Vantaggi
One of the main things one will hear about JMAN (and it is true) is that is is a great learning opportunity. The types of projects and stakeholder interactions would be hard to find elsewhere this early on in ones career. What is more, some senior managers are genuinely great and are very valuable as mentors.
Svantaggi
The JMAN mold and "JMAN Standards" - the company is really proud (and it should be to an extent) about its internal quality control and standards. Unfortunately, this is often taken too far. The people are also assessed on this, and non-compliance to the standards will be noticed. This means that mainly Oxbridge yes-men(and women) that all think the same end up doing well or at least are able to maintain a position in the company. This happens to be the mold. Very bright and capable individuals have been hired outside this mold and have either not progressed as quickly as the yes-men, have left, or have been let go. A natural note has to be made for the nature of candidates but some recent departures really show that it is not a matter of capability, rather not fitting in the mold. Work-life balance - some people have been known to pull all nighters. Some select people do so needlessly, but they are then retained as they seem to be "working hard". Sometimes, long hours happen, this is a client business and the company pays fairly well. But some people take this to the extreme or at least have an unhealthy habit of staying on late. Some tighter controls of working hours would be useful. End of the day, this is a specialist consultancy, not a strat-house, calm down... Promotions, progression, retention - I will not speculate about unjustified termination (though plenty of people have come forward with trivial remarks such as email formatting not being to JMAN standard as a cause for being let go), some people are kept on when they shouldnt be. There was a high profile relationship souring with a large client caused by the errors of two individuals, they were not let go, they were not reprimanded, they were promoted. What image does this set? Just because these employees fit the mold and APPEAR useful and top-performing, they should be immune to such hiccups? Benefits and contracts - I understand the purpose of building up employees how one wants, hence starting many people at intern level then moving to AC and SAC so on. But this is not exactly great...someone with some years with a title "Manager" or "Lead" should NOT be considered for anything below an SC level. Also, the benefits should kick in from day 1 of employment. At the very least partial benefits. What is more, probation periods MUST count for bonus reviews. I have moved 5 companies in a short period of time and this was the first and so far only company that had such a stringent and limiting probation period. If you cant offer the benefits, even partial ones, from the get go, then reconsider if you can afford to hire. The typical tactic has been to keep extending probation, before putting an employee on a PIP, and then letting them go. In the worst case, one can stand to work a full year, and not be eligible for a bonus, despite doing the same work a low performer that has passed probation (somehow) but they will see some bonus payment.
