Pros
+ Loved my team--we were the best! We "got" each other, and would plan our own team bonding events outside of the company. + Our team always backed each other up and supported one another, especially if there were students who tried to get away with doing less work (e.g. My college counselor told me to do X, but you are saying Y, so does that still mean I need to do X?) + I had an excellent Head Counselor leader, who was very approachable and always open to new ideas. + There are a lot of new college grads that work here so you will not have a problem finding new friends if you are just out of college. There are also people who work here that have stuck around for awhile (primarily college counselors)---make sure to get to know them too. They have great advice! + Full-time employees get a paid 1hr lunch (which is pretty standard at most places, but part-time employees only receive 30-minute lunches) + Very easy interview (Think: applying for job at Starbucks; If you have a college degree from a UC or IVY league school, they already want you. When you ask yourself these questions, it gets real: 1) Do I like the company culture here? 2) Is this where I want to invest my time and skill set? 3) Will I feel valued at this company?)
Cons
- Dishonest/misleading communication during interviewing/hiring process (wanted to make a quick sale for "Yes" on job acceptance, and gave a false impression of company benefits and expectations during negotiation process). Example 1: Offered me two positions- essay editor or college counselor, but explained that essay editors do more editing, while college counselors do less of that, and only make sure that students hand in their info on-time. In actuality: College Counselors do plenty of essay editing as well, they do double the work of the essay editor and are held to a higher degree of responsibility. The essay editor "assists" the college counselor. College Counseling positions pay more :D If offered college counselor position, take it over an essay editing position. Do not fear that you will not get to further your essay editing/writing skills because you will be in a 'management' role. Example 2: Hired for a full-time position under the pretense that employment would be long-term (role would switch from essay editor to college counselor in December). However, after student application season ended around December, I was given 2 weeks to find a new position because the branch could not supply the promised position. Furthermore, was asked to sign a legal document declaring that I "quit" the company in order to cover their bases. *This was not a reflection on poor performance-- it was confirmed that the students I reviewed essays for received admission into top colleges including: UPENN, MIT, MUDD, U. Washington, CA UC's. - Upper Management needs to improve by being more transparent: Example-- Two students switched out of my case load. I took initiative in discussing reasons with upper management and college counselors to see how I could improve, and find a solution to the problem-- however, in the beginning, nobody brought it to my attention, it was just an issue brushed under the rug.
