There have been many layoffs over the past 4 years. I would not recommend anyone to apply there right now because of job insecurity.
The salaries are abysmal. I started at 35K and was expected to move to the Boston area which is one of the most expensive cities in the country. Management is very awkward talking about salaries and I only know one or two people who were ever able to successfully negotiate their salary. EF plays by it's own rules in a lot of ways, and discouraging salary negotiation is one of them.
The work/life balance is extremely poor. I have no idea how parents manage to work here. It was built with the 20-something in mind who wants to have a beer after work with their co-workers and network.
In order to get promoted, you have to do a lot of unpaid labor in the area you want to grow in. Your career trajectory 100% depends on your manager's competency. I had a few fantastic managers over the years that mentored me and went out of their way to help me get ahead in my career. I also most recently had a toxic, unqualified manager that actively opposed me taking on any growth opportunities and was ultimately the reason I left.
In terms of career growth, it's very difficult to break into management. It's a bottleneck company where most people leave after 2 years. They emphasize the "spiral staircase" as opposed to the "corporate ladder". This is meant to encourage employees to keep an open mind about their next step, but it also takes the agency away from the employee in determining their own career path. This results in a lot of lateral moves and sometimes pushing employees into roles they weren't interested in but benefit the company. Also, it's worth mentioning that a lot of people work here believing that can transfer abroad, but it's incredibly rare to do that with EF as your visa sponsor.
EF is very behind the times in terms of DEIB, which seems ironic since they are a company founded on cultural exchange. A common theme I experienced working here is that management will "encourage open conversation" about DEIB topics, but when it comes down to it, they would prefer not to dig too deeply into structural imbalances that exist.
Alcohol is rampant and excessive. There is a bar on the first floor of the office and a "beer cart" that frequently makes its way through the open office around 4pm. Holiday parties, conferences, etc. always center alcohol.
The company is not evolving at the rate it needs to be successful. They have a return to office policy that is unnecessary and unpopular. The technology is barely functional on a day-to-day basis. There isn't an overarching business strategy to grow the company. They rely on an outdates method of calling the same leads over and over again until they close a sale.
