Pros
Yes, the Association provides us with good benefits and many snacks, but you can find this at nearly any competitive company or trade association these days. You will be much better off paying a few extra dollars for healthcare than to put up with what goes on at the Association on a daily basis.
Cons
The National Restaurant Association is in a sad, pathetic state of affairs. No one is happy, there is so much uncertainty, and the lack of appreciation and basic respect shows on faces all around. The root cause of the issue has been, for quite some time, absent and uncaring leadership. There have been several big scandals in the past few years, details of which have been discussed in media stories, that have caused so many issues that I don’t think the Association will ever recover. It’s also created a culture of backstabbing, organizational silos, zero accountability and, worse, managers and leaders with poor leadership skills. When you come to work here, your manager will likely not have your best interests at heart. You will likely produce lots of work and someone else will take the credit. And you will likely wake up one day after a while and ask yourself, “Is all this worth it?” When you finally leave, it is always one of two ways: you will either be carted into a meeting space (usually near the end of the day) to be made aware of a “reorganization” within your team and that the day is your last, or you will be so disgusted by the actions of the Association’s internal leadership you will walk away and never look back. Please, take it from someone who has had to endure working here. Do not accept a job, no matter how good it sounds or how far you think the Association’s good name will take you (it won’t). It is truly not worth the hassle. There are many other opportunities that are so much better, at places that likely aren’t documented to be bad places to work. Also, I can promise you: those stories don’t even skim the surface!