Pros
Protiviti is a great place to get experience straight out of college. There is a lot of room to grow, you get exposure to large companies and the ability to work with upper management. It's a great place to start working, as long as you get to know the managers well. There are also a lot of travel opportunities, should you choose to take them on. Unfortunately in the Bay Area offices, you'll find yourself driving around in traffic instead of being on a plane to a client. If you go to the offices in Chicago, however, you'll be able to do all the travel you want.
Cons
In our Bay Area offices, there have been two rounds of cuts, the second round just happened, which directly affected me. My internal evaluations were significantly better than others that I've started with in the same position, but those people are still there. Although this is a small firm, you definitely feel the sense of politics in play. They don't care about how well you work, only how much upper management in the company like you. This is obviously something common in the consulting industry, but the fact that people get laid off without reason, even though they are hard working individuals disappoints me. Afterward, I hear that people weren't laid off due to performance, but because we just weren't needed anymore due to the types of services the firm was trying to sell. I was extremely loyal to the firm, and did not attempt to get other jobs even though head hunters were contacting me every other week -- this got me nowhere, and now I am stuck without a job in economic turmoil. We had no idea we were getting laid off, it just happened out of nowhere. If you're good with office politics, this may be a great place for you, but otherwise I'd stray away, as the firm will get rid of you once they've milked you for all you're worth. Benefits are sub-par as well. The 401k "matching" was 25% -- of the first 6% you put in. We're accountants, its fairly clear the match is only 1.5%. The wording made it sound great on paper, but in theory its awful. With such a large parent company (Robert Half International), I would have expected better benefits, but now its obvious why the company has so much liquid cash and no debt, they're screwing their employees and their morale.
