Pros
I've been at Protiviti for half a year now, and I can tell you it is a great place to work. I joined as an experienced hire, and it was exactly what I was looking for when made my transition. It has this neat culture and feel where its a large company, with large company resources, yet it has a small company feel. You are very much empowered to find your own way, explore topics that interest you, and constantly be learning. To get the most out of it though, you need to dedicate yourself to two lines of work. Internal work you do for you office to better the company, and Client work.
For Client work you will see a variety of projects, some will be out side the line of service you belong to, this may upset some, but I think its a great opportunity to learn. Managers and Directors with years of experience in the field are available to support you, and will go out of their way to ensure you can do the job. You will have to do an audit at some point, it is the core of the business. Travel amount varies per person and skill set, some are road warriors, some never leave the office, or get a client a block away.
For internal work, you need to do it this is how you can get noticed and get ahead. Step up and spend sometime improving the company or office, and you get to the chance interact with top management. Is there a loose 'old boys' network? Sure, but its open to anyone to join. You just have to earn you way in.
The office environment is great, and there are constant activities to partake in such as sport teams, runs, happy hours, golf outings, social causes, volunteer work, etc. Usually subsidized in part or all by the company.
Work life balance is great, weekends are truly days off.
Cons
Its has matrix structure, so you'll never have a single defined boss. Instead there are influencers who have positions higher than you, that you need to report to or impressed. As well projects goals and deliverables can be vague and it comes down to you to impose structure and figure out how to complete the project and what the end result looks like.
If you are looking some place where you do the same thing every day, or looking for a place that gives a lot of direction or structure, this isn't it. This is place is a learn as you go, figure it out during the project, learn while delivering place. And they back you up with all the resources you need to learn and complete the project. You just have to figure it out and ask for the tools.
