Smithsonian Student Travel - Decent FIrst Job, Inadequate Management & Talent Retention
Pros
If you are right out of college and lack overall professional experience EF can be a good place to start your career. They have thorough entry level sales training which provides a good basis and understanding for a career in sales. If you find you like sales and have excelled, then move on and respectfully take your skills elsewhere.
Cons
-Pay is insubstantial to say the very least. -They portray an unrealistic work environment. They will tell you it's fun, young, and exciting. It is young, however it is neither fun or exciting. On a social level it is like being back in High School where everyone knows your business and there is more participation in back stabbing in order to get a leg up, rather than working for it. Also, it's not exciting because you are expected to call through your pipeline like a machine and this becomes brainless very fast. -Management focuses more on numbers than an individuals overall development. With proper development numbers will follow organically while maintaing a successful and happy work force. -Middle Management is sub-par mainly due to the fact that they lack overall experience and ability to assist in professional development. -Some Senior Level Managment is underqualified and unprofessional. Senior Management does not value their employees. Some of these individuals openly express their feelings of regret for hiring current employees. Additionally, they talk down in a demeaning manner to new and tenured employees creating an unstable and unhealthy work environment. At an organizational level, there are many instances where entry level employees to high-ups partake in innapropriate conversations with regards to co-workers and other varying subjects. This may be in part to having a bar located on the first floor of the building. I guess some people shouldn't consume alcohol if they can't act in an appropriate manner. -Very Political. For the most part, promotion from within is based on who management likes on a personal level and is not based on abilities, growth potential, level of intelligence, and overall tenure and contributions at an organizational level.