Vantaggi
- You’ll get hands-on exposure working on real products. - Good place to start and build independence and resilience early in your career. - Supportive peers and fast-paced problem solving help you build adaptability. - Seniors teach and guide well. - If you’re just starting out and want to understand client-facing agency work quickly (through trial and error), this might be a crash course. - Good work-life balance, rare chance of OTs
Svantaggi
– Little to no onboarding, clear processes, or agile practices. So everything runs ad hoc. – Design and development teams are siloed with little to no stand-ups or collaboration; changes aren’t iterative with sparse, and inconsistent design documentation – Micro-managed environment with minimal autonomy; juniors have no decision-making power. – Low flexibility of work hours and no work-from-home arrangements. No incentive to do work fast – Feedback is discouraged unless done privately; open sharing is seen as “creating disharmony.” – Learning is only encouraged at specific, manager-defined times, otherwise expected after hours. – Performance reviews are subjective, based on feelings and optics, not outcomes. – Bonuses are vague, rarely communicated, and inconsistent. – No clear growth path or promotion structure, even high performers are often overlooked. – Bonuses are minimal and not transparently communicated. No retrenchment benefits. – Hires full-timers as if they’re contractors, when projects end, layoffs follow, often without clear planning or with short notice. – Interns and juniors are hired cheaply but expected to deliver at full-time levels. In less than a year, I saw multiple people leave within a week of joining. – Leadership roles are concentrated in a few individuals, so decisions are funnelled through a narrow hierarchy with no room for broader input or balanced review - Do not expect updates from leadership if they will be taking leave or be late - Office is often overcrowded, yet there are no signs of expansion or flexibility for perm staff (e.g. no work-from-home arrangements). – Design team workspace is windowless and uninspiring.