Caustic and spirit killing environment
Pros
It used to be a place that you worked at because you loved the people you worked with. However, it isn't so much like that anymore. Free snacks (unless that was axed by IB). Benefits are just ok. Pay is average to low. Used to be a good place to get experience for a first job. Because of the salary cap on promotions, they are usually happy to hire within up to a certain level, so they don't have to pay market value.
Cons
The majority of the pros are gone. Most of the really great talent was laid off and/or quit during and after the IB/KKR buyout. They can't decide if they are an agency, a start up or a corporation - so they try to be all three at the same time, and it doesn't work. People were already overworked before buyout/layoffs. Culture is not inclusive. Teams/coworkers are "clicky" (including staff/managers having affairs with each other). Technology is way behind, so you won't learn anything new here or get experience that will help you get a job going forward. They cap salary increases for promotions, so the only way to stay at a market salary is to leave after a couple years. They will hire someone outside of the company at a much higher salary than someone within. They do not do anything to value and keep their current employees and/or invest in good talent. Management has no interest in historical experience. Mid to upper management is mostly a boy's club, and they take care of their own. All that matters is being able to manage up and be a good "talker" to get ahead. Most of the mid and upper management could care less about their employees and really don't care much to even manage across, much less down. Actual hard work and action is not really appreciated. Coworkers can be incredibly gossipy, competitive and back stabbing to get ahead. Sadly, most of the good managers that were supportive of their staff were laid off.
