Takes a strong stomach and thick skin to read between the lines
Pros
Advocates is a great company that is growing, and for good reason. They are very good at working with the behavioral health community and are consistently pursuing grants and funding for new products.
Cons
My experience, however, was not welcoming or encouraging. My manager prided herself on her past accomplishments, and initially led me to believe that she cared about my success and that I was a valued member of the team. Within a few weeks, she hired another team member and my job responsibilities were immediately confused. She consistently told me that she was making herself available to me, however the truth was the exact opposite. She was never in her office. Whenever I would ask her a question via email, she would rip apart the question rather than try to help provide an answer. When I spoke to her on the phone, she would say that she would schedule time to meet face to face, and then would never follow up. At the same time she would tell me that my work was never what she was looking for. Day to day, she would say that what she wanted was a narrative description when I gave her bullet points. Then she would say that she wanted actionable bullets when I provided her with a narrative overview. Every time I was giving her too much, or not enough. I regret that I did not ask her for work samples immediately upon accepting employment. Her team reassured my suspicions that she is a manager who operates in chaos. She is difficult to communicate with. She prefers to hire from within and while she says she wants to help employees develop- she would rather make superficial observations and project insulting meanings behind them. I have never worked so hard to be cut down so quickly. She is also very closed to feedback regarding potential improvements in communication.
