Pros
If you happen upon a good manager, it can be a normal place to work. But it's a mixed bag, and you never know who you're going to get or how you'll be passed around on projects.
Cons
ICF puts profits over people, every time. Prepare for a hostile work environment, including harassment, and nothing done about it, in the name of profits. Budget overages, project delays, and negative client feedback are all blamed on lower level employees, who cannot combat the blame because it’s coming from the managers and people in power. Managers are not invested in their employees. I worked there for almost 3 years… my manager thought I was a new hire, and when I corrected her, she berated me for being combative and defensive. Managers and clients have commented on appearances (your hair is too short for a woman, those earrings are too big, etc) but keep their own cameras off. My manger would often take off for hours at a time (sometimes 7 hours), then contact me and other colleagues later at night or early in the morning to fit her schedule. She would not be available during regular business hours when needed and would only allow contact via email, which made her virtually unreachable. Specifically, many managers (not all, but many) will sow discord amongst their underlings to incite competition, which they think leads to faster product development and reduced cost. Expect to be gas-lighted, and accosted with negative criticism with no specifics on ways to improve, as opposed to constructive feedback that gives you room to grow. If you ask for specific examples on improvement and work performance, managers will respond that you are unable to take criticism and use that as an excuse not to promote you or give you a fair market raise. Be prepared to be asked to do tasks beyond your skill level or job description, just so the company can save a few bucks and keep project bids low. You are expected to adhere to budgetary and hourly restrictions, without ever being told specifically what they are. Managers lack in communication, and will only communicate with you once you are severely over-budget, even though it is their responsibility to track and convey budget and hours. Be prepared to input PTO hours if you have no billable work. Managers will ignore your attempts at contacting them to remedy this problem, yet will be upset if you bill to their projects. They will not provide enough work for a full-time employee, and then blame the employee for it. This company is over hiring, and mass layoffs will likely follow soon.
