Pros
Competitive starting salary and benefits.
Cons
First of all, and most importantly, ISE and Start are not honest about the company’s current performance or financial state. The company faces ongoing layoffs, yet they claim to be “growing rapidly” and “thriving in the industry”. They are losing clients FAST. They are depending on an investor to save the day, but their lack of professionalism and non-existent quality of products/services has pushed away every opportunity. They hire far outside their financial means and lie about their growth during the hiring process, then lay off those newly hired individuals when they can’t afford the decision. They promote the ‘yes men’ who are the direct cause of client loss and lack of growth. Then, management openly gossips about how horrific those individuals are at their job to anyone who will listen. If you do manage to make it a year, don’t expect any kind of raise. Management will dissuade you from asking for the minimal cost of living increase by stating that it could put the team at risk for more layoffs. They do have a bi-annual, universal bonus structure, but more likely than not it will be delivered months late, if at all. HR is not separated from the company in a way that they can be unbiased or helpful when needed. Instead, they are given marketing responsibilities that they have no clue how to do. Then, marketing is thrown into sales because the execs decided it’s ’good enough’. As such, many of the primary products/services haven’t gained a single new client in multiple years. The CEO is nonexistent and the ‘executive partner’ who is unofficially in charge is single handedly drowning ISE and Start. The individual is a narcissist to the core. He is openly threatened by good ideas and will throw his full effort into sabotaging projects that were not his idea. This creates an incredibly toxic culture for anyone looking to do their job well. ISE and Start are filled with droves of individuals who have zero experience in their respective fields and it shows. Management enables this by stating that you can’t expect much from any individual and make no attempt to train them. Management’s favorite phrase is ‘let them fail’ when talking about their own teams. They encourage individuals to give up or let projects be completed in the worst possible way, claiming that it will make themselves look better down the line. But when the company hits rock bottom nothing is fixed. Any individual who pushes back with a ‘our win is everyone’s win’ mentality is either bullied into submission or wrongfully terminated for asking questions. All of management gets off on juvenile bullying tactics and constantly divulge each employee’s short comings, personal secrets and other information that they have no right to discuss. Management will talk for hours on end about how much they dislike an individual or how those individuals are the ‘absolute worst’ at their job. They openly gossip about how the company is failing and how its products and services are subpar - always pointing fingers to blame each other (publicly) rather than do anything to improve the situation. The company bankrolls their self proclaimed ‘executive partner’ and his delusions of grandeur. They shovel money into his self published book and his attendance at events where he puts every ounce of effort into his dream of being famous, rather than doing his job to gain new or retain existing clients. This individual boasts that he is a #1 best-selling author, but doesn’t mention he is only #1 of his singular publication. He also claims to be an expert in every field because he did a TED talk that the company paid for, then proceeds to fail ISE and Start in every possible way. He single handedly lost more than 50% of Start’s clients, within the same calendar month, while simultaneously bragging about his successes. He brags about his sales abilities, yet hasn’t brought in a new client for the product in 3+ years. He also actively hires and promotes a fully inept team to make himself feel powerful and publicly attacks anyone who questions the above failures. They are a lawsuit waiting to happen with individuals in leadership casually throw horrendously inappropriate ‘jokes’ or ‘opinions’ into meetings and team check-ins - not to mention the harassment and abuse individuals face when they stand up for themselves. Long story short, run far and run fast.