Vantaggi
The work-life balance is very good. They do let you work from home on occassion and give you laptops to work remotely. I was given time off in the off-peak season to see my kids quite a bit.
Svantaggi
I was in on many manager meetings and they always talked about hiring people who can simply walk and talk. They don't really care about who they bring in because they know they will leave in a year or two after they work them into the ground. There are NO raises, bonuses or perks of any kind. You fear for your job from day one because people get laid off for no reason. They would rather lay off a talented associate who has a mind of his own and keep a less talented person whom they can brainwash. If people leave voluntarily, they really don't care because there are other people who can walk and talk looking for jobs. A partner called me into his office and told me that I was a valued employee and a good manager. This maid me feel good. He went on to say that I would not be part of the layoffs they have at the end of each month so I could breathe easy. I thought this was great! Very courteous. Anyway, about six months after this meeting, I was laid off. When I mentioned my little "guarantee" the partner denied ever telling me this!!! This was probably because the HR rep was in the room with us. I have seen young kids right out of college break down and cry due to the stress of the busy season. One girl just got yelled at for putting in 58 hours the week before instead of the required 60+. She mentioned that she was only getting paid for 40 hours. She was fired for mentioning this the following Friday. As a Manager I was often asked to basically make life miserable for people they wanted to lay off. I had trouble doing this as I did not think it was ethical. The reason for this was to make people quit so they would not have to pay them during the spring, summer or fall. I stopped doing this after a while and I was told I was "not a team player." Save yourself the headache and work somewhere else.