Pros
The one thing I’ll give this company credit for is the training. It’s rigorous, intense, and sets a high bar. After going through it, any job elsewhere will feel like a cakewalk. While the workload can definitely be seen as a negative, the experience pushes you to develop a strong work ethic that can serve you well in future roles.
Cons
Where do I begin? 1. The business model is broken. From day one, you’re taught to gather information from candidates about their interview processes, not to help them, but to poach their potential managers as clients. Any trust you build with those candidates goes straight out the window. I once heard someone say, word for word, “We just know a better candidate, it’s not that evil.” But in a job market as volatile as this, where people spend months searching for the right opportunity, pulling roles out from under them felt absolutely vile. We were also encouraged to lie. The directive was always to get as much information as possible, regardless of how you got it, just for a slim chance at a new client. The odds of success were low, but the moral cost was high. Internally, the culture was just as toxic. We were constantly pushed to compete with each other in the most demeaning ways. Leadership would say things like, “Are you mad that Suzy did a deal and you didn’t?” That kind of manipulation wears on you. 2. Management is immature and damaging. Most managers, especially in the Chicago office, are in their late twenties or early thirties. Maybe they mean well, but they have no clue how to actually lead. My own manager was a micromanager, a manipulator, and a gaslighter. There was no such thing as work-life balance. Work was his entire identity, and if it wasn’t yours too, then you were on thin ice. What’s worse is how the company handles serious allegations. While I won’t speak too much on the details because I wasn’t directly involved, my former manager was accused of serious misconduct, and the company did nothing. It’s shameful to work for a company that doesn’t support women and protects abusers. That silence said everything. Since leaving, the writing has only become clearer. The company was acquired by Kelly Services, and most of the senior executive team has already jumped ship. It’s no surprise. When a business is built on shaky ethics and fear-based leadership, it eventually starts to crumble. Watching it all unfold from the outside has only confirmed that walking away was the right decision. Looking back, the experience left me disillusioned and burned out. What should have been an opportunity for professional growth became a clear example of what to avoid in a workplace. The lack of integrity, the toxic competition, and the failure of leadership to support their people showed me this wasn’t just a bad fit. It was a harmful environment. I’m thankful to be out, and I hope others trust their instincts and leave before they get pulled in any further.
