Pros
There were some genuinely talented people in the business, and I worked with individuals who cared about doing a good job and wanted to build something better. Although most of them left. The only people who have stayed are just there because they are billing well. There is exposure to a fast-paced recruitment environment, which can be useful experience if you are early in your career. If you can get onto an incentive, they can be great fun. Getting on to them is difficult unless you're one of the favourites. There were moments where the business showed ambition and potential, and some of the people at consultant and manager level were supportive and hardworking.
Cons
The culture is toxic and deeply unhealthy. It is an environment where gossip, favouritism, fear, personal agendas and internal politics carry far too much weight. There is a huge gap between the company’s external image and the reality of working there. From the outside, it may look ambitious, successful and exciting. Internally it's chaotic, cliquey and manipulative. It's built on lies and false image - bought followers and pretending. Senior leadership behaviour is one of the biggest issues. Certain individuals appear to have far too much unchecked influence, and the culture this creates is damaging. People are not always judged on performance, integrity or capability, they are judged on who they are close to, who is sleeping with who, who will go out on benders and use drugs with who, who likes them, and what narrative is being pushed behind closed doors. There is a lot of whispering, side conversations and relationship management rather than honest, professional leadership. It often felt like decisions were influenced by personal agendas rather than facts. The environment can make you question yourself, even when you know you have worked hard and done a good job. That is probably the biggest red flag. You will feel undermined, isolated or constantly unsure of where you stand. I would strongly advise anyone considering joining to ask direct questions about turnover, leadership culture and how concerns about senior leaders are handled. I'd also dig in about their finances because things are not as stable as they seem. Ask about what happened to their New York office or why their headcount is not growing. Ask about why they keep losing finance directors. If you value transparency, emotional maturity, professionalism and a healthy culture, think very carefully before joining. If you are not in the right inner circle, the environment can feel very unsafe very quickly.
