Top Tier Gov Contracting Consulting Firm with Great People
Pros
Chess is a small (roughly 30 employees) consulting firm / "family" that is nationally recognized in the Government Contracting industry for its top caliber work. This is driven by highly regarded upper management and the top-notch talent that they hire. Being a small and relatively young firm (with extremely deep industry roots), the company is continuing to evolve and improve while still maintaining its core values. I personally couldn't have imagined starting my career anywhere else. Being a small firm, everyone from the owners down to the new hires get to know each other very well which creates that “family” atmosphere. This social dynamic helps foster a fun and enjoyable environment in and outside of work. Over my three plus years, I was provided tremendous opportunities on a lot of different project types and clients. Additionally, at all levels (i.e. New Hires - Management) you gain crucial client interaction and leadership skills that you might not be exposed to at other firms as early in your career.
Cons
I personally do not have any specific cons related to Chess. For the sake of this section though I will say that any cons that people might have are going to be the same at basically every consulting firm… Staffing is always tricky (especially at a small firm), turnover is prevalent, sometimes you will be expected to work long hours and not every project is going to be glamorous. With that being said, Chess places a lot of value on its employees and continues to improve on its staffing strategy. Additionally, based on industry averages, turnover at Chess is lower than other firms.