Pros
If you find a manager that cares about you, they'll make sure you have work-life balance Location is great and views from the cafe are unrivaled Lots of personal development classes offered, if that's your thing If you get a good manager, they'll try to protect you from the toxic environment created by political in-fighting and constant attempts at power grabbing. With a good manager, you may also have some opportunities to develop your career, especially at more junior levels. But talking to my peers, good managers seemed pretty rare, especially at more senior levels. Overall, my impression is Gap is a good place to start your career and maybe a good place to get ahead if you're willing to backstab or throw others under the bus to get there.
Cons
Have you ever been yelled at by a person in leadership for asking a question that only they have the information to answer? I now have. Have you ever been told by someone that they don't want to work with you because you didn't ask for their help nicely enough? I now have. Have you ever had your entire roadmap cancelled because of lack of resources? I now have. In my time at Gap, I had my self-confidence shaken in ways I never experienced before in my relatively long career. I had always thought of myself as able to tackle difficult problems despite any type of obstacle (human or technical), but Gap broke me. Its issues ran deep and its employees are collateral damage from every misstep in trying to fix them. I joined Gap aware of its problems, but convinced that I had the ability to help fix them. I left Gap lost and defeated.
