Pros
Choosing to work at Protiviti was probably the worst decision I've ever made. I think it has more to do with my complete disinterest in auditing but I don't think Protiviti handles things the correct way either. First, they really lie to you during the interview process. You CANNOT choose how often and where you travel. You CANNOT choose your projects/clients based on your interests. You CANNOT even choose what solution you are grouped into. I selected Protiviti over advisory groups at the Big 4 because I thought, being a smaller company, they would be more sensitive to their employees wants/needs. They also seemed somewhat cooler, more creative and definitely more "consulting" focused. On my first day of work I learned, because of my accounting background, I was automatically placed (they did not ask me at all) in the internal audit group. I knew people with engineering and computer science degrees being placed in IT Audit. Why would you waste such talent and potential by throwing someone into an audit group when they literally know nothing about audit at all? It's actually quite insulting. They have people who can code and build software and instead they're ticking and tying out work papers and checking employee access for clients. By the way- most of their projects are audit based- not consulting. Don't be fooled. I understand as a company, it's first come first serve and they need to add staff where most needed. In fact, this is how it works for projects too. You live in NJ? Well we need someone for an LI project and you're available- spend 4 hours a day commuting or live in a hotel for 4 months. That's how Protiviti approaches staffing. Literally no consideration of geographical preferences, family obligations, work life balance. In my almost 1.5 years spent working there, I had a grand total of about 4 weeks working in NYC. Be prepared to get very cozy with NJ Transit, LI Expressway, the Whitestone Bridge and the Metro North. Get used to spending 2+ hours commuting every day. Once you're placed into a group, you are completely stuck there unless by some miracle, a a senior manager+ intervenes on your behalf or you leave the firm. You are pigeonholed from day one. I was very lucky (kidding) to have a SOX client first, so guess who all my subsequent clients were? I couldn't even get on a straight internal audit project let alone do some real consulting, I was bounced around from SOX engagement to SOX engagement. I felt like my brain was literally atrophying from the lack of thought provoking or creative work. You don't even get to work on a variety of clients. Once a client likes you, you're stuck on that project every year. My 2nd year at Protiviti was looking identical to my first. How is that good for employees to do the same thing every day, every year. I wasn't learning or feeling productive or fulfilled. It was just awful. I attempted to find interesting clients/projects/teams/groups to work with. I emailed MDs in other solutions asking for work, talked to my seniors, managers, senior managers, advisors, etc about switching groups. What I found out is that nobody really cares. No one cares about you being interested in your work, being happy at your job, having a decent commute, etc. All Protiviti cares about is their clients. I think that is the biggest mistake they can make, although they certainly aren't the only company doing it. I think it's telling that all the managers who interviewed me, had quit in the short time I worked at Protiviti. Every single consultant I started with resented Protiviti after a few months and fantasized about the day they left. I didn't know anyone who actually liked working there. People got anxiety from the place. People are sad to be working there. People quit left and right. What a terribly unproductive environment. To add salt to the wound, when I started looking for a new job, not one person knew what Protiviti was when they looked at my resume. If you want to work in audit for the rest of your life, working at Protiviti is fine. If you don't, do yourself a favor and at least work at the Big 4 to get a recognizable and impressive name on your resume.
Cons
See above for general comments but here's a pros/cons list: Pros: Good starting salary- for coming right out of college, starting with 58k was really great. People always complain but I truly believe that for an entry level position, that is very generous and fair. Also, its on par with Big 4 (actually 1k more but that's pretty insignificant) Generous vacation time- starts at 20 days off. I also appreciated how easy it was to take that time. No hoops to jump through, no approval process. You just took time as you needed it, no questions really asked. Option for a sabbatical- this is a recent addition (and pretty progressive if you ask me). You can take a month or 2 off in Q1 if you want to travel, study for an exam, or search for a new job ha ha. Training: The Consultant Challenge was actually a ton of fun and they did a good job teaching you useful skills. You get pretty close to all the people you start with which is really nice. Cons: The people: So obviously there are a few gems, some genuinely nice or intelligent people. Mostly, I really disliked everyone. Everyone was pretty bland- your typical party hard, boozy brunch girl or sport obsessed, bar hopping guy. I really had no desire to hang out with any of these people during or after work. The managers are okay but mostly really really bland or they think they're gods gift to the world, swanning around the office in their suit acting like they're running a multi-billion dollar company. Travel: Like I said before, it doesn't matter who you are or where you live, get used to filling out tax forms for 4+ states every year. Hours: Hours start at 45 hours a week. Whatever happened to the good ol' 40 hour work week? If you work 45 hours a week, consider yourself lucky. Busier times on projects will easily net you 50-65 hour workweeks. Don't forget about that 1+ hour commute too! Work-life balance is a farce here. Sure its better than a bank or external audit at a Big 4 but it's still crap and no way to live life. Expect to work weekends, holidays too if your client gets really busy. Forgot about working from home too- I didn't have the ability to do that at all when I worked for Protiviti. Lack of flexibility: No option to switch groups, clients, gain new skills, work with new people. Promotional ladder is very rigid and almost completely dependent on amount of time worked. The whole structure of the firm: I just get bad vibes from the whole thing. The CEO is so dull and uninspiring. HR is very unhelpful, uncaring and curt. Like I said, it's all about the client and not about the employees being happy. They pretend to care by organizing stupid community service or after work events that are just so contrived and forced. There is also an insane amount of politics, back stabbing, red tape, gossiping, in-fighting and hurt feelings that go on behind the scenes. Very unprofessional and pretty ridiculous and the employees just get caught up in all of it. Also the whole buddy system, advisor, mentor, goal setting, review process is such a waste of time and no one really benefits from it.
