IMF reviews

Glass ceilings: : graduate education, education pedigree, nationality, gender, and especially age - if you're young and haven't done graduate studies yet, don't stick around. Sink or swim culture - and proud of it. Very traditional/regressive culture: women need to talk passively and persuasively to be heard, young people (anyone under 40 is called young - under 30 you are treated as a child) are expected and are sometimes told to just sit and listen, a substantive amount are homophobic, and how well you speak and persuade often times matters more than your actual ideas - and this hurts you if you are not a native/fluent English speaker and/or do not speak up for yourself confidently. Worst of all - it is the most hierarchical place I've ever seen.

Best career opportunities are for economists while other professionals will encounter fewer opportunities for mobility, growth and promotion. HR rules are very rigid and even stellar performers will hit roadblocks and glass ceilings before getting rewarded (i.e., promotion) for their hard work. Newly hired staff is 3 to 6 years of probation and, at the end, few will be converted to open ended positions. The job security that comes with an open ended position affects people in different ways: some will become too comfortable with the security and lose interest in self development.