Top down, but in sheep-clothing - Consultant Netlight Employee Review

Very skilled engineering team! A pleasure building stuff with them!

Got moved around from project to project without too much input

Some colleagues are genuinely kind.

•The promise of “choosing your projects” is misleading. In reality, sales staff assign projects to friends or favorites, often disregarding merit or technical skill. •Junior salespeople with little to no technical background have disproportionate control over consultant assignments and are involved in defining “competence.” •Career progression depends more on appearance, compliance, and how well you flatter managers than on actual expertise. •Very low seniority in the Copenhagen office — most experienced people either leave for clients or quit. Those who stay often failed to advance elsewhere. •Culture of self-doubt: employees are frequently told not to feel “too confident,” creating a manipulative atmosphere that undermines trust in one’s own abilities. •Heavy emphasis on performative presentations and “selling yourself” over real project delivery. •Sales and recruiting staff, along with a small circle of senior consultants, control onboarding and project allocation. This leads to newcomers feeling isolated, underutilized, and in some cases demoralized. •Consultants are pitted against colleagues in other countries, where projects are often awarded based on lower cost rather than skill or fit. •Mentorship is superficial — focused on numbers and clout for mentors rather than meaningful development. •Very high control environment: management centralizes all decisions and fosters dependency through constant questioning of employees’ competence. •Frequent sick leave, including among management, which reflects the strain of the company’s practices. Clients often recognize and value consultants’ contributions more than the firm itself. For example, I was offered ~20% higher salary by a client compared to what I was earning through the consultancy. This highlights how much the company profits from consultants while underinvesting in them.