An absolutely soul-crushing endeavor.
Pros
Break rooms were nice. Employees are generally really good and collegial .
Cons
Nearly everything else. I've never experienced such a culture where executives are favored so disproportionately over employees. The training of new/young executives is subpar at best, however, they do seem to have a level of indoctrination that is admirable. The pressures of the department I was in were insane, making the job extremely undervalued and the pay insufficient. When hired, 40 hours were indicated as the requirement, but the reality was that they wanted you working non-stop, taking work home with you, working on the weekends, and dedicating your life to the company - with no clear-cut goals or benchmarks. The AVP and SVP worked around the clock and anything short of that effort by employees was frowned upon. Entry level supervisors were working 12+ hours, just to keep up. Pay is based on 40 hours, and you often work 60+ just to keep up because they aren't properly staffed. If you fall behind, the wick gets turned up, and leadership increases the pressure. In my case, there were constant sniping comments, pointed and aggressive statements made regarding my age, and increased demands against nebulous goals that all worked together to create a hostile work environment. I left because I was being targeted. My resignation resulted in my AVP contacting friends of mine to inform them what a piece of garbage I was, and going as far as blaming his personal issues on my resignation. The AVP was extremely moody, aggressive, controlling, and un-compassionate. If you like walking on eggshells, then this is a great environment for you. Beyond that, the promises made in my interview(s) about potential career trajectory were way off base. I took a lower position than I should have to get my foot in the door, only to realize what a mistake that was, and that 18-24 months to return to an executive position was more like 6+ years. Attempting to transfer out of my department was also frowned upon, and often met with serious resistance. Thus, stepping out of the company was the path of least resistance versus disappointing the powers that be. The benefits are also mediocre and a bit hazy. Expect to spend over 10% of your income on premiums and out of pocket expenses. Or better yet, just go to another company that values their employees.
