- Open office for me (an introvert with attention and concentration issues) the distractions can be overwhelming
- Although there are perks of free coffee, kegs, monthly parties, these all come with the caveat, not good, always tapped, only happen if your leaders plan/coordinate one, respectively.
- Those hard-working, smart, kind people I mentioned as a Pro? Yeah, they don't work here anymore because of some of the reasons I've listed below. This job can ruin you and your spirit really easily.
DISCLAIMER: I worked the past 3 odd years in the Merchandising department. My experience has been both the best and worst years of my life and therefore this review is biased and my experience is not indicative of everyone's. Take this with a grain of salt. Very few people leave a company/write a review because they're happy.
- The job I applied for, the job I interviewed for, the job I was hired for, and the job I ended up doing were completely different positions. The job I did has also changed drastically every 6ish months. This isn't necessarily a problem, change is a constant theme her, however when your job responsibilities are changed without warning or you find out during a performance check in, it becomes a problem. Also, when your job is changed to something you have been vocal about and not being what your strengths or desires are in (analytics to project management), it can also be an issue for employee satisfaction and retention.
- In my 3 years, I've had 5 managers (which is actually significantly lower than some of my peers), but a constant shift in management can cause issues with performance and promotions. For promotions especially as they're not all about skill, but how much your manager can advocate for you as you're ranked against all your peers during the promotion cycle. If your manager can't advocate for you, you can't get promoted.
- Transparency is not there. Like I mentioned above, my job has changed without my notice. Upper management make decisions and don't share them with the people who are affected by it. I found out my title and role were being changed after other people in my department found out (these people were not in my role/title). There's also this air of suspicion whenever changes happen as only some people are told and not others (has happened with 2 department wide merges so far) or not using the correct mode of communication to provide information. One/one meetings with teams instead of a department wide meeting. Email with unclear guidance instead of formal/personal emails. Off handed comments at the end of a meeting. You get the picture.
- Compensation will always be an issue at this company, I know my department is under market value, and I've heard friends in other departments complain the same. Don't listen to the hype and BS about compensation, they say stock incentives, bonuses, and other perks plus base compensation make us above market value, but from experience, it still does not add up. Also, the base is too low, and if you made the mistake of not negotiating for a higher base, all your raises and promotion salary increases will be based on that.
- The turnover is also mind boggling. I went from the most junior person to one of the most senior in 9 months. The job is demanding, you're constantly micromanaged and not given time to work independently, and quite frankly, not worth the stress.
- The management doesn't manage, and the leadership doesn't lead. All my managers and supervisors have micromanaged my work and gave me very little accountability or independence to work. This trait is hired for and trained into the younger managers.
- Once I realized this job was not for me, I attempted to transfer internally but kept getting blocked "not the right fit" after being told my skills align perfectly with the position I was going for. Also, if you go between departments you will lose at least one level as the competencies don't align across the company, I'm sure they're supposed to, but aren't in reality.
