I got lucky - Casework Officer International Rescue Committee Employee Review

It was a meaningful experience. The NYSA projects felt purposeful, and it was rewarding to create materials that supported programs for youth. The team was supportive, and I had opportunities to contribute to real projects. It was a great place to build experience while making a positive impact. My manager made this internship an amazing learning experience. Even though I was just an intern, he gave me regular, honest feedback and treated my development as a priority. He was generous with career advice, always approachable, and willing to help with anything I needed. I grew a lot professionally thanks to his mentorship, and I'd recommend this internship to anyone who wants to learn from great leadership.

The internship was unpaid. While the experience was valuable and meaningful, financial compensation would have made the opportunity much more accessible and sustainable for interns.

You will meet some amazing and passionate people here who are truly there for the mission. Many came to this country as refugees and immigrants themselves and continue to devote their lives to helping others going through similar experiences. If you end up on the right team, it's an extremely rewarding job.

Unfortunately, the HQ upper management makes it a toxic place to work. VPs regularly undercut each other publicly (including at all-team meetings and gossiping negatively with staff), especially when potential job cuts were on the horizon. C-Suite didn't listen to staff concerns about upper management and didn't investigate major departures by dedicated staff who left due to poor management despite their dedication to the mission. Leaders picked favorites, ignoring work performance (excusing mediocre performance in some, having high standards for others), and preferred yes-men over staff who wanted to think more critically about the work. Projects were pushed too quickly, despite concerns that it could be detrimental to clients. Positions given to unqualified internal staff who wouldn't be interviewed for the role as external candidates. Senior leaders (director and above) are more focused on keeping their jobs than the mission and will use lower staff work for their own career growth/safety. DEI didn't seem to apply for senior leader roles, where there was little, if any, diversity.