Pros
I was so frustrated with all the bad reviews that I felt the need to respond to their points. Here is my review of Volant, which gives my take on all of the issues people have been posting. Point: Turnover is high and the firm is failing. Response: For the first 7 or so years turnover was virtually non-existent. As the company got larger (as with all larger companies) there was more turnover. Almost all strong employees (dev, trader, quant, or network) who did decide to leave went to good firms (SIG, Citadel, etc.) or left the industry - this says a lot about the experience you get at Volant. Yes, we had a bad year in 2019 (like every other market maker) and unfortunately had to lay off some employees (some deserved it and some did not, but the cuts were necessary), but the Firm appears to be doing well in 2020 and people are staying. Point: Brian (CEO) failed. Response: Sure, he could have done a better job (all CEOs can do better), and he's the first to admit his shortcomings, but many of you failed too. This is a flat organization (in my opinion a bit too flat) that empowers individuals. Why didn't you come up with new strategies or systems, or do better analysis in 2018 to prepare for 2019? It seems to me that you expected to get paid a lot of money, not work very hard, and not add value. From personal experience, I suggest you really think about whether you could have worked harder or done better at Volant. Once you consider these questions they will help you with future jobs. Point: No support, guidance, or formal training. Response: Volant is small and as a result we no longer have scheduled training for every new employee. So, if you are the type of person that likes easy work and wants to be spoon fed, I'll tell you straight up, don't work here. If you like to be challenged, you know how to work hard, you like to come up with your own ideas and implement them (as opposed to having every task fed to you), and you know how to seek out answers (everyone will take time to explain things to you if you ask), this is the place for you and the opportunities people received after Volant prove the best firms value what you learned here. Point: There are communication gaps. Response: Can communication and planning be better on a larger scale, yes. But, you should take some responsibility. Brian is 100% open with people who ask him questions (too open if you ask me) so you should have (or anyone still working here should) asked your manager if you were unsure what was going on or asked Brian. Also, try working at a big company - no chance you know everything that is going on, including how they are doing on a quarterly basis or what every group is working on. Point: Management is terrible, they make dumb decisions. Response: This really doesn't make sense to me. The main money generator is the market making business. The focus has always been market making. What specifically did you want management to do differently and why didn't you bring up these issues when you were here? Not one review gives reasonable feedback or suggestions for change - they just badmouth management. Market volatility died in 2019 - no market makers made money - everyone had layoffs. Did you want Brian to play god and create market volatility? Point: There is no HR Department and the CEO does what he wants. Response: We did have an HR department, but with the current size we do not. At a firm Volant's size, of course the CEO will have a say in hiring and everyone's compensation. Perhaps a committee of some sort would be beneficial, but I know that if you prove your worth you will get paid when the firm does well. Point: I liked a lot of the people I worked with. Response: OK, then stop trying to hurt the company that we still work at. If you were a team player or friend you'd move on and stop spamming Glassdoor with review after review. Those who are left would appreciate it. Point: Volant takes advantage of immigrants. Response: Again, not true. Employees on visas have historically been some of the best paid at Volant. Also, the Firm goes out of it's way spending tons of money to assist their visa process. You do a good job, you get paid. If you don't, you don't. It's simple.
Cons
See above response for pros and cons.