Pros
- The work: Projects are strategic, challenging and interesting. Even at the very early stages in your career, you are given exposure to high level clients and are actually doing the important bits of work on projects. Although some work is from repeat clients, it's often very different in its nature and exposes everyone in the business to a lot of variety. - The culture: Partners and Directors are incredibly open, honest and friendly. To me, this is a huge selling point for Cognosis, and is one which shouldn't be undersold. The company genuinely cares for your wellbeing, and makes working life (mostly!) enjoyable. Alongside this, as a smaller business, you get to know your colleagues very closely, and fortunately everyone at Cognosis is easy to work with and get on with. This is reflected in the fact that, compared to other businesses I've been in, comparatively fewer people seem to leave. - Salary: Competitive against similar sized consultancies, with a really strong bonus scheme that rewards people at every level throughout the business. - Work life balance: As with any consultancy, there are times when project deadlines are tight and you have to work some long hours. However, there are distinct peaks and troughs and, compared to other consultancies, this is certainly a positive aspect of Cognosis. Not only this, but the Leadership Team are very conscious of people working long hours and are proactive in taking steps to avoid/manage it.
Cons
- The old office was a bit cramped and old fashioned, but hopefully moving to a new office post-Covid will resolve this - The pre-Covid view on working from home was slightly restrictive, but again this has changed in the last year (and hope we will continue to live by what we have learnt!)