Pros
Very Strong Culture - can be good if one relates to it, however, if you don’t, you’ll quickly find yourself an outcast.
Cons
Sales is and will lways be the Top Priority - everyone else will be treated subordinately and essentially seen as Sales support. Given this mentality, it is not uncommon to be disrespected by Sales members when they pressure you for certain deliverables that they’ve sold/are selling. I don’t believe this is the fault of the individual Sales members, but the cause of a bigger issue established by leadership – Monthly Sales Quotas – thus making the office very stressed by the end of the month. Lack of Diversity– vast majority of the office is Caucasian, often with Greek Life roots, which some appear to still proudly cling onto. This lack of diversity also creates a very homogenous culture. Frequent Unprofessional Behavior – the office will play common games found at Frat Parties (due to the Homogenous Frat culture), such as “Red Bull Flip Cup” or “Rage Cage” to motivate its employees No Clear Career Path/Growth for Non-Sales – I personally made significant contributions to growth of several notable accounts, yet never was rewarded with a raise/promotion and was paid significantly below (~30+%) market rate for my role and experience. Lack of Management Skills - Promotion within Sales (which affects non-Salespeople) is often given to high-performing sales members. While they may be good at sales, often times, they are not ready to manage others – thus leading to the disrespect/micro managing mentioned earlier. Extremely Uncompetitive Compensation - significantly below market rate. Non-sales people are also given a low base with a “performance bonus” component, which only seems to make sense for Sales roles (ex. commission, hitting quota). Once again echoing the point that Sales members are the only valued employees. Also don’t expect an annual raise or even an adjustment for inflation. Heavy Social Pressure - to attend company social events and to follow certain tacit rules, such as 8 am starting time for “Closing Week” (the last 5 business days of every month – as Sales teams have monthly quotas) even if you are not a Sales member. It is understood to take your lunch from 12-1. No one leaves before 5:30 pm (technical end of business). Even if one were to finish their work, there is social pressure to stay at the very least until 5:30.
