Vantaggi
I wish my rating could be 2.5 stars, because my opinion really is evenly split between very positive and very negative.
Here are the positives:
- This company is a great place for new graduates to gain professional work experience, including useful soft skills like professional communication, navigating business sites/software, and confidence when speaking over the phone.
- The other ground-level recruiters and team managers are so hardworking and wonderful to work with. The hardest part about quitting, for me, was leaving behind so many positive work relationships.
In summary: Stay for maybe 1-3 years (up to you), gain the skills, experience, and connections, and then move on to your next career opportunity when you feel prepared to do so.
(And yes, these few positives are so positive that they manage to maintain an even keel against everything I’m about to say next.)
Svantaggi
I'm just going to speak plainly: the CEO is a bully. The company is essentially an autocracy where only the CEO gets final say on anything. He storms around the office having explosive outbursts, yelling at and belittling other managers where every other employee can hear. He displays concerning apathy towards his employees’ safety and right to a peaceful work environment. Countless valid reports of discrimination, harassment, hostile work environment, and poor work performance have died on his office floor with no action taken.
Other cons include:
- There is very, very little opportunity for career advancement. A Recruiter title is all you're ever going to have, even if your duties broaden beyond just recruiting.
- Even after 5-7 years of employment, you’ll still be making an entry-level salary. All non-management employees (and probably some managers too) are making at least $10-15k less than market average for the talent acquisition field. I’m writing this in mid-2025, and the last time ground-level employees collectively received a raise (even just to keep up with the rising cost of living) was in early 2023.
- Nepotism is rampant. Family members and personal friends are frequently hired on and given greater responsibilities even with no relevant prior experience. At the same time, executive leadership will increase pressure on recruiters to boost their placement numbers, and hint at resorting to layoffs if the company’s financial performance doesn’t improve.
- Leadership drags its feet on updating office equipment, and very rarely attempts to implement newer resources and technology (by which I mean systems as basic as SharePoint and a functional ATS, not anything like cutting-edge AI tools, for example).
- Any resignations are taken as a betrayal to the company and your last two weeks will be made to be as difficult as possible. You will not be asked for any input on anything during your offboarding period. You will have no control over where your accounts are reassigned, regardless of how long you’ve worked with a client and what your relationship with them is like. This is if you’re lucky-- if you’re unlucky, you will simply be released on the spot when you put in your notice.