Pros
As a newly graduated MBA hire I: 1). Presented in front of CEOs and leadership of Fortune 500 organizations. 2). Thought strategically about the direction of my clients (although that clearly was not something they hired me for or rewarded). 3). Took on leadership roles within my teams and with my clients. And that's about it for the good stuff.
Cons
Oh, where to start... I was working for Gallup on the East Coast. There were some awesome co-workers and then some that were honest to goodness "head scratchers." Most of the consultants who succeeded were socially awkward in some way. There was one guy, I'll call him "Goober" who would look at me like I was from Mars when I would greet him with a "Good morning! How's your day?" Looking back, I believe that my manager, or "Go-To", was either really really happy or really really sad. Day-to-day I never knew if he was going to be happy, sad, sarcastic, or something else. Honestly, not meeting with him was better than any face time. All of us would try to keep our heads low and avoid the person if at all possible. From what I heard, after I moved on, Gallup put him through a managerial training course - I hope it helped. The company culture is not direct and recognition was a complete joke. Gallup administers its Q-12 survey internally, but Go-To's don't do anything with the data to actually increase engagement. This is a Gallup's focus on strengths and talent means that there is no mobility within the organization. If you have the talent to be a Client Development Consultant then you will be hired as a Client Development Consultant, live as a Client Development Consultant, and die as a Client Development Consultant. Please be aware that if you decide to go with a job at Gallup there will be: 1). No career progression (unless they've determined you have the "talent" from the tests you take when you apply that, by the way, you will never see the results to and therefore will never know if you have any other talent for other jobs). Also, unless you are related to the Clifton family then forget about actually moving up 2). No pay increase 3). No reward for new ideas or innovation 4). No development As for benefits, they are horrible. Gallup is based out of Nebraska and utilizes Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska. This is all well and good, if you live in Nebraska, but if you live anywhere else forget about visiting your PCP who is out of network. Also, Gallup created an independent Credit Union which is "separate" but where all is your HSA money goes to. There is no earned or accrued vacation time. In fact, this was a running joke. If someone planned a vacation or time off 9 times out of 10 they would come back and turn in their notice - because there was no accrued vacation time the only way one could get their pay-out was to take vacation and then come back and turn in their notice. Also, once people (including myself) gave a two week notice we were told to turn in our computer and leave the premises that day. (Really grown up way to foster engagement and practice what you preach, Gallup). After my conversation with my manager on my first day I knew I had made a mistake. I'm convinced that in an alternate universe somewhere he is a used car salesman in Ocean City, Maryland. I spent nearly two years after that just trying to get through. I had other great options when I graduated my MBA program and regret my decision to step into Gallup. Alumni from my MBA program told me what it was like and gave me a heads up, but I ignored them and I regret that. If you want to go into consulting please, please, please aim for a Deloitte, Booze Allen, Accenture, KPMG or other firm. If you have any real talent you will only stagnate at Gallup.