Pluspunten
The only good things about this job are meeting great people and living in Austin. My co-workers are now very good friends and Austin can be a fun city for some people.
Minpunten
Let me start off by saying— if you have any other available job offers, please consider all of them before settling for this job. HR will say that we are all disgruntled employees, but truthfully we’re just looking out for you. I’m here to share the things I wish I knew so you can make an informed decision. The way GLG markets this job is nothing like the actual day to day. As a recent grad from a top tier university, I was told this job was going to be somewhat like consulting; they said we’d be thought partners doing “research” on a variety of topics. This could not be farther from the truth. As a Junior Associate all you do is headhunting. ALL DAY you will be on LinkedIn searching for top level executives to MAYBE do a 30-60 minute phone consultation on the subject matter of the project you receive. Then after 6 months of that, you do monotonous, bare bones project management that barely scrapes the surface of any topic they say you could be learning about. You are a middle man setting up calls between the experts you recruit and our clients. Diversity is lacking there and they aren’t going out of their way to make you stay. The company seems to “bait and switch” to get you in the door but once you’re here, you’re on your own. Any issues you have will be met with hollow sympathies and a “well if you look at so and so, they are doing just fine!” and they’ll send you on your way. If you’re from an area that is pretty diverse, Austin may be a bit difficult to navigate. Metrics are the be-all and end-all at this job. Period. Higher ups will say “we try to look at an employee holistically to determine their progress” but many feel that this is false. As soon as you start to underperform, you’re in trouble. You truly feel as though you’re just a number at this company. Career progression- This is just a stop; you should not be here for more than 2 years. If you do take a job here and you actually make it to the 6 month mark, start looking for new opportunities. Work life balance- Next to the monotony of the job, this is what people complain about the most. You will work from 8:30am-6:30pm AND you have to be responsive far later than that into the night! If you like to have a life outside of work, do not work here; they make it seem normal to work every living hour of the day. People are even working through lunch- laptops are wide open as they sadly bite into their avocado toast. Managers/ Higher ups- Your experience here is heavily determined by the type of manger you have. As for upper management, I often question what their purpose is. What do they do all day? They don’t really understand our day to day tasks and only ask you about your experience just to say they’ve asked, not because they care. In the end, if you are not hard pressed for cash to start paying off your student loans or feed your family, I would advise you to stay put and wait for the next relevant opportunity to come by. Life is too short to be stuck in a dead end job-- be somewhere that makes you happy to wake up and gives you purpose.