Pros
As with any company, experiences vary from dept to dept. GAI is no exception. That being said, there are some definite Pros and Cons to GAI. Overall, I think the Cons outweigh the Pros, as you'll see further on.... Here's what I found in the "Pro" category: 1) PTO - GAI provides a generous amount of PTO (starting with upward of 24 days per year for entry level folks). I never had an issue getting PTO approved by managers, and in the rare case of people being overworked, managers were open-minded and took action to ensure people we taking time off to recharge, and addressed workflow issues so everyone could focus on family and home time. 2) Early Career Networking - several departments (EX: Claims Training, Underwriter Training, HR) have taken initiative to develop early-career groups that will allow you to network and really learn the company. As an UW, I met people from Corporate Claims, HR, Accounting, Finance, and got to form friendships with other Business Unit members. Given that GAI is very siloed (each BU is like its own tiny company), this was a huge benefit for learning from other groups, developing processes, and gaining friends from many corners of the company. If you're early in your career DO NOT MAKE THE MISTAKE OF STICKING ONLY TO YOUR work group/BU. Get out and meet people in other areas of the organization. It will benefit you, and you will be able to help others! 3) Work/Life Balance - if you're just looking for a "job" vs. a "career" GAI isn't a bad option. With the exceptions of what my friends in claims, some accounting departments, and other UW departments (not mine) have told me, you have good work/life boundaries. If you're just looking to trade time for money, its a good fit. If you're ambitious and want to move your career fast, you better position yourself to be "the golden boy/girl" or find a great manager close to retirement who supports you and is looking for a successor.
Cons
1) Career Ceiling - GAI is a large company. With a large company tends to come... yes, lots of politics. You can put in tons of work, you can help improve work processes and solve departmental issues, you can develop lots of relationships, you can be an excellent worker, but if you are not one of the few favorites, exceptional at politics, and good at self-promotion, you will get to plug away and make the Lindner family good money (while you get paltry 3% raises in a good year, and a promotion every 3-4 years). My advice: get your start here, become a star-performer aligned with a boss who needs a successor, or, quickly find a smaller company that needs A Players, and go make your name where your strengths are genuinely needed and you can help grow their business (and you reap major rewards for your growth contributions). 2) Compensation and Promotions Are Moving Target - GAI has some very slick detail on their "Career Paths" with impressive clarity on how you are supposed to move up the chain. Unfortunately, many times, your manager will play the "engage but evade" game - promise you the world during the interview, tell you that you can talk about promotion and hitting your next salary target in a year or so, and then put you off on it every time you have a bi-monthly Check-In. GAI used to have a ranking system with quantitative and qualitative feedback based on your performance, which both manager and direct report received, but they've since done away with that for a very vague system that involves no documentation given to the direct report - the manager keeps it all. Seems intentional to avoid any promises or employee leverage, doesn't it? So, if you want a promotion or salary bump, and your manager promises you "a plan" without specifics (which is amazing if they do), GET IT IN WRITING. Otherwise, "if it ain't writ, don't count on it" rule applies. 3) Business Etiquette (Your Parents Should Have Taught You This?) - This last con is a big one, bigger than the previous two Cons... GAI, despite their DEI and rare Business Etiquette courses, is essentially a "good ol' boys club" (and trust me, there are plenty of women who are part of it, too) where you'll find yourself overhearing plenty of bizarre comments like "It's African American heritage month, why can't I celebrate my Confederate Heritage?"; or referring to minorities moving into your neighborhood as "The John Browns" (overheard this one, too). Finally, there was a case of one officer-level staff member outing another... to junior-level employees! First-off, who cares about someone's orientation?! Secondly, why is that anyone's business at work?? It is particularly disheartening and frustrating when these comments and behaviors are coming from people who are officer level (all of these came from manager level up). In fairness to GAI, these issues aren't present in all work groups, but it's the standard of behavior set by officers that is concerning... Your underlings are watching, listening, and if you don't show that this kind of behavior and talk is intolerable, the racist jerks will come out of the woodwork. Bottom line: we're here to get work done, not nose about in other people's business, personal lives, talk politics, or hear your racist views, etc. Let's focus on the work and be decent humans.