Pros
Benefits are very good compared to other corporations. The company has a pension plan that vests you 100% after 3 years of employment (it used to be 5 years). Work-life balance is valued greatly and managers are pretty flexible and generous with the need for time off and vacation requests. This includes maternity/paternity leave as well. It is a good place to learn about the financial industry and become experienced within it. Compensation like bonuses and raises are good, if you get it.
Cons
Metrics, metrics, and more metrics. You are just another cow producing milk. You don't produce enough, you are written up. You could go on for months of hitting your numbers and doing well and 2 bad months, you are on a verbal warning. They constantly "raise the bar" (the company's term) on you as what you have to accomplish in a day. They expect more and more out of you every day. What is worse, you have "coordinators" (aka supervisors) who can't even properly account for your work and turn that over to the manager without telling you or advising you that you are not doing good. They will provide you with different totals than what they give to the manager. Next thing you know you are written up. If a coordinator doesn't like you, they will make sure you don't hit your numbers every month by assigning your more difficult requests that may take longer or don't give your more "points". They are cowards because they know they will not have to face you when you have to have a "conversation" with your manager about your performance. You have to account for your own work heavily, and document everything in order to combat the possibility of being written or fired over your performance! Also, butt kissers, brown nosers and informants will get a promotion or special job duty above you, despite how hard you may work or how well you perform above them. And if you perform well, but may appear to be a career threat to someone, management will move you to a hated and despised department in order to beef up the numbers and set you up for failure. And yes, I have applied for lateral positions myself, and was told I was "over-qualified" for the position and was even asked to take a 15-20% pay cut if I accepted it. What kind of logic is that! And from department to department, even if you are doing similar work, they account for your work in entirely different ways. And in some cases, what the other department does with your work request that you have completed properly and on time, can impact you and bring down your numbers if they don't handle it in time. Management is self-absorbed and arrogant, particularly mid level management. They relish the fact they have power to fire you or lay you off for poor performance. They look good to directors and VPs when they get rid of "poor performers". Directors and VPs are so happy they make the money they make, they could care less if you are a good employee who hit a bad streak - OFF WITH YOUR HEAD! Then the company thinks they are saving money by outsourcing when in the long run, they spend more. Outsourcing works in some cases, but not for a financial company like this one.