If you have previous experience working in an office... any office environment at all... you should be very wary about applying/accepting a job with TransPerfect.
- The TransPerfect reviews on Glassdoor about work/life balance are completely accurate. You basically get assigned accounts and you're at the mercy of the client/representative who dictates your deadline. There will be multiple nights a week where you're stuck at your desk making sure projects are assigned/claimed to vendors and active in the company's system. How late, you ask? Use your imagination. That 8:00 dinner date or 10:00 movie you had planned, though? Those are in jeopardy if you sign on the dotted line at this company.
- At the same time, I'm a proponent of working late and keeping on top of my work. However, many workplaces will offer you compensation for those extra hours you log to make sure your assignments are completed on time and thoroughly checked to meet each explicit instruction. That train of thought is nonexistent with TransPerfect. They attempt to assuage this by offering quarterly bonuses but believe me, these "gifts" come nowhere close to covering the extra time you've spent on your assigned work.
- The simple solution would be to just take on a workload that you can handle, correct? That great idea is out the window when you're pressured to take on more accounts than you can handle. Even when you're mentally and physically maxed out for your capacity, there is an expectation that you can always take on more.
- You might see where this going by now: High turnover. Yes, when those around you see what a sham this environment is and are fortunate enough to find a better paying job that isn't creating an ulcer in their respective stomachs, those vacant jobs will likely find a way onto your plate. So to sum up thus far, we've covered late hours, unfair compensation, and high volume workloads that upper management doesn't want to hear you complain about. Moving on...
- That vacation you have planned where you'll be out of the office for a few days? It's going to be a wonderful escape EXCEPT for the fact that you're responsible for finding coworkers to cover all your projects while you're away. To your coworkers' credit, many will help you out since they know how difficult this can be. Still, it's not out of the question to be asked to work remotely on your vacation (this happens!) And even if you manage to find coverage for all your projects, you inherit any mistakes, issues, and/or incomplete work upon your return.
- Finally, you're not going to get hardly any time off in terms of holidays. This could also be filed under the work/life balance complaint but in the eyes of upper management, your job is the apparent equivalent of someone who cures cancer or fights crime. The paid holidays are minimal and if you expect to have them off, see the above paragraph about begging your coworkers to cover for you. Oh, and if there is severe weather, you'll be expected to work remotely if you can't make it to the office. No power? No access? That's your problem. I shudder to think what these people made their employees do during a disaster like Hurricane Sandy.
If you've been paying attention, that last sentence contains a word that perfectly describes TransPerfect: A disaster. If you read all of this, please proceed with accepting a job with TransPerfect at your own risk. If you didn't read all of this, you'll find out what you signed up for soon enough.
