Pros
Great benefits: Four weeks paid vacation, a company-match 401k that is above average, reimbursement for attorney registration, maternity leave, wage works program, a decent reimbursement for exercise expenses, and of course free snacks and drinks all day.
Career development programs: Bloomberg offers a ton of classes for employees through a program called 'Bloomberg University'. You can learn the in's and out's of finance as well as take classes to increase your technical abilities in XML, Excel, and basic programming. There are also courses to improve public speaking, conflict management other useful business/interpersonal skills.
Volunteer Opportunities: The volunteer programs at Bloomberg at top-notch and really one of the most impressive parts of the company. There are employee 5k's, big brother reading programs, and even opportunities to help build homes with habitat for humanity. The culture encourages participation and in many instances Bloomberg will even match personal donations to many causes.
Diverse community of peers: There is no real 'type' at Bloomberg and that seems to be an intentional part of the hiring practices to ensure diversity. I've worked with men and women of all backgrounds and always encountered a respectful and thoughtful interaction between my peers. A decent HR program ensures that people act like professionals and even minor issues are quickly addressed. I definitely feel a sense of pride to work for an inclusive community that encourages diversity.
Cons
Limited advancement: Very flat corporate structure with unclear expectations for moving up. Expect to get promoted within two years or most likely not at all. Many people there have been an 'analyst' of some sort for over 10+ years. Certain people are 'groomed' for management and much of that decision tends to come down to how much your managers like you and whether you 'fit' that particular management clique. There is an illusion of an open process but in reality it is all determined before most positions are listed.
Metrics: How many widgets did you process this week? Expect Metric-driven reviews full of buzz-word evaluations with phrases like 'know the customer' that tend to avoid any useful details. Again if you are liked by your manager somehow this will work out in your favor. If not, expect a lot of sub-par reviews.
Disappointing management: Most of the management tends to focus on their own career advancement vs. the career / well-being of their own employees. I've seen 'Team Leaders' side with upper management again and again rather than risk their future by protecting or standing up for employees. This leads to higher than average turnover and a certain degree of employee cynicism. For an 'open' office many managers can be quite stand-offish and refuse to interact during the day even after many years of working side-by-side.
Crowded: An open office setting means that you can never really focus in peace and quiet - bring headphones or get ready to hear a lot of annoying chatter and phone calls. The company tends to bring in armies of temps and interns and space is VERY limited. For some reason all of the Bloomberg offices are short on bathrooms - expect to wait in a long line whenever nature calls.
