Vantaggi
I was attracted to YCMNET because of they offer a competitive salary, full benefits, PTO and are located conveniently between Walnut Creek BART and downtown. The office itself is roomy and modern. They used to offer an annual team-building trip to Las Vegas, which can be fun, depending on your current status with the CEO or his "pet" employees. As a fee-only investment advisor, i agree with their business model and they've managed to create a good brand around the "Hawaiian" way of life. That's about as far as the pro's go.
Svantaggi
The founder and CEO of YCMNET first majored in Psychology, and once told me that it's fun to "play around with and study people." He manipulated employees, lied about opportunities and fostered an environment of mistrust and fear. He is the boss that will call you at midnight to make a request and expect you will have no problem completing it by 8:00 am. There was no honest communication from leadership about anything. Rather, we turned to whispers and gossip for information. The last thing the leaders of this firm want to do is provide opportunities for mentoring and helping their staff become successful. I often found myself working in emergency "this has to be done yesterday" situations. Most employees are generally stressed out from this constant rushing to get things done. There are some advisors that completely take advantage of the support staff. They often complained of being overworked and unappreciated. If you are incapable of playing the "Survivor" game-- forging alliances, gathering information that has nothing to do with your job or department, playing games and kissing up to the right people-- this is not the place for you. However, if you're a fan of political posturing, triangulation and drama, you will fit right in.