Pros
- Opportunities to work with many interesting clients to resolve some of the biggest reputational issues / crises. - Very bright colleagues whom you can learn from.
Cons
- Abysmal remuneration even though the firm commands premium fees from its clients. You can expect yearly increments to be less than the inflation rate. Less than 1% increase per year is not uncommon among my colleagues. - No work-life balance. You are expected to always be present and online even when you are on holiday. But the worst part is a cruel lack of appreciation and empathy from directors and partners towards more junior staff. Erratic working hours could partly be due to the nature of this industry, but this does not in any way excuse the management's cavalier attitude towards the junior's contributions. - Culture of perception and ingratiation which gives rise to a lot of politics and gossip. Directors and partners frequently take credit for team work, and people who shout the loudest are given more recognition even though their work is most often subpar. - Hubris and self-importance is rampant among directors and partners, especially if they are British expats living in developing parts of the world. Casual racism is the norm in this arrogant, white-dominant fraternity they call a firm. - Good leaders within the firms are in short supply. While directors and partners can manage projects, most of them do not understand what true leadership entails. HR and the mentor-mentee system are a joke. There is no such thing as direct and honest feedback from the management to employees. Most likely, directors and partners will criticize you behind your backs when they are out drinking with each other. Nobody really cares about your personal or professional development. - No respect for clients and sometimes, shockingly little integrity in the work delivered. I have heard partners resorting to name-calling clients multiple times right after client calls or meetings. The firm's SOP at director and partner level is: over-promise, under-deliver and then try to bluff your way through the results.
