - you'll have to catch up on so much work. Relaxed? You won't be for long. - if you want any type of work life balance rethink your idea to join this firm. It's very difficult to leave at end of day without being viewed as a slacker (even if it's been a 12 hr day for you), much less to leave the office for a dr appointment, child school event, looking for an apartment, running an errand at lunch - all impossible. - during my time there I never met anyone who was "happy" or "satisfied". Moral is low as staff is so overworked. As a result of current job market - many remain longer than they want due to lack of alternative opportunities. - transfers b/w departments (regardless of your role) was rarely successful or beneficial to both parties. Mostly used as an exit ramp for the employee. - management levels are thick and multiple. - re-creation of the wheel is a weekly process. - the infrastructure of the firm has not grown with the firm in order to now support 5000+ employees - many simple transactions take a long time due to multiple layers of mngt and lack of up to date infrastructure - senior management does not treat their direct staff well. There is a trickle down effect as a result. - HR dept is a nightmare to deal w/ re: new hires, benefit issues. Simply dysfunctional due to heavy turnover. - don't expect praise. I once received a small gift (chocolates) from a senior manager who I had helped significantly w/ a project. The giving of this gift was seen by our department head. Within the hour the senior manager was chastised by the dept head office. "We don't do that here"... Senior manager was purposely embarrassed publicly and never provided praise again. - there are some great, talented, bright employees who could really make a difference. Few succeed. Most are burnt out quickly looking for an exit. - there are too many "deadwood" employees who are ineffective lumps that simply gave up at some point. Management & HR does little to off load these staffers. - compensation was just above average. Bonus discussions went like this w/ managers "I have your comp number here but before we discuss that let's talk about what I need from you going forward" - insert project laundry list of huge tasks you'll now have to incorporate into your already overloaded plate. - once you decided to leave the firm and resign you'll be publicly labeled a "non-performer" by management (regardless of your tenure or performance). Management and HR can't comprehend "could it be us?"