Vantaggi
Despite my negative experience with this company, I don't see it as an absolute dump. I think it very seriously is in need of major adjustments, but it truly has so much potential to be good. I can only speak to my own experience with my local gallery and the few interactions I've had at other locations across the US, but I would actually recommend this job to young adults and recent graduates in the Interior Design field that are looking for their first "real" job. If you are not one of those two, I couldn't recommend this company to you in good faith. With that being said, to the students and young people looking for work, the experience you get by working on projects here (even as a Design Consultant) is invaluable in building your own portfolio. Use your time here wisely to increase your experience in what you want to do with your life. Put your all into each and every project and take notes on the lessons you learn from each of them. Stay for 6 months to a year, then leave. Do not remain with this company past your stay. It is not a healthy environment and the habits you pick up could be a potential threat to the rest of your career. Pay attention to the work ethic of your coworkers here and keep it in the back of your mind. The conflicts you experience will prepare you with questions and things to look out for with your next employer. Again, please don't stay longer than a year. This job is, at best, a stepping stool in your own professional career. Do not subject yourself to toxicity that will drastically lower your quality of life over time. There's a reason this company has such a high turnover rate and why the people that stay for longer periods are either burnt out and running on fumes, or fully blinded to the morale of their "team" and aloof to how their actions hurt the people around them. 6 months to a year. Get in, get your experience, and get out. If you get the opportunity to work on huge international projects, that's GREAT, but please don't get trapped by feeling obligated to your coworkers and jeopardize your happiness. Take the time to pause and really think about what you're committing to by staying with this company.
Svantaggi
Where the head goes, the body will follow. I truly wish this company and each of its leadership tiers would come down off of their high horses, take a long look in the mirror, and accurately assess how their actions impact the entire company. Skewing reality to validate a lie is not ok. Consistently giving conditional answers to concrete questions is not acceptable. Reprimanding employees because of unmet expectations that were never properly communicated is wrong. I don't need to meet the senior leadership team or overhear comments (again) about how they're treated by the CEO to know their position isn't much different than mine: full of gossip, insubordination, understaffed, and lots of disrespect amongst their peers. I am absolutely positive that they are just as confused, exhausted, and frustrated as the rest of us are -- except for the privilege to work in sunny California. What I have learned from working here is that "luxury" typically means classism and exclusivity. The sentiment of feeling better or less than others because of social and economic class is something that can be traced down through the entire company, even to the temporary hires. It reveals, in my opinion, that the company as a whole is doing nothing more than parading itself around as an interior design firm, full to the brim with its luxurious peacock feathers, when in reality, it is nothing more than a glorified furniture store, running around like a chicken with its head cut off and its feathers on fire. You're not better than any other retail store because you call your couches, "sofas". Catch up with some of us in the 21st century and let go of your classist ideations. This company has so much potential to truly be good, but without adjusting how it looks at the world around it, I'm not sure it will ever be more than subpar.