Overall a positive experience, but not the best place for an ambitious young professional to build a career
Pros
Can you say work-life balance? This place offers a fixed schedule with a relatively low-pressure environment. You do work for a remote control software developer with no option to work from home, but if the irony doesn’t drive you mad, you may appreciate that disconnecting from the job was never this easy. Benefits: the health insurance can’t be beat, though if you’re young and healthy sans dependents, it’s easy to take for granted. Office environment: bright office and generally clean as long as you avoid the petri dishes they call kitchen sinks, because how many gainfully employed adults really know how to do their own dishes? Modern standing desks and ergonomic chairs are a considerate touch and unlimited soft drinks, specialty coffees (not your typical, industrial sludge) and fruit delivered fresh to the office twice a week may even save you a little on your grocery bill. “Casual” gets a whole new meaning here with virtually no wardrobe restrictions (basically anything you might expect to see on a late-night trip to Wal-Mart, unless of course someone important is planning a visit) you’ll save money on an office appropriate wardrobe but more often than not casual attire seems to be accompanied by an equally lax definition of professionalism. Parties: While inebriated co-workers can lead to some unique challenges for HR, company parties are not to be missed: they’re generally hosted in interesting and fun locals with decent food and an open bar, no expense is spared and these shindigs are memorable, or maybe not so memorable for some, like I said, open bar.
Cons
Middle management is generally inexperienced and out-of-touch for such a small office where nearly every manager started-out on the phones themselves. The disconnect, particularly between management and the members of the front-line isn’t a mystery when company policy for “mandatory” interviews for internal promotions is circumvented for certain candidates who, for reasons unknown, are the favorite of the person making the decision, in spite of a lack of prior experience or even when more senior and experienced applicants have applied. It is this kind of favoritism combined with a lack of transparency or over-sight regarding internal promotions which have created distrust in management and successfully demotivated experienced and loyal employees. With demotivated senior employees, recent years have seen an added pressure on new hires to bring fresh enthusiasm and to follow the lead of management who for one reason or another find themselves facing an uphill battle with the existing team, not necessarily at any fault of their own. While this is a great place to gain some low-level experience in just about any customer-facing role and meet nice people, all things the same, if you’re a tech-savvy professional with even a modicum of ambition who’s looking for a company that will provide you with guidance and opportunities to develop yourself and advance your career, this probably isn't the best fit for you.
