Don't go unless for 2-3 month contract - Consultant Keystone Employee Review

1.0
3 Feb 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Good compensation - in line with other firms Good relationships in tech sector and new areas (e.g. pharma) Good economics/lawsuits experiences

Cons

Don't believe those 5-star reviews: they were written because of the HR department to improve tanking reviews in the last 3 years. They hide the true situation from outsiders If you've heard about strategy work - don't believe those words. It's less than 1/4 of projects. Almost all work is about legal/economics. No work life balance: expect 80-100 hous. More than at MBB. Unrealistic expectation, conflicts, and late night/weekend work. No culture: the firm's culture pre-PE acquisition vanished. Half of my colleagues disappeared in 2022. Many left by themselves to avoid nasty surprises after layoffs on client's side. Those who stayed - just try to survive. Lot's of conflicts and backstabing. Put work on others. Avoid discussions and responsibility. Everyone would ignore you if you have a question or need advice. Abusive environment due to both managers and leaders. Don't expect a positive regard for doing hard work. Everyone avoids solving client's problems to avoid responsibility/blame. Leadership just pushes new ideas to sell more project and avoids participation in project meetings. When clients start to ask hard questions, managers just throw juniors under the bus to shift blame and avoid questions during performance reviews. Best strategy - not to say anything and not to attract attention. If the firm promissed you anything - don't expect that. The promise is worth nothing - the firm will forget about it in 1-2 weeks. And your request will be just ignored even if you remind about it. Greed is paramount. Layoffs started when growth was 10% instead of 25%. 30+ people were impacted with 2 weeks of severance. You are not an employee. Not a team-member. You are a resourse. Don't expect to survive for long or learn much. Don't expect to stay. Save your own time and sanity. If you got an offer - decline. Unless you plan to work for a couple of months max. It's not worth it. Their salary is not worth all the troubles.

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Keystone Response
2y
Dear Consultant, Thank you for sharing your experience. We are sorry to hear you did not have a positive experience when you worked at Keystone. I assure you that we neither post inauthentic reviews to this page, nor make attempts to mask negative feedback - including yours. We value the feedback of our past and present employees, and take it into account as we evolve. Like many companies last year, economic headwinds did necessitate layoffs as demand for consulting services slowed across the industry. It was the only time in our 20+ year history that layoffs were necessary. We take great care to thoughtfully manage the size of our workforce so layoffs are a last resort. Sincerely, Gabrielle Toledano COO at Keystone Strategy

Explore other reviews about Keystone

5.0
13 May 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Flexibility, Teamwork, High-level of coworkers

Cons

Long hours, communication isn't the best

5.0
21 Apr 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Really great company that has been growing tremendously over the past few years.

Cons

Hours can be intense and sometimes ambiguity in how much you need to work varies across management.

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