Pros
I've been with the firm long enough to understand how things actually work internally, but not so long that I'm insulated from the realities of working elsewhere. I've waited to post a review until I felt like I could lay out both the positives and negatives of working here, because both exist. No review is going to be comprehensive, but overall the biggest positives of ABC are: 1. We do genuinely meaningful work in health care and higher education, and the vast majority of employees/leaders are truly bought in to the mission. There's a real sense of purpose among the groups I've been exposed to (which is a lot of them across both businesses and multiple locations), and not the kind of manufactured kool-aid drinking you might see behind a new widget for a banking company. People come (and stay) at ABC because they believe the firm's work has a real and lasting impact on people's lives. And it does. 2. Generally speaking, the people are incredible. Even negative reviews seem to agree, and while there are young managers in some places, the firm invests heavily in providing growth opportunities and the training to level up in your career. Everyone's mileage will vary, but I've had the best managers of my career at ABC and have been given more autonomy to be creative (while getting my job done) here than anywhere else I've worked. 3. The culture is authentic. The firm's proud of it and isn't shy about selling it, but the community- and wellness-focused culture is real and goes deep. Employees really do volunteer during the work day. People do, in general, have flexibility in their work schedule to balance it with the demands of personal life. We get an insane amount of PTO which we are actually encouraged to use, and the other benefits support a strong work/life balance. 4. There's a lot of opportunity to grow and advance. ABC's products and services span a wide range, and charting a path through different departments/positions is encouraged and supported. The firm sells that to potential candidates, and I was skeptical that it would really be something they support, but I've seen it happen regularly at very junior and very senior levels. They can't/won't create dream jobs out of thin air, but both business leaders and HR seem to genuinely believe that helping employees move into new roles aligned with their interests is good for business and good for employees.
Cons
Is it perfect? Of course not. Some downsides and challenges are: 1. The organizational structure is downright complicated. Some of this seems to be because of the way the company has grown over time, but it's hard (particularly as a new employee) to have a strong grasp of how all the pieces fit together. If your role doesn't require exposure to other parts of the business, you probably won't know much about it unless you go out of your way to learn. That said, in an effort address the org complexity as well as the slow growth on the health care side of the business... 2. ...the health care side of the business restructured and roles were eliminated. This was hard and kind of scary, and I personally had friends and colleagues who were affected. That said, I think most people could see a strategic shift for health care was long overdue, and senior leadership has been falling all over itself in eagerness to explain the strategy and how it will streamline and focus the business on the path back to growth. In general there's a lot of uncertainty in the health care market post-election (potential repeal of ACA, etc.), so it's a challenging time to be in this business and ABC's going to have to place the right bets in a dynamic environment. The education part of the business seems to growing like crazy. 3. If you aren't based in DC, your reality is (by default) going to be a little different. You aren't going to have as many executive visits/presentations, and you may be a remote participant in some of the large-scale things that go on at the DC headquarters. Each non-DC office seems to have its own local thing going, and in some ways that uniqueness is fun, but the groups can also feel isolated. That may be more a reality of a geographically dispersed business than something particular to ABC, but it's worth noting.
