Pros
• The People – Worked with some very nice people, whose mentorship was of immense value to me both while at Capco and afterwards. • Learning & Development – There are lots of learning and development opportunities, especially if you are interested in teaching one of the courses. I have been lucky to do that for multiple workshops, and am very happy to have been able to do so. Sometimes Capco will even pay for you to get external training that may not be offered internally. • Diverse Project Experience – Capco as of late has gained somewhat of a reputation as a “body shop” with countless staff augmentation-related projects for anyone to get involved with. If you are first starting out and have little to no project experience I think that this could be a good thing. You are able to try different things, and decide what areas of specialization/focus that you’re interested in. • Work-Life Balance – While W-L balance can be a mixed bag depending on your project, in my experience, my days were usually over by 5.30pm and I could have the rest of my day to myself. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule (such as deadlines and presentations) but generally speaking, work-life balance at Capco is solid.
Cons
• The People – While I have worked with some wonderful people at Capco, the firm does also have its fair share of individuals who are not the friendliest or helpful, and in some (extreme) cases have proven to be quite surreptitious and Machiavellian. At times, on projects, my colleagues and I often felt that we had targets on our backs are were consistently in “CYA-mode” due to a toxic culture/work environment. • Compensation and Promotion – To be very blunt, the compensation packages at Capco are atrocious, with non-existent wiggle room for negotiations in your compensation packages. I’ve heard horror stories from fellow colleagues about negotiation conversations being shut down (almost immediatley) upon inquiry. The same can be said when it comes to promoting talent, which can only be described as a banal political game. Don’t be fooled by the thinly-veiled doublespeak when leadership talks about having a “meritocratic” culture. When talent feels undervalued, attrition rates begin to rise. • Lack of Diversity – Frankly, this is an industry-wide problem with very little end in sight. I’ve found that much of the diversity within Capco is relegated to the special interest groups (eg: Women @ Capco, Black @ Capco, et al.), but it certainly is not enough by a long-shot. Such a lack of inclusion can even be seen in some project teams where team leads only pick the same groups of people to work with on projects, effectively shutting out individuals who may be interested in doing the same work. Most of the senior leadership is still a “boys club” comprised of older, white men which has only been penetrated by SOME people of color and women in recent years. If Capco wants to remain competitive in the consulting and financial services worlds then this is something that will have to be addressed immediately.