Protiviti reviews

Managers are genuinely interested in the advancement of their personnel. Protiviti gives plenty of opportunities to better yourself, including certifications and attending conferences.

Choosing to work at Protiviti was probably the worst decision I've ever made. I think it has more to do with my complete disinterest in auditing but I don't think Protiviti handles things the correct way either. First, they really lie to you during the interview process. You CANNOT choose how often and where you travel. You CANNOT choose your projects/clients based on your interests. You CANNOT even choose what solution you are grouped into. I selected Protiviti over advisory groups at the Big 4 because I thought, being a smaller company, they would be more sensitive to their employees wants/needs. They also seemed somewhat cooler, more creative and definitely more "consulting" focused. On my first day of work I learned, because of my accounting background, I was automatically placed (they did not ask me at all) in the internal audit group. I knew people with engineering and computer science degrees being placed in IT Audit. Why would you waste such talent and potential by throwing someone into an audit group when they literally know nothing about audit at all? It's actually quite insulting. They have people who can code and build software and instead they're ticking and tying out work papers and checking employee access for clients. By the way- most of their projects are audit based- not consulting. Don't be fooled. I understand as a company, it's first come first serve and they need to add staff where most needed. In fact, this is how it works for projects too. You live in NJ? Well we need someone for an LI project and you're available- spend 4 hours a day commuting or live in a hotel for 4 months. That's how Protiviti approaches staffing. Literally no consideration of geographical preferences, family obligations, work life balance. In my almost 1.5 years spent working there, I had a grand total of about 4 weeks working in NYC. Be prepared to get very cozy with NJ Transit, LI Expressway, the Whitestone Bridge and the Metro North. Get used to spending 2+ hours commuting every day. Once you're placed into a group, you are completely stuck there unless by some miracle, a a senior manager+ intervenes on your behalf or you leave the firm. You are pigeonholed from day one. I was very lucky (kidding) to have a SOX client first, so guess who all my subsequent clients were? I couldn't even get on a straight internal audit project let alone do some real consulting, I was bounced around from SOX engagement to SOX engagement. I felt like my brain was literally atrophying from the lack of thought provoking or creative work. You don't even get to work on a variety of clients. Once a client likes you, you're stuck on that project every year. My 2nd year at Protiviti was looking identical to my first. How is that good for employees to do the same thing every day, every year. I wasn't learning or feeling productive or fulfilled. It was just awful. I attempted to find interesting clients/projects/teams/groups to work with. I emailed MDs in other solutions asking for work, talked to my seniors, managers, senior managers, advisors, etc about switching groups. What I found out is that nobody really cares. No one cares about you being interested in your work, being happy at your job, having a decent commute, etc. All Protiviti cares about is their clients. I think that is the biggest mistake they can make, although they certainly aren't the only company doing it. I think it's telling that all the managers who interviewed me, had quit in the short time I worked at Protiviti. Every single consultant I started with resented Protiviti after a few months and fantasized about the day they left. I didn't know anyone who actually liked working there. People got anxiety from the place. People are sad to be working there. People quit left and right. What a terribly unproductive environment. To add salt to the wound, when I started looking for a new job, not one person knew what Protiviti was when they looked at my resume. If you want to work in audit for the rest of your life, working at Protiviti is fine. If you don't, do yourself a favor and at least work at the Big 4 to get a recognizable and impressive name on your resume.