Equity Residential's cons originate from the top down. The first thing you need to know is this, one group of people matters. No, it's not the residents/paying customers, it's not the employees, it is the shareholders and the shareholders alone. Working for this company was torture because they tell you one thing, then do another. They teach you in their training classes to "do the right thing". What is important to know is they left out the second part of their sentence, which is "do the right thing for the shareholders." Let me elaborate - At EQR, do not expect one team lunch, a birthday cake, or a reward lunch for a job well done for your team. They won't spend the money. You are not worth it. Do not expect a competitive salary. They spend a lot of time researching the least they can possibly pay you within your market. Good luck getting any more than that for any reason. They also fee residents to death any way they possibly can without shame, while at the same time they try to cut back on the amenities they offer the residents. This makes your job there miserable when you want to do the right thing to help residents in any way possible, but they simply won't allow it. Their benefits are also not as good as other companies. Overall, I would steer clear of both working for this company, or living at one of their communities.
