Pros
- High level of control over your hours and scheduling; great for people who want a later start in the day or to leave at an earlier time than a standard shift based role. - Access to industry-leading online training and surprisingly clear paths for moving up if you want to grow in the tax field. - Impactful work, you can really make a difference in your clients lives or at least year - Very autonomous. You can take breaks when clients aren’t around, eat at your desk, and you aren't forced to socialize or do work meetings if you prefer to stick to yourself - An honest open-door policy. It’s easy to reach out to managers or colleagues across the district without a bunch of red tape. - There are some very experienced 20+ year people in the tax field working here with a strong client base to learn from. You can learn from some of the best how to do taxes and handle complex situations. - A wide range of backgrounds and abilities are represented here. It’s a female-dominated environment that prioritizes no-nonsense work over fitting a specific corporate mold.
Cons
- Pay vs. Revenue Disparity: Both Client Service Professionals (very underpaid) and Tax Preparers are underpaid relative to the high volume of revenue they generate for the office. - Intense, Short Term Work: Tax season is a sprint of just over three months. H&R Block offices have a hard start and end date. To make any meaningful income, you effectively have to commit to 40+ hours a week during this window. - Inconsistent Staffing Quality: Because the work is seasonal, many people are in "transitional phases." You’ll work with some who do the bare minimum or struggle with the work and reliability, which can leave a small core of people picking up the slack. - Politics & Favoritism: Stuff going on with the upper level management trickles down, making you feel like you have little control over your own metrics or daily operations. - Seasonal disorganization and staff errors frequently result in messy situations and frustrated clients that you are expected to clean up. - Scheduling Boundary Issues: Upper management has a history of adjusting schedules without consent or exceeding the hours employees originally agreed to work.