Pros
The "pro's" list of working for ESS is extensive, but here are my personal favorites. 1) There is constant development at every level, and room for growth. We are a "by the people, for the people" type of company which values our employees. Ever since I joined 6 years ago, I have been poured into, developed, presented opportunities and have been encouraged to be my best my numerous mentors who have helped me get to where I am today. I don't know when I would have made it into the corporate world if it weren't for mentors encouraging me to apply to positions I did not qualify for or putting their stamp of approval on me as a candidate because they saw my potential before I did. 2) Our Culture. It is simply one of a kind and is the reason behind our success. We don't just preach our culture, we live it. Every employee at every level. It's just who we are and what we do here. I have the freedom to be a fun, optimistic, realist and show my slightly competitive self with no shame. 3) Work Life Balance. Although I have a high drive and work more hours than needed, everyone at ESS is entitled to a work life balance. For our site employees, our offices are open within reasonable and regular business hours. For corporate, our expectation is that you follow suit. At the corporate level, our time is precious and best spent in the field, with our people, partnering with our stores to drive results. I work a salary position, and still have a life. Lastly, pro number 4) The experience gained is applicable to life and other business situations. I firmly believe that the attention to detail that we have here is what helps fine tune the brain of any businesswoman (or man) and entrepreneur. You have the opportunity to learn in depth business accumen while also getting paid to put your knowledge into practice in a safe space that allows you the opportunity to fine tune your own skills. We have development programs, e-learning, a GREAT L&D department, articles, seminars and mentorship programs that we use in order to help set anyone up for success. This is a very unique industry that has an interesting learning curve, however, there is not a day that goes by that you do not have the tools or mentors needed to succeed. There are no "stupid" questions. There is feedforward, not feedback. There is the safe space to learn and the grace to make mistakes. I do not get the Sunday scaries. I do not feel intimidated when my boss visits me. I do not fear what people think of me when I say "I am not sure what to do here" because I know that there is someone or something out there to help me. Like I said in the very beginning, there are A LOT of pro's for working here, but these are my top 4.
Cons
I honestly think the only "con" I can think of is around the compensation guides, at every level. Although we do have a bonus structure as well as stock options/compensation packages at different levels, this is an extremely lucrative business that continues to flourish. The scope of work at any level is not difficult, however, it is time consuming and often times tedious. If we are looking for people who genuinely live out our company values of Excellence and Innovation, I truly believe that comes at a greater cost that what we offer monetary wise. Now. I choose to stay here because the pro's I listed give me peace and fulfillment which is more than I can say for a LOT of corporate (especially salary) jobs out there. I truly am happy working here, even under stressful or challenging situations. I do also see that there is an area of opportunity that we should be able to remedy through an increased pay range. Money is not everything, but it definitely helps. It's times like these where you have to sit down and really think about what matters most to you. Do you want to work for a company that has a great culture, cares about you, offers work life balance and a peace of mind as well as an opportunity to grow and develop at the cost of getting paid less? Or. Do you want to work at a soul sucking corporate job that you hate because you get paid more, ultimately bumping you into a higher tax bracket and losing a large lump sum of that to taxes annually anyways? I choose option 1, but that is just me.