Pros
I did gain some valuable experience while working as an Associate at alliantgroup - there was a lot of client interaction, which was something that drew me to the job. The travel was also a pro for me. I went on 4 business trips in 8 months. They were productive and great experience for future jobs. Only con about business trips was how long it would take to get refunded for expenses. I was out of pocket more than $1,000 for more than three weeks one month after I went on two business trips in two weeks. The salary was a positive for me as well. Benefits were good. Free lunches (and dinners during the tax seasons)...but that's really meant to ensure you work more hours. If you're a competitive person, you'll like their competitive workplace. They definitely use competition among staff to encourage people to do the most work (maybe not always the best work), work the most hours, etc. And you will win bonuses for showing them you are dedicated.
Cons
A lot of these reviews point to hours worked as a con at alliantgroup. That wasn't the problem for me. Yes, we were expected to be there from 8:30 to 6:30 AT LEAST (and were encouraged not to leave for lunch). I was okay with those hours as long as there was work to do. But at aliantgroup, I faced pressure to stay EVEN IF I didn't have work to do. Not a busy day? Too bad...hang out until 7 or you'll be judged. That was just one part of the "culture" that alliantgroup was so proud of. The leadership at alliantgroup expect work to be your life, your coworkers to be your best friends. They through several parties a year. I expressed to a coworker that I was going to skip the Halloween party, and she told me that not attending parties would be frowned upon and I might not get promoted if I didn't attend such events (which were just booze-filled parties where too many people drove home after hours of drinking at work). We were also lectured for not staying until 9pm or later during tax season if we saw a coworker that was still there working. The problem I had with that guilt trip was that some people treated all workday like social hour and then had to stay late to do their work. I didn't feel that we should have to stay late - seemed like punishment for getting our work done during the day. I also witnessed incredible sexism, racism, and homophobia in the workplace that was laughed at or ignored (even by the HR department when such behavior was brought to their attention). I know that the company is working to increase the diversity, but that attempt at diversity is undercut when you allow a fraternity house atmosphere to take over a workplace. I was often made uncomfortable by comments I heard. Despite the fact that alliantgroup lists transparency as one of its corporate values, I found the workplace at alliantgroup to be anything BUT transparent. People were fired all the time and just disappeared. There was a lack of communication between Associates and leadership. While at alliantgroup, I was required to attend meetings with the HR department in which HR staff asked me questions about other employees on my team. I felt awkward as it wasn't clear if they were asking these questions to help with promotions or firings. They certainly asked about specific individuals. alliantgroup does have a track for promotion. If you start as an Associate, you should be a Senior Associate within 6 months to a year (if it takes you too much longer than that, they'll see that as you "not buying into" the culture and fire you - direct quote stated to a coworker of mine). And you get a big raise when you get promoted. However, the training program was awful. And, while I felt very supported by my direct supervisor and associates in my training class, it was a stressful, unpleasant experience. Turnover is pretty incredible. You would walk into work and someone you knew would just be gone. Overnight. Like they were never there at all. They did not encourage you to keep in touch with former coworkers. If you become a senior employee, you'll be training a new person every month. Because turnover is crazy and new people start every week. Classes of 20+ new employees in a week were not rare. This is probably part of the culture problem, but most people at alliantgroup were between the ages of 22 and 28. I was close to end of that range and felt old sometimes. Not a mature workplace. Clients occasionally mentioned employees' ages, and we were discouraged from talking about our age or how long we had been with the company. They talk A LOT about bonuses and a "meritocracy" where your ambition in your only limit. But, without going into detail, bonuses aren't based on quality of work (for the most part, there are some bonuses based on client satisfaction), they're based on hours worked. And not all hours count. So if you're working on a particular client's file, your hours might not count and you won't be getting a bonus. So, not all hard work is rewarded.