Is William Blair a good company to work for?

William Blair has an overall rating of 4.3 out of 5, based on over 547 reviews left anonymously by employees. This rating has been stable over the past 12 months. 83% of employees would recommend working at William Blair to a friend and 68% have a positive outlook for the business. The best reviews about William Blair have been left by employees working as Equity Research Associate , Analyst and Investment Banking Analyst .

Does William Blair pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, William Blair employees rate their compensation and benefits as 4.2 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at William Blair. This rating has been stable over the past 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at William Blair?

83% of William Blair employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated William Blair 3.5 out of 5 for work life balance, 4.4 for culture and values and 4.2 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at William Blair?

Investment Banking Analyst (63) , Analyst (50) , Associate (22) , Equity Research Associate (20) , Administrative Assistant (10) , Intern (10) , Investment Banking Summer Analyst (10) , Investment Banking Associate (9) , PWM Intern (7) , Private Wealth Management (7) , Private Wealth Management Intern (7) , Vice President (6) , Client Relationship Associate (5) , Summer Analyst (5) , Executive Assistant (4)

What are the pros of working at William Blair according to real employee reviews?

"Great culture and active in community" ((in 107 reviews)); "Great people to work with" ((in 62 reviews)); "Great Benefits and 401k are very competitive." ((in 25 reviews)); "Top of the street pay and good people to work with" ((in 24 reviews)); "work life balance is good" ((in 17 reviews))

What are the cons of working at William Blair according to real employee reviews?

"Long hours and constantly busy" ((in 27 reviews)); "Management is 2 faced." ((in 11 reviews)); "Very long hours (as is typical for the industry)" ((in 6 reviews)); "Lack of diversity" ((in 5 reviews)); "hence less opportunity for upward mobility." ((in 5 reviews))

What are employees saying about William Blair layoffs in 2026?

Explore Glassdoor’s employee reviews to understand what current and former employees are saying about William Blair layoffs and their outlook for job security at William Blair in 2026.

What are the top reviewed William Blair locations?

Chicago , New York , San Francisco , Charlotte , Boston , Richton Park , Hanford , Beverly Hills , Erie , Baltimore , Atlanta , Chicago Heights

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William Blair

William Blair reviews

4.3

83% would recommend to a friend

(445 total reviews)

Brent Gledhill

92% approve of CEO

68% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

4.4

Culture & values

4.2

Compensation and benefits

4.2

Career opportunities

4.1

Senior management

4.0

Diversity & inclusion

3.5

Work/Life balance

William Blair has an employee rating of 4.3 out of 5 stars, based on 445 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an excellent working experience there. The William Blair employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Financial Services industry (3.6 stars).

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Reviews by job title

445 reviews

4.0

Nov 17, 2015

Research analyst

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

great environment, Better work life balance than other larger companies, great benefits,

Cons

long hours, IT needs to be upgraded, promotions are tough

2.0

Jul 24, 2015

Analyst

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Good reputation (although limited to middle market as not many people outside of middle market know name), has seen significant deal flow more recently given middle market M&A volume and market pay

Cons

Not the most sophisticated personnel, as expected since most guys at Blair go because they did not get an offer or last at a BB, arguably work more hours (sell-side M&A is very process-oriented in nature and most hours spent updating CRM, addressing and placing labels on hard copy CIMs to send to 300+ buyers), work is very administrative and not much technical skillset required and subsequently developed. Also, the smartest people don't necessarily do well at Blair, those are the ones that tend to leave for better things. You do well if you're a good fit, regardless of competence. They pride themselves on people staying for a long time, many analyst take associate promote and stay for years - I would argue it's because they have no other options.

3.0

Jul 5, 2015

Grey

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Benefits are relatively affordable and robust Brand name respect and solid client base going back generations Good charitable opportunities and emphasis on military personnel

Cons

Poor firm communication HR doesn't seem to do anything Extremely political Embarrassing treatment of support groups

Viewing 52 - 54 of 445 Reviews

Jobs at William Blair

Hospitality Specialist

Senior DevOps Engineer