Good pay, stressful environment and very long hours - Senior Consultant EY Employee Review

3.0
2 Nov 2013
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Good pay. Few perks. Respected firm. Interesting work and projects on some major accounts. If you work very hard and do well, usually you get recognized for it. Can get extra money ($50-$250) for doing well on specific project. Very diverse group of people, with interesting backgrounds.

Cons

Stressful environment. Some middle management takes their stress and frustration on lower ranking staff/seniors. Overtime is EXPECTED! The idea of utilization is a total bogus. You have to work a lot of overtime to meet the requirements and hit your utilization goals. There is a lot of work that is not "chargeable" or project development which is not included in utilization calculations and therefore how busy you really are is not truly illustrated. There is a lot of politics and some managers, that have been with the firm a long time, have a lot of say, even if they are not professional/honest, just b/u they have connections. There is some favoritism. Lotus Notes is used as e-mail and it is very inefficient and you end up waisting time looking through it constantly (not easy way to search, etc.). Some management thinks you should put EY above all else. You are rated on a scale 1-5, 5 being "significantly above expectations", 4 "exceeded expectations," 3 "meet expectations", 2 "below expectations," 1"did not meet expectations." Most of the time you are at 3 and they tell you that the expectations are so high as a firm that you are at 3 and should be happy working with such as firm that expects so much (great writer/ great technically, works hard and gets things done, meets deadlines, brings ideeas…etc.). Although, the higher management rates themselves higher (4) as of course they know each other well and…politics. Many of the managers/sr. managers are definitely not 4/5. Many staff/seniors work a lot of overtime and they are rated 3. After a while you don't care b/u it is not realistic but at first it is a shocker that even if you try very hard, give everything you can, you can still get 2/3. When you get rated 4 overall (during a year), you get a bonus.

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Pros

-networking opportunities -good resources as a FTE

Cons

-need to advance through strict structures

5.0
21 Feb 2018
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

1. You will have a very hard time not falling in love with every single person you meet there. 2. Seriously, you will meet your soul mate(s) there. 3. Prestigious and looks great on the resume. 4. Your brain will grow a thousand times more powerful. 5. Forces you to conquer your fear of public speaking. 6. Fun team bonding and lifelong friends. 7. Stepping stone to high paying jobs. 8. Helps you work on perfecting your charm. You will learn from the most charming people how to really get people to like you. 9. HR really cares. 10. Big support network (IT, creative services, etc.). 11. Teaches you to be calm and in control.

Cons

OK, I'm going to be discussing all the taboo things, and there are a lot of them. In spite of these cons, I still admit it's worth a five star rating. 1. High performers are "designated" (you have very little control over your rating) by the partner group (can be a pro if you get selected. Seriously, I have worked with some of the supposed "fives" and they are not any different than my threes and fours. 2. Quality is extremely low. Sometimes I felt like I was working at McDonalds and not a professional services firm. The emphasis is on getting through work as fast as possible and expectations for quality are not realistic. 3. EY has a very hard time firing bad employees. If you get stuck with one it can be a nightmare. 4. EY has a heavy emphasis on wasting time. For example, there are lots and lots of checklists which have no value that you have to fill out. Also, they wasted money and time on creating "Canvas" which is literally slower and more awkward than the previous workspace tool, GAMX. There is a heavy emphasis on "reinventing the wheel" and fixing problems that aren't broken with even worse solutions. Instead of wasting money on useless tools, that money could have been spent on your employees in the form of compensation. Like I said, EY is really focused on attempting to look as though value is being created when in fact it is not. 5. Lots of meetings. Appearances are very important. 6. Employees on global 360 accounts get better treatment. 7. Some employees (executives mostly) tend to overemphasize how important this work is. Let's face it, if it was really glorious work then we would have action figures. 8. Looks are very important. Seriously, if you are a girl, you will get promoted based on how hot you are (the quality of your work is largely unimportant). If you are a guy, you are treated a little better but there is still a sexist undercurrent in the environment. This is advice you won't get from HR obviously, but that doesn't mean it isn't true. 8. You will be forced to eat hours. 9. Your ethical compass will start to get weaker. 10. You will get a little cynical. 11. Lots of driving and travel. 12. "Family men" and married couples with children are more likely to be promoted. If you want to be a partner, you have to be married (few exceptions). 13. You will work on vacations. 14. Loss of relationships with family and friends. 15. Some backstabbing and credit-stealing (but not very common). 16. Comp is below market but that's to be expected. 17. Employee retention is not something management is interested in. This makes you replaceable and expendable (yes even as a manager, unless you have been "designated" as a high performer by the partner group).

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