Pros
-The mission of the bank is very attractive if you want to help the region. -Visa sponsor to work in USA. -You are payed on time. -The amenities in the building are being renovated -New colleagues are great! (if they are too great will leave soon for a better opportunity) -2 days of payed leave each month. (This is a CONS for consultants as they need to use this days if they get sick instead of using them as vacations) -Gender neutral parental leave (be aware that staff positions have longer parental leave than consultants) -Staff positions have health insurance with Cigna (which covers medical, dental, vision, preventive care, and prescription drugs)
Cons
General: -High bureaucracy and hierarchical environment -A lot of people have been working there for long time (15 to 20 years), some of them keeping old/obsolete practices and antagonizing the efforts for innovation. -Toxic environment in a lot of areas, colleagues complaining about mental health. Non-healthy competitiveness. -Some colleagues have only worked for the Bank in their lifetime and have not made any efforts to keep learning and are just waiting to get their juicy retirement package. -"Work assignments" are being used to also move employees to areas where they do not have experience due to political issues/ convenience. For Consultants: -Maximum of 3 years in consultant positions (you can't have another contract in your lifetime as consultant) -There are consultants that have responsibilities from a staff level position, yet paid as consultants. -No career opportunities, you will need to apply to staff position as someone external, unless you are well connected (favoritism or nationality preference) -When moving to USA, they don't help you with housing. You only get your tickets and a lump sum for reallocation if your contract is more than 17 months. -No budget / access to learning and development courses. You will only have access to generic seminars (to basic for someone who has experience) -Consultants make the "hard work" and often do not receive credit. -Contract includes $250 allowance to pay your medical insurance, but usually you will need to pay extra as it is expensive in the USA. -Remote consultants that work for Washington offices get paid according to their country (location). -Consultants are treated as contractors of vendors, they come and go all the time. -I would not recommend taking a consultant position if you have family with kids, the benefits are not enough. For Staff: -Mobility and growth is hard, you can spend 10+ years in the same position, only getting more workload. -"Machismo" is still embedded in the culture, promoting more men than women. -You can get "work assignments" doing more work and getting payed the same (for years)