MUST READ for candidates who care for their mental health and plan to join Everest IT
Pros
Fast track adoption of new technologies, opportunity to be part of a major technology refresh, great opportunity to live the life of a top-5 consulting firm with the security of a full-time job (if you are lucky to be hired from a non-NJ location)
Cons
Taco Bell discontinued 7-Layer Burrito from its menu in 2020 and after a hiatus of 2 years it has reappeared in a completely new avatar at Everest. Don’t go looking for it in the café, look at the organizational structure of Everest IT and connect with anyone who has been there for over two years. When the whole IT industry is attempting to go flatter, the IT leadership has made it their mission to counter it by creating more layers. Every reorg will push you deeper. The CIOs believe that more Directors, AVPs and VPs are needed to create a layer of interpreters between them and the worker bees, never mind the cost burden for Everest. The most important qualification to be hired for these positions is your past association with the CIOs. You do not know them personally, no problem. Find someone outside Everest IT who can introduce you to them and your probability rises exponentially. If a business leader recommends you to the CIOs, your hiring is almost guaranteed, never mind how well you qualify for the position. And money is not going to come in the way of hiring you in such situations – name your price. After all these CIOs also came to these positions based on their past associations with leaders and they do not tire talking about those connections. Did you say internal candidates are the first ones to be considered for new positions? That may be the norm in companies where IT leaders value the knowledge and the capabilities of their team. You will be disappointed if you expect to see that at Everest under the current IT leadership. Expect to receive a lot of negative feedback in the garb of coaching. Expect to be challenged by your CIOs in the presence of Business or vendors if you dare to be truthful and stay with facts that counter their narrative or promises. Very soon you will realize that the only way to survive these rough waters is to dive deep, become invisible, and take deep breaths when you get the urge to speak against the official narrative. If you are identified as someone who can’t be neutered, your favorability vanishes and you can count on getting one layer deeper. For your entertainment in these tough times, Everest offers a very flourishing grapevine and if you are lucky, you could win bets with colleagues on the next big reorg or a new senior hire or another major exit. You will be amazed at how a gathering of over 200 colleagues in an IT townhall for over 90 minutes can act so mesmerized by the content presented that they have little to no questions – not in the townhall, not after. A pop quiz after an hour of the townhall will leave you struggling for what you retained from the 90-minute ordeal. It is more like a presidential rally where on cue you are supposed to applaud, show specific emotions, cheer and then go about your job. If you are a non-referral hire, leave your dignity and self-respect outside the door. You did not know how much tolerance you had for putting up with humiliation, being ignored, being summarily dismissed, and things decided for you. Any new initiative of value, substance and visibility will only be routed to those managers who are good at saying yes to CIOs and treat every breath of air emanating from their mouths as gospel truth and royal command. So over time, you will settle into doing lesser for a good pay and wait it out. You may be reminded of Eagle’s Hotel California – “You can check-out any time you like but you can never leave!" Once you have checked in and stayed a bit, too late my friend. Run while your soul is still in your control. Well, if you are really missing the 7-Layer Burrito, look no further, you have come to the right place.
