I was recently laid off "due to Covid" so it took me a while to come here and write a review because I needed time to reflect on events that occurred during my time with the organization. I also need time to myself to ensure that I can be as objective as possible without coming across as upset about the situation. Being new to the consulting world and an entry level consultant, I was excited to bring my enthusiasm, upbeat personality, previous internship/work experience to Capgemini and begin my career as a consultant! I was confident in my abilities and who I was as an individual until I came across things that made my experience and dreams of being a consultant a nightmare. Below are the key takeaways of my experience with Cap:
*Racism- This is a French organization that still holds on to racist values and mistreatment of people of color. If you are a person of color and you decide to work for this organization please expect stereotypes of how they believe black people are. You will see this in their behavior towards you, feel excluded, be belittled, and have rules that apply to you and not others. If you are intelligent and fully competent, and can outperform most, you will have a bigger problem. They will find every way to throw you under the bus when they see you as competition, they will take credit for your ideas as if it was theirs, and do everything to make you feel like a "minority". I can count on my hands how many black people I saw at the offices even in major cities with high concentrations of black people. Anything you say as a black person, even when it makes sense and is delivered with respect will fit into the angry black woman/man narrative they have in their minds about people of color. Unless you are good at pretending, handling pervasive racism, stroking egos, and being silent on things that truly bother you in fear of retaliation or losing your job than I recommend staying away from this consulting firm,
*No Job Security- This is AT WILL employment, meaning they can get rid of you at anytime for any reason. There is no such thing as job security with this company, if your not bringing in any money your job will always be on the line. When they are bringing you into the firm they are so kind and when they are ready to rid of you they throw you out like yesterdays trash.
*Highly unorganized- It took weeks to navigate on boarding and speaking to HR to resolve issues. You are a number in a big corporate machine.
*You will work 60- 80 hr work weeks without being paid overtime (this can also depend on the rate the client is paying for you which also depends on the project) but expect to have long work weeks and weekends. There isn't a such thing as a work- life balance! If you have a family and life this wouldn't be the company for you.
*Performance Reviews- The projects I worked on during my time with the company received positive ratings and overall client satisfaction. They rate you on a 1-5 scale (1 being rare and exceeding expectations 5 being awful and eligible for performance improvement plan or firing! However, when you receive a review from your manager, they end up being extremely subjective and come across as their personal feelings instead of constructive criticism and guidance to improve. When you decide to go for a promotion, salary increase, or to just simply hold on to your job, the performance reviews can work against you. You can tell by the words used in the reviews when it is personal and not an ounce of professionalism. They also use this review as a justification to either lay you off or fire you.
*Lazy people- they hire some extremely lazy people who don't want to do any work yet want to collect a paycheck. When you speak to your supervisor about your concerns especially when project deadlines are at risk, they will pacify the person not adding any value and label you as not being able to collaborate with others when you don't do the other persons work or pretty much handhold to get them to complete their work.
*If you are not bringing in millions and/or are on the bench for long periods of time, expect your job to always be on the line because the company will see you as invaluable. You really have to hustle, have a tight network, keep your ears open for new roles. People managers/HR Business Partners are worthless unless they have strong relationships and have been with the company for some time. Even if they do have ways to get you onto a project, you have to worry about if they like you to get staffed. The other way you can get on project is if your good at kissing behind!
*They will promote outsiders- I've spoken to people who've been with the company for years and have yet to see promotions into management roles and I know would be great managers. Instead they hire an outsider as an "experienced hires" and promote them before people who've been loyal to the organization and deserves a promotion. They don't promote from within and when they do it takes years to be promoted!
Before working here please read through the lowest rated reviews and you will find similarities to things I've mentioned.
